Manchester City, under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, have been a dominant force in English football over the past few seasons, and they will be hoping to translate that success onto the European stage. With the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, and Phil Foden in their ranks, the Citizens have an embarrassment of riches in attack and are capable of scoring goals from all angles. On the other hand, Inter Milan will be looking to their talismanic forwards, Lautaro Javier Martinez and Romelu Lukaku, to spearhead their attack. The They have been in scintillating form this season, scoring 31 goals in Serie A and will be a constant threat to the Manchester City defence.
Free betting tips & livestream

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I'm analyzing every bowl season from 1974-1997. Check out the link below for prior seasons.
https://www.reddit.com/CFB/comments/13rssrf/bowls_and_the_race_for_the_mythical_national/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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Team	Record	AP	Coaches
Penn State	11-0	1 (47)	1 (36)
Miami	10-1	2 (3)	4
Oklahoma	10-1	3 (5)	2 (1)
Iowa	10-1	4 (3)	3

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Important Games

• September 7th: unranked Miami lost it's season opener at home to #5 Florida, 23-35.
• A week later Florida would suffer the first of 2 ties, this one at the hand of unranked Rutgers, 28-28. These draws would ultimately take them out of national title contention.
• October 19th: unranked Miami upset #3 Oklahoma in Norman, 27-14. This would be Oklahoma's only loss
• October 19th #1 Iowa hosted #2 Michigan and won, 12-10
• November 2nd: #8 Ohio St upset #1 Iowa in Columbus, 22-13. This would be Iowa's only regular season loss. Michigan would tie unranked Illinois two weeks later, 3-3, which would take them out of national title consideration.
• November 9th: #1 Florida was eliminated from national title contention by #17 Georgia, 3-24. Given their bowl ban, #1 after the bowls was probably a long shot anyway.
• November 23rd: In a de facto Big 8 championship, #5 Oklahoma routed #2 Nebraska in Norman 27-7
• Florida and Tennessee each went 5-1 in SEC play with Florida winning the head to head. The Gators were still on probation due to recruiting violations, allowing Tennessee to get the Sugar bowl bid instead.
• Bo Jackson won the Heisman. His Tigers were #1 early in the season but finished 8-4.

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#1 overall Penn State entered the bowl season as the only unbeaten, which gave them the inside track to claim a 2nd consensus national title in 5 years. The Orange Bowl quickly snatched them up to create a de facto national title game vs Big 8 Champ Oklahoma, who was #2 in the Coaches Poll. One problem, Miami, who beat the Sooners head to head, was ranked ahead of the Sooners at #2 in the AP Poll. This created the potential for a split national title. If Oklahoma won the Orange and Miami won the Sugar against SEC 'champ* Tennessee, its more than likely the AP would have awarded the national title to Miami, and the Coaches to Oklahoma. Also, because of the Orange Bowl match up, #4/3 Big Ten champion Iowa's National title hopes were slim to none.
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The Bowls

Rose Bowl #4/3 Iowa vs #13 UCLA (January 1st, 4:30PM EST)
In all reality, Iowa was probably playing for, at best, 2nd in both polls, which would match their highest final ranking ever at #2 in 1958. Maybe just maybe, a route of UCLA would give them some first love too? Unfortunately, Iowa would end up participating in a decade plus time honored tradition of Big Ten teams losing to lower ranked Pac 10 teams. The game was tied at 10 mid 2nd, when UCLA scored two unanswered TDs to lead 24-10 at the half. The Hawkeyes would get within 7 in the 3rd quarter, but UCLA's offense was too much as the Bruins would go onto win 45-28.
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Sugar Bowl #2/4 Miami vs #8 Tennessee (January 1st, 8PM EST)
Despite getting little love from the AP, a #1 rank in the Coaches poll and a split national title was very much on the table for Miami. This would still mean a 2nd championship season in 3 years for the burgeoning dynasty. Their opponent was Tennessee, who also suffered its only defeat (not counting 2 ties) at the hands of Florida. Although this game was the same time as the Orange, it was pretty obvious that Penn St and Oklahoma were playing for a national title by the 3rd quarter. Tennessee spotted Miami 7 in the first but scored 14 apiece in the 2nd and 3rd to go up 28-7, before cruising to a 35-7 win.
Orange Bowl #1 Penn State vs #3/2 Oklahoma
Penn State knew a consensus national title was on the line, while Oklahoma knew a win meant at least a split for them with Miami. The Nittany Lions drew first blood with an early first quarter TD. The 2nd quarter was dominated by the Sooners who scored 16 unanswered thanks to 3 field goals and a 71 yard TD pass to lead 16-7. Penn St managed to get it back to 16-10 with a late field goal to make it 16-10 at the half. Entering the 4th quarter, up 9, the fans likely knew how the Sugar bowl was going and that their Sooners were in the drivers seat for a consensus natty. The defense led by Brian Bosworth pitched a 2nd half shutout and the offense iced the game with a long TD run in the 4th to win 25-10. By the time the clock ticked to 0 the Sooner players would also know that a consensus championship was there's. Also, Oklahoma's place kicker was named the game's co-MVP. A kicker winning MVP in a title game? How neat is that?!
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Final Results

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Team	Record	AP	Coaches
Oklahoma	11-1	1 (55)	1 (41)
Michigan	10-1-1	2 (1)	2
Penn St	11-1	3	3
Tennessee	9-1-2	4	4 (1)

Of course there has to be contrarians, as 1 voter in each Poll had a different #1, but the Sooners were an overwhelming, if not easy choice for #1, which would make it their 6th overall national title and 3rd for head coach Barry Switzer. I imagine both Tennessee and Michigan, like many others before them, lamented the fact that overtime did not yet exist since, since their ties likely cost them any real shot at a title.
Sources and recommended reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_rankings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985%E2%80%9386_NCAA_football_bowl_games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_season#AP_Final_Poll
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(Not exactly the most original idea)
I think every single football fan has a dream of becoming a professional player and wish to play for their favourite club and score a winning goal in an important game, for now these fans have been forced to live out this dream in FIFA's player career mode, which every player will agree that it is very lackluster and not enjoyable to play.
Whereas NBA 2K's my career is a very fun game to play with an open world hub with your own apartment, public games you can join on the fly, as well as your very own professional basketball league you can play in with your favourite squad, why fifa have fallen so behind on this idea I will never know, but the idea of a football player career with 2K's mechanics sounds like such a dream.
Now I know nothing about game development, although I do want to learn, but I am a fan of football, and I wanted to put the idea out just incase some programmer finds and is interested, then my dream game could be a possibility

(Not exactly the most original idea)
I think every single football fan has a dream of becoming a professional player and wish to play for their favourite club and score a winning goal in an important game, for now these fans have been forced to live out this dream in FIFA's player career mode, which every player will agree that it is very lackluster and not enjoyable to play.
Whereas NBA 2K's my career is a very fun game to play with an open world hub with your own apartment, public games you can join on the fly, as well as your very own professional basketball league you can play in with your favourite squad, why fifa have fallen so behind on this idea I will never know, but the idea of a football player career with 2K's mechanics sounds like such a dream.
Now I know nothing about game development, although I do want to learn, but I am a fan of football, and I wanted to put the idea out just incase some programmer finds and is interested, then my dream game could be a possibility

From the East Liverpool Historical Society:
"The body of a nude young woman was discovered along State St. in the East End in 1944, and neither she nor her slayer were ever identified.
An 18-year-old River Rd. youth found the corpse June 5 around 7:30 am., wrapped in two green blankets and unclothed except for a torn pink slip around her shoulders.
Sam Winters, a high school football player, was on his way home from Crucible Steel Co, at Midland where he worked overnight. He had left a bus at Mulberry St and was walking along State St. when he noticed a pair of bare feet extending from blankets.
He ran to a nearby site and telephoned police.
Apparently strangled, the victim lay on her back in a cluster of weeds about eight feet from the roadway. The blankets were secured to the body with a seemingly little-used clothesline.
The woman was between 25 and 30, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 foot 6 and weighing around 125 pounds.
County Coroner Arnold Devon reported no marks on the body other than a discoloration on the left shoulder at the base of the neck The body was still warm when found, and Devon estimated the time of death around 5 a.m.
Sheriff George Hayes made plaster casts of tire tracks in the cinder road for possible future identification of the auto used to transport the body. All city police were called to duty in a hunt for clues and visits to restaurants and taverns to locate someone who would recognize the victim.
The following day - Sunday -- an East End man hunting for canvas to build his children a play tent, rummaged through trash at Columbian Park where a carnival had played the previous week. He came across a torn dress and another dress and skirt with rips.
It was discovered that the dead woman resembled one of the five girls in a picture of the Sheesley Carnival's "Gay New Yorkers revue. Sheriff Hayes traveled to Lima where the carnival was playing, but telegramed city police, "Girl in question was on show last night."
Meanwhile, the body was interred at Spring Grove Cemetery after a brief service at the Dawson Funeral Home where some 1,500 viewed the victim out of curiousity or in hopes of recognizing her.
Later the funeral home officials barred anyone from visitation other than out-of-towners sent by police.
Dozens of calls were received from relatives seeking a missing relative or friend, and from law agencies asking a description.
Her fingerprints were sent to the FBI at Washington in hopes that she made have worked in a war industry and identity could be made. But Director J. Edgar Hoover notified Police Chief Hugh McDermott there was no match.
More clues turned up. A St. George St. man putting away his car at 4:10 a.m. saw a driver switch off the lights of his auto as he pulled onto State St. at the railroad underpass. He was positive the license was not a blue and white Ohio tag.
OTHER LEADS died out. A woman who had quarreled with her husband in a hotel at midweek and disappeared from the show was found at her home in North Carolina.
Benwood, W. Va., police were looking for a missing woman with a leg scar. A Shadyside Ave. girl who had not been seen since Friday night in a Wellsville tavern did not match the body description of "Miss X.
Cincinnati police thought she may be a missing 20-year-old girl, but she had false teeth and the slain woman's were natural.
Today, the only known traces of the victim exist within a Spring Grove Cemetery plot, on police and funeral home records and in yellowing newspaper accounts."
WARNING:POST MORTEM PHOTOS IN THE FOLLOWING LINK: http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/cargrl.htm
Can someone contact the local coroner's office or Sheriff and ask them to put this woman into NAMUS? I did some digging but couldn't find any contact info that was concrete and for sure, only stuff that was outdated. There are entries on NAMUS and the DN much older than this case, and just because this woman has gone unidentified for 79 years doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to have her name back.
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Hi all,
It's about that time again! For the fifth year in a row, here is my (unsolicited) overview of Roma's squad, current mercato, potential signings, and loan dealings.
Every year I try to give these a theme - last year, the name of the game was versatility: getting players who could cover multiple roles as we had a severely reduced squad due to FFP rules. We saw exactly how that came to bite us both in the league - where we were LITERALLY playing the kids to give the first teamers a break - and in the EL Final, where forced substitutions left us going into Penalties with no designated penalty takers.
With no expectation of squad reductions this season, the name of the game for this exercise is depth - our first team is good, VERY good even, but the question is "what options do we have on the bench or in rotation that can keep that level of quality?" and the answer this season due to injuries (Wijnaldum, Kumbulla), transfers and personal issues (Zaniolo, Karsdorp), or registration issues (Solbakken) has been categorically no. Simply put, it is not fair to put the weight of expectation on Benjamin Tahirovic (who is too young to purchase Alcohol in the United States) because our midfield of Matic and Cristante cannot play every game. Pair that with the long term injuries to Kumbulla and Abraham - both of whom will not be back until 2024 - and we need bodies, plain and simple.
Our current FFP situation also means that we will likely need to end this mercato in the black - which means relying on free transfers, loans, and spending money VERY judiciously.

Transfer Dealings Done

Now to our credit, we have gotten a head start on at least two players:
Houssam Aouar: Aouar is a gamble in my honest opinion. A few years ago, this man was the Robin to Nabil Fekir’s Batman, and while I don’t think either of those players has had the career they had hoped to have, on his day this man can be unplayable. Emphasis on the “on his day”. On good days, Aouar has Jordan Veretout’s work ethic, and Jeremy Menez’s feet. On bad days, he has Veretout’s feet and Menez’s work ethic.
On the positive though, he can play (like Pellegrini) both in the center midfield as an 8, or more attacking as a 10. This can give us options off the bench to either rotate or change a game as necessary.
Evan Ndicka: Now this one I’m very happy about. Ndicka is left footed, very physical, but very intelligent as well which means he has a good eye for a pass as needed. He reminds me quite a bit of Antonio Rudiger in that he fits a very similar profile and played for a Bundesliga club at a similar level. I have no reservations - I think he will be a hit, but like Aouar will benefit tremendously from a full pre-season.

Squad Breakdown

NOTE - I am not including loan players who have returned to their respective clubs (Wijnaldum, Camara, Llorente)
Goalkeepers
Pietro Boer - Let’s start with the easy one: Boer is a third choice keeper that is home-grown at club. Useful for registration, costs us peanuts, has never complained. Keep.
Rui Patricio - From the easy to the hard one: Rui’s decline this season has been sharp, but consistent. His great saves remind us that, once upon a time, that’s a solid goalkeeper, but that has been paired with just… odd mistakes - not Robin Olsen bad, but pretty bad nonetheless. This is no longer a starting International Goalkeeper (that honor goes to Diogo Costa nowadays). He would still make an excellent second-choice goalkeeper at a top club - which might be a good selling point as he still has admirers in the Premier League. Sell.
Mile Svilar - I really wanted to love Svilar. Football Manager Stans rise up, because ALL of us have signed Svilar at one point or another. Svilar still strikes me as potentially a very good keeper, but he has been unable to dislodge Patricio from that starting berth. I think he will end up staying around, and I hope he can prove himself to everyone in a starting role next season. Keep.
Defenders
Gianluca Mancini - We start with Mancini because as of right now, he is the only defender that looks certain to stay. He is definitely the second coming of Materazzi in temperament… if not in talent just yet. He still as a few years on his contract, Mourinho likes him a lot, and he provides leadership on and off the pitch. Keep.
Chris Smalling - While Smalling has been our best player (not just defender) at quite a few points this season, I am always concerned about long-term performance with him. I think he should be renewed - his play has merited that - but if I said “leader at the back, wins everything in the air, incredibly useful on set pieces” I haven’t just described Smalling… I’m also describing one Federico Fazio. Players like Fazio and Smalling are incredibly reliant on their physical attributes - but that physicality at older ages is one major injury away from disappearing completely. Renew him - but no more than two years. Keep.
Marash Kumbulla - Ah, the anti-Smalling. If Chris Smalling’s play has merited him to receive a contract renewal, Kumbulla’s definitely has not. However, due to his ACL injury, Marash is staying for another season in Rome… even if he probably shouldn’t. Keep.
Roger Ibañez - Now comes the other shoe. Roma needs to raise 30 million euros by the end of June to comply with their FFP agreement with Uefa. Failure to do so will likely hamstring us again in the coming Europa League, especially without Champions League money. With Abraham’s injury, and Ndicka a done deal, the clearest place to monetize in the squad is with Roger Ibañez. Our relationship with Roger has been a love-hate one, where we love his grinta and his ability to score in crucial moments, but his brain-farts have cost us on the pitch… repeatedly. Sell.
Full-Backs
Rick Karsdorp - It’s unclear what Karsdorp’s situation with the manager is. On the one hand, Karsdorp was reintegrated into the squad after his falling out with Mourinho and did continue to play, but how much of that was convenience and a “wait until the summer” mentality rather than anything truly genuine. Karsdorp is also currently recovering from an injury, which he should be fit from before September. He has a contract until 2025 - I’d consider him out the door should we receive a good offer… but I doubt we will. Keep.
Zeki Celik - I think it speaks volumes that Mourinho at times has preferred to play Spinazzola or Zalewski on the wrong side rather that give Celik the start. I don’t know if this has been due to poor form, injuries, or simply needing another season to “gel”. Regardless, I don’t think selling Celik at this point will accomplish anything. Keep.
Matias Viña - Remember him? Bournemouth has not exercised their option, so Viña is returning to home base. Unlike other loan moves, however, his time with the Cherries was fairly solid - including an outrageous goal against Chelsea. Why he’s not being renewed, I’m not sure but the Premier League exposure definitely helped us if we choose to cash in. The question is… should we? We are crying out for depth and Viña is a textbook “depth” option. I think we should approach this like Karsdorp - if we get an offer, consider it, otherwise Keep.
Leonardo Spinazzola - On paper, this is our best fullback. In practice, all of us know that the best ability is availability and Leonardo has just… not been there when needed. He is also - critically - the wrong side of 30, which in this position can cost you that turn of pace that is needed. I think, like Ibañez, this is a player we should cash in on now, especially as he enters his final year of contract. Sell.
Nicola Zalewski - Fortunately, this one is easy: Nicola has the distinction of being both young and home-grown, takes no space in registration, and Mourinho loves him. Keep.
Midfielders
Nemanja Matic - Boy was I wrong about Matic. I expected him to be too slow and lumbering for Mourinho’s game, but instead was exactly the midfield veteran we needed - a tall, Serbian Roy Kent. At his age, there is no-one realistically coming in for him, and his contract was automatically extended. Keep.
Bryan Cristante - The unsung hero of this season, Cristante has been consummate professional we all know he can be. Unless we get outrageous money for him (doubtful), this is a Keep.
Edoardo Bove - Like Zalewski, he has been the cream of the crop of youngsters brought through by Mourinho. The argument here is not - should he stay or should he go, but rather should we keep or should we loan. Bove does need minutes… but in his defense, this season he’s gotten them and earned them on the pitch. Keep.
Benjamin Tahirovic - I feel so bad for Benjamin. He was thrown into the fire and while he didn’t do poorly… he didn’t do well either. Like Bove, he needs minutes… unlike Bove, his play hasn’t warranted giving them to him. If there was ever a player who needed a move to Sassuolo, here he is. Sell (with Buy-Back Clause).
Ebrima Darboe - I feel really bad for Darboe. He had the breakout season of his life only two years ago, but has been heavily hampered by injury for the past year and a half and is only returning to training… now. So what do we do with him? He needs minutes to gain back fitness, not just for us, but him and his sharpness. I doubt Sassuolo will bite, but I think a newly promoted team or an Udinese might. Loan.
Gonzalo Villar - Yep, he’s coming back. Like Viña, Getafe is not exercising their option to buy - he never even put on the jersey! - and like Karsdorp he also rather publicly fell out with Mourinho. In this case, though, the falling out was quite a bit more justified, as Gonzalo has proven himself to be both mentally and physically frail, while being technically gifted. There is value in this player, but no team has really been willing to take a risk on him. He has spoken publicly about a willingness to prove himself to Mourinho - I’d be willing to give him that chance, if anything due to a lack of options. Keep.
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
Lorenzo Pellegrini - Do I need to discuss this one? Keep.
Paulo Dybala - Recent statements have really put the speculation to rest: Dybala appears to want to stay in Italy and in Rome specifically. Keep.
Stephan El Sharaawy - He has demonstrated a willingness to be a servant for the club, even agreeing to a pay-cut with his renewal package. Keep.
Cristian Volpato - See Tahirovic. He desperately needs the minutes his potential deserves. There has been a lot of chatter of him going off to Sassuolo and I think it makes the most sense. Sell (with Buy-Back Clause).
Ola Solbakken - Had his minutes cut drastically by the registration shenanigans due to Zaniolo transfer, but was solid in the league and has room to grow. Keep.
Justin Kluivert - Once again, Kluivert is returning to home-base. While I would like to see us make use of him, he has made it categorically clear that he doesn’t want to be here. Bournemouth are said to be interested, but I see him potentially doing quite well in France or Spain. There’s a particular club in Spain in particular who I think might bite… but more on them later. Sell.
Carles Perez - Like Kluivert, Perez is also returning from a loan (I’m seeing a pattern here), but unlike Kluivert I don’t see anything worthwhile that Perez might bring to this team. Sell.
Strikers
Tammy Abraham - Up until recently, he was the most likely in the squad to be monetized with West Ham and Aston Villa both interested. His ACL tear scuppered that plan, and is now likely to stay in Rome for one more season. I hope it’s redemption for him after a fairly poor season. Keep.
Andrea Belotti - SPEAKING OF POOR SEASONS! I cannot explain exactly what has happened to Belotti, but I’d guess that his poor form in the league is more due to a poor team form than his own. The service and creativity behind him was simply lacking, and without Abraham’s physicality to win long balls he was kind of left to his own devices, pressing defenders and midfielders as needed… which he did. His automatic contract extension was activated, however, so expect to see Andrea in Roma colors next season. Keep.
Eldor Shomurodov - This is a weird one… although this signing has been odd from the get-go. Shomurodov’s loan is likely not going to be made permanent by Spezia - especially if they get relegated - and this season he has been completely been cut out by N’zola’s heroics in front of goal. That said, Abraham’s injury means that there is a good chance Shomurodov will be playing in Roma colors next season - especially if we cannot get a striker in. Keep.

Squad Needs

To my mind - this is including the Aouar and Ndicka transfers - this team needs at least one more player per role.

1. A Goalkeeper to replace either Rui Patricio as first-choice keeper, or Svilar as second-choice keeper.
2. An additional Left-Back to replace the departing Spinazzola - preferably left-footed to provide a different kind of player to Zalewski.
3. An additional fullback as coverage for both wings (either footed).
4. A deep-lying playmaker who can give coverage for Cristante, either to rest or when he is needed as an additional defender.
5. A rotation defender who can slot in to give coverage for the injured Kumbulla.
6. A versatile attacker who can play both at striker, and as a second-striker alongside Dybala for coverage.

Targets

Let’s tackle these in order, shall we?
Goalkeeper
Emil Audero - Audero has been Serie A’s most unsung hero for a few seasons, keeping a mediocre Sampdoria side up when they clearly didn’t deserve to. Sampdoria’s financial woes can be very helpful to us, however, as we could essentially pick him up for a song (ie 6 million or less). There will likely be a bidding war for both Vicario and Carnesecchi this summer, but I’d rather go for solid and less flashy between the sticks.
Dominik Livakovic - This is a PSA: Livakovic still plays for Dinamo Zagreb… somehow. This is a world class, internationally rated goalkeeper that is entering his final year of contract. If we can beat the competition, this would be a great pickup.
Center-Backs
Kostantinos Mavropanos - With Stuttgart facing a relegation playoff, it’s possible that one of Europe’s best young(ish) center backs might be available for a significant discount. With the legacy that Dellas and Manolas have left with this club, having a Greek defender back at the club feels… right!
Diego Llorente - Played on loan with us for six months and impressed when he played. With Leeds just relegated and the player pushing to stay in Rome, it’s possible we get a good discount (there is no way we should spend 18 million on him though).
Fullbacks
Cristiano Biraghi - Biraghi is entering his final year of contract at Fiorentina and has been a solid option everywhere he has played. More defensively minded than Spinazzola or Zalewski, but still willing to run down the left and play a cross - he leads la Viola for progressive carries. Importantly, he is left-footed so he gives us a different play down the left than our two current left-backs.
Kai Wagner - If you don’t rate MLS, feel free to skip but Kai Wagner has been the one of the league’s best left-backs - former Schalke player before moving to Philadelphia and really exploding. Was set to join Leeds but their relegation changes that completely. Their loss is our gain - his contract expires in December, could be an excellent pickup.
Adrien Truffert - Had a breakout season for Rennes last season, who have an excellent eye for talent in recent years. Truffert has been marketed as being available for 15 million this summer - which is perhaps more than we’re willing to spend, but if Spinazzola is sold for a comparable fee, then this might be a solid like-for-like replacement.
Sergio Reguillón - His loan at Atletico has come to an end, and it’s looking like Reguillon is hitting the market once more. Mourinho is supposedly a big fan and they’ve worked well together before. This would likely be a loan, and only after Levy pays up for Ibanez as he’s likely to pull shenanigans. Still - this could be a great, essentially free, pickup.
Wilfried Singo - Last one on this list, Singo’s has had a great few years for Torino but has publicly come out and said he will not sign a new deal. This would be a solid alternative to Karsdorp as they play relatively similarly.
Midfielders
Youri Tielemans - This has been discussed quite a bit - Tielemans is available on a free this summer, and is pure class at deep-lying playmaker. My only concern is that he does not play as defensively as Mourinho might like, but this is still a great player and a great opportunity we should not let slip.
Florian Grillitsch - Like Tielemans, Grillitsch is available for a free this summer. Unlike Tielemans, however, Grillitsch has not had a great season after his move to Ajax this season - mainly due to injury. That said, this is a physical player who can play well with his feet - very much in the mold of a Strootman.
Nikola Moro - Moro has been an unsung, unspoken of, hero of Bologna’s season with Serie A leading stats for progressive passes, carries, and successful through balls. He is currently on loan with an option to buy from Dinamo Moscow and it seems increasingly unlikely that Bologna will use that option. We should absolutely make an offer as Moro has shown himself to be an excellent and reliable midfield option.
Davide Frattesi - Let’s try this again, shall we? This is likely going to happen this summer - with a players plus cash mega deal with Sassuolo. This is not quite the profile I outlined but would provide a dose of dynamism to a rather sluggish midfield.
Strikers
This one is complicated - because the profile I outlined doesn’t exist at our price-range. In an ideal world, we would take advantage of the absurd situation at Chelsea and pickup Kai Havertz on loan as that fits the criteria exactly - Striker and Attacking Midfielder in one (Richarlison also comes to mind). So here’s my best choices although none of them is exactly perfect for what we want.
Sheraldo Becker - One of the lynchpins of the Union Berlin cinderella story, Becker is explosive when he gets going and fits a counterattacking team perfectly. Becker is very publicly available for a cool 20mln this summer, but may be able to be negotiated down as this is last year of contract. The issue is that Becker is more a wingeattacking midfielder than a striker. He has played there in a pinch but it doesn’t play the most to his strengths.
Alfredo Morelos - Morelos has just left the Ibrox at the end of his contract looking for a bigger club, but no-one has bitten yet. He is an out-and-out goal scorer, who played as an 11 in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Here, the problem is the reverse - can he play at second striker as a Raumdeuter-type player?
Mauro Icardi - Here we are again, linked with Mauro Icardi for a price as close to “free” as is possible. Is it worth it to bring the Icardi soap opera to a powder keg like Rome? Honestly… if there’s one thing Icardi does, that Icardi always does, is score goals, something we desperately needed this past season. Again, like Morelos though, can he play alongside a number 9 as a second striker?
Last one, which I’m including purely for the banter of it but…
Mario Balotelli - WAIT stop don’t Alt-F4 this just yet. Hear me out. Mourinho is one of the few coaches to get Balotelli to act like an actual footballer, and he has a great rapport with Stephan El Sharaawy. I think these two things in combination might get one last gasp out of Italy’s last truly great talent, with the added benefit that he can play both the positions I outlined above. Sion has crashed out of the Superleague in Switzerland after losing their playoff, so Balotelli will likely leave on a free. I would go for a gamble on him with an Adriano-esque behavior clause that lets us tear up his contract for behavioral issues.
Also, for what it's worth, he's fairly good at Penalties. Which I bring up... for reasons.

Conclusion

Well... that was a long read, kudos for making it to the end. This summer looks to be another summer of transition - but there is a lot to this squad that is salvageable. After the Final, a lot of us were perfectly willing to blow up the team and start over, but that's not my take here. We were let down in that final by our squad depth - when preparing for penalties Mourinho looked at a bench that had Volpato, Tahirovic, Camara, Karsdorp and two goalkeepers - not exactly a stacked bench full of specialists. We can talk dirty play, bad refereeing, and poor penalties all day though, but what killed us at the final hurdle and indeed all season was our lack of depth. Rebuilding the squad is not a way to achieve that. I look forward to your comments and thoughts, and hope to see a good mercato!

I picked this up on sale and I have to say, I've played some bad FIFA's in my time but this one takes the cake, I don't play FUT so can't speak to that, I only play seasons and these are the results of my last five games, 6-5, 8-5, 4-3, 7-6 and 10-9...I'm in DIV1 andthe rest of the results follow the same patern, it's basically ping pong, you score, I score, you score, I score back and fourth and at the end who ever manages to score the most before the time runs out wins, players able to ride 4-5 challenges going forward, players walking through tackles, tackles deflecting back to opponents constantly, fluke goals, I mean it's chaos, there is literally no consistency what so ever.
I no FIFA has always been like this to some degree, it's always emphasized attack over defence but with 23 they've managed to somehow kill defending totally and for me it makes it just unplayable, it's just impossible to enjoy a game with that level of RNG, there is no fun in even winning anymore as games, at least close games, are all decided on who gets that little bit more luck.
It's just not a football game anymore.

The biggest club title in European football is on the line and either Manchester City or Inter Milan will be celebrating the greatest night in their recent history come Saturday night.

Man City vs Inter Milan Live Free

Man City vs Inter Milan Live Free

Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi go head-to-head in the dugout, with key battles across the pitch seeing Nicolo Barella and Kevin de Bruyne vying for midfield supremacy and goalkeeper Andre Onana attempting to keep out free-scoring Erling Haaland.
Inter’s last Champions Leagu triumph came in 2010 under the management of Jose Mourinho; City have never won the competition but came runners-up two years ago.
Both teams won their respective domestic cup competitions this term, the FA Cup and Coppa Italia, but while City also won the Premier League, Inter were only third in Serie A.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match including how to watch for free.
When is the Champions League final?
Man City play Inter Milan on Saturday 10 June. The match kicks off at 8pm BST in the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul.
How can I watch it?
The match will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, and can be streamed on the BT Sport app and desktop website. BT have also made it free for viewers to watch, on the BT Sport YouTube channel.
What is the team news?
Kyle Walker has been hampered in preparations for the final by a muscle injury, but he has vowed to be back fit and pending any late setbacks, he should be included in the squad. There are no other injury issues for Pep Guardiola to worry about.
Milan Skriniar is back in training for Inter Milan after an injury, though it’s doubtful he’ll earn a place in the starting back three, with Simone Inzaghi’s plans already set. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Joaquin Correa are both hoping to be passed fit for the final too, with the latter probably having least chance after an injury in the Coppa Italia final.
Predicted lineups
MCI - Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish, Haaland
INT - Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco, Martinez, Dzeko

The biggest club title in European football is on the line and either Manchester City or Inter Milan will be celebrating the greatest night in their recent history come Saturday night.

Man City vs Inter Milan Live Free

Man City vs Inter Milan Live Free

Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi go head-to-head in the dugout, with key battles across the pitch seeing Nicolo Barella and Kevin de Bruyne vying for midfield supremacy and goalkeeper Andre Onana attempting to keep out free-scoring Erling Haaland.
Inter’s last Champions Leagu triumph came in 2010 under the management of Jose Mourinho; City have never won the competition but came runners-up two years ago.
Both teams won their respective domestic cup competitions this term, the FA Cup and Coppa Italia, but while City also won the Premier League, Inter were only third in Serie A.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match including how to watch for free.
When is the Champions League final?
Man City play Inter Milan on Saturday 10 June. The match kicks off at 8pm BST in the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul.
How can I watch it?
The match will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, and can be streamed on the BT Sport app and desktop website. BT have also made it free for viewers to watch, on the BT Sport YouTube channel.
What is the team news?
Kyle Walker has been hampered in preparations for the final by a muscle injury, but he has vowed to be back fit and pending any late setbacks, he should be included in the squad. There are no other injury issues for Pep Guardiola to worry about.
Milan Skriniar is back in training for Inter Milan after an injury, though it’s doubtful he’ll earn a place in the starting back three, with Simone Inzaghi’s plans already set. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Joaquin Correa are both hoping to be passed fit for the final too, with the latter probably having least chance after an injury in the Coppa Italia final.
Predicted lineups
MCI - Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish, Haaland
INT - Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco, Martinez, Dzeko

Disclaimer ; This is merely my analysis on the regarding of bids and the recent posts about them, feel free to disagree and discuss in the comments :)

Barou's 100M Bid

​
This Panel is way too cold, isn't is?
So, for arguing that no one will even get close to 300M, let's first get over, or breakdown, the biggest bid till now, Barou's 100M bid after scoring a hat trick, or in other words, scoring every single goal in a NEL match for his team. First, let us go over what bids take in consideration.

1. Media

Now, this is by far the most important point, Players with big Media will have bigger salaries, that's why Nagi, even though having scored only one goal, went from 0 to 88M in a single game, his goal is canonically the most watched content from the NEL as of the start of Ubers vs BM, and not only that, but super goals, good plays and mediatic feats like scoring a hat trick are also things that have influence over this.

1. Team Wealth

Now, I believe this one is the most obvious. The wealthier the team is, the higher the bids they are offering are, that is the reason why MC players are the ones dominating the bids Ranking, for that, let us go over the total of bids every club is offering for their players.
​
https://preview.redd.it/mvswlyjmx25b1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=29c62673462186669f40408327e00cfd38301876
Yukimiya, who got an offer from this world's Ajax, has a smaller bid than Bachira's first Bid, even though Yuki competed in a higher level than Bachira did at first, that, my dear friend, is the point
​
https://preview.redd.it/kfnlnk55y25b1.png?width=1115&format=png&auto=webp&s=2960bd569148089fcfd55c9dfb0f705cfecc4df0
FC Porto (or Portimion), is the leading force in Portuguese League, and Ajax (or Ayax) the Leading force in the Holandese League. But we also have to analyse the following point.

1. Circumstance and Tactical Value

​
https://preview.redd.it/zzyc2623z25b1.png?width=1115&format=png&auto=webp&s=174adf3beb2f1c428ed4d7644bf1239a46ac2f34
Now, we come back to Barou's Bid, and this is the main point on why Barou got a bid so high, Snuffy WANTS him, is not a question of how valuable this player is, Snuffy wants to build the New ubers around Barou, that's why the main point for him is for Barou to Join ubers
​
https://preview.redd.it/hoze84uuz25b1.png?width=1115&format=png&auto=webp&s=c7a5f61c3298ecf0378803fae235ab44453f256f
Bids are not the only way of showing the club wants the player, tho, and that's why I believe Yukimiya's bid was smaller than Bachira's, because the Team finds another way of making Yuki go there, not only by money, but by interest as well, provoking Yukimiya's interest in the team by offering him treatment.

Kaiser's 300M bid

​
https://preview.redd.it/435fp6lj035b1.png?width=1115&format=png&auto=webp&s=f5ca2b3342f23a699b09c43d4cbe044bf98a15d4
Kaiser's 300M bid... Is something that sums up all of what I previously said, Kaiser is a player with a lot of media, picking up the pieces, we all know he's not only part of the New Gen 11, but also the future of German football. And over that, he's BM U-20's main star, the circumstance he' s under is not some joke, but there's also another point on that - Time. Kaiser is in this industry for a longer time, and therefore, there's no way that the NEL alone is actually going to make someone surpass or reach this value, that Kaiser built for years, and then we come to another point.

Premium Bids

Kaiser is a striker, his value for the team is bigger than anyone else's, and so it is for the system, considering Kaiser is the main man, of course his influence and value will be worth premium compared to the other players
​
https://preview.redd.it/7t8uz45q135b1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=848ac08ac2e5912d5178c0884ec77ede0c7ccbbb
​
https://preview.redd.it/n23zcywt135b1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b3d655c1aa61974ba00f8e8debdb821edabfbfc
Isagi and Ness are the main point of comparison for this topic. While Isagi and Ness are worth the same, let us get to it, Isagi and Ness are not really close in game level, and we can see that pretty clearly, but the reason their bid is the same is, not only the reasons above, but because Ness is Kaiser's Kurona, taking in comparison, Kurona's bid is half of Ness's Current bid.
So, Isagi is 'Worth Premium' compared to ness, since Isagi is a playmaker, while Ness is but a transitioner midfielder, Strikers and Playmakers tend to be worth premium compared to defenders and other types of midfielders
##Why I think no one is getting close to Kaiser's bid
Because of the points I mentioned early, and for how far the NEL has already gone. The NEL reached the peak of It's competitiveness, and Players that already recieved bids from big clubs, it makes no sense for them to receive bigger offers unless they come from biggewealthier clubs (For example, Isagi has 50.000.000, BM would not offer him more than twice of that for his final bid, but a wealthier team could offer more than that), since a team is not raising their offer for a player That much.
​

My take on bids by the end of NEL

1st - Rin Itoshi ; 175M - PXG
2nd - Isagi Yoichi ; 150m - Royal Madrid
3rd - Shoei Barou ; 130m - Ubers
4th - Seishiro Nagi ; 113m - Manshine City
5th - Meguru Bachira ; 106m - FC Barcha
6th - Mikage Reo ; 100m - Manshine City
7th - Ryusei Shidou ; 97m - Royal Madrid
8th - Hyoma Chigiri ; 90m - Manshine City
9th - Tabito Karasu ; 82m - PXG
10th - Rensuke Kunigami ; 80m - Bastard Munchem

1) She's rich. Aoi doesn't even need to turn pro financially with her around.
2) Some of the advice she's given him has been invaluable. Like the 4 options at once advice.
3) Not only is she a "football nerd", which, just by knowing trivia and general tactics already scores her major points, but she's actually decent at her technique. She once even beat the guys at rope training!
4) Hana is just really, really spoiled and bratty. Horrible, horrible person.

The region debate exists since Zippy's and Scarabs room Urban Central. Sometimes EU is unanimous on top and other times NA is... Ehm well let's say even. Lately most people agree EU is on top, which begs the question: Why?
GarretG and Noly discussed this on FT and concluded the 2 biggest reasons are EU's many different cultures and the 2s play-style. Let's talk about the second one.
The difference is pretty simple: in NA Pro's want to show they are the best where in EU pro's want to show their team is the best. This results in a very freestyle culture in NA where one tries to outplay and score 3 defenders and when he fails the next person tries. In EU teams attack as a unit which results in more demo-goals and assisted goals in offence and more half-rotations and prejumps in defence. All this is mentioned before but Noly was the first to bring in sport differences during FT. And boy is it is different.
In football/soccer you always play together. You can score the most amazing shot from distance but the only reason you got that far is because of your teammates. Every time you miss such a shot you get shouted at for choosing such a low percentage play.
American culture is all about you, how can you stand out. Look at basketball, where you get extra points from scoring from distance. there they want you to shoot from distance. They need you to score from distance. You literally get praised for taking a high-risk solo-play. Or take the NFL, the one teamsport that focuses on one man; the quarterback. Every kid wants to be a QB and in every highschool the QB is the king.
None of this is bad by itself, but is does set a precedent. If a pro just wants to look cool power too him. But if pro's want to win, they need a we-mentality. Not an I-go-solo-and-probably-fail-mentality.

Reds @ Cardinals - Fri, Jun 09

Game Status: Final - Score: 7-4 Cardinals

Links & Info

• Current conditions at Busch Stadium: 82°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 3 mph, R To L
• TV: Reds: Bally Sports Ohio, Cardinals: Bally Sports Midwest
• Radio: Reds: WLW 700, Cardinals: WIJR AM 880 (En Espanol) (es), Cardinals Radio Network, KMOX 1120 AM/98.7 FM
• MLB Gameday
• Game Graphs
• Savant Gamefeed

	Reds Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Newman - 3B	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.270	.331	.371
2	McLain - 2B	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.350	.404	.530
3	India - DH	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.275	.355	.410
4	De La Cruz - SS	4	1	1	0	0	3	2	.333	.412	.733
5	Steer - 1B	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.286	.367	.480
6	Stephenson, T - C	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	.244	.328	.357
7	Fairchild - CF	3	0	2	2	1	0	0	.234	.335	.380
8	Hopkins - RF	4	0	0	0	0	2	6	.167	.211	.167
9	Barrero - CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.223	.301	.331
	a-Benson - LF	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.192	.263	.288
	Totals	31	4	7	4	5	9	14

Reds
a-Walked for Barrero in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B: Newman (10, Montgomery); McLain (8, Montgomery); Fairchild (12, Stratton). TB: De La Cruz; Fairchild 3; McLain 2; Newman 2; Steer; Stephenson, T. RBI: Fairchild 2 (19); Newman (20); Stephenson, T (27). 2-out RBI: Fairchild. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: De La Cruz 2; Barrero; Hopkins 2. SF: Newman; Stephenson, T. Team RISP: 2-for-11. Team LOB: 7.

	Cardinals Batters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
1	Donovan - 2B	5	2	3	1	0	0	2	.251	.344	.369
2	Goldschmidt - 1B	5	0	0	0	0	2	6	.280	.378	.481
3	Gorman - DH	4	1	1	2	0	3	1	.264	.347	.543
4	Arenado - 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	.272	.319	.469
5	Contreras, Wn - C	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	.207	.295	.362
6	Edman - CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.246	.306	.417
7	DeJong - SS	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	.237	.320	.458
8	Walker - LF	4	2	3	2	0	0	0	.278	.333	.433
9	Carlson - RF	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	.225	.286	.343
	Totals	35	7	11	7	2	8	13

Cardinals

BATTING: HR: Arenado (12, 1st inning off Lively, 1 on, 2 out); Walker (4, 2nd inning off Lively, 1 on, 0 out); Gorman (15, 7th inning off Lively, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Arenado 5; Contreras, Wn; DeJong; Donovan 3; Gorman 4; Walker 6. RBI: Arenado 2 (43); Donovan (16); Gorman 2 (46); Walker 2 (14). 2-out RBI: Arenado 2; Donovan. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Goldschmidt 3. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 7.

Reds Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Lively (L, 3-4)	6.2	10	7	7	1	8	3	92-62	4.21
Kuhnel	1.1	1	0	0	1	0	0	20-10	8.10
Totals	8.0	11	7	7	2	8	3

Cardinals Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	P-S	ERA
Montgomery (W, 3-7)	6.0	3	0	0	1	6	0	97-61	3.88
Hicks, J	0.1	2	2	2	2	1	0	27-13	4.56
Pallante (H, 5)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3-2	4.37
Stratton	0.2	2	2	2	2	1	0	24-14	3.93
Gallegos (S, 8)	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	15-11	3.51
Totals	9.0	7	4	4	5	9	0

Game Info
HBP: Contreras, Wn (by Lively).
Pitches-strikes: Lively 92-62; Kuhnel 20-10; Montgomery 97-61; Hicks, J 27-13; Pallante 3-2; Stratton 24-14; Gallegos 15-11.
Groundouts-flyouts: Lively 5-3; Kuhnel 2-1; Montgomery 7-2; Hicks, J 0-0; Pallante 0-1; Stratton 0-1; Gallegos 2-1.
Batters faced: Lively 32; Kuhnel 6; Montgomery 22; Hicks, J 5; Pallante 1; Stratton 6; Gallegos 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Kuhnel 1-0; Pallante 3-1; Gallegos 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Quinn Wolcott. 1B: Junior Valentine. 2B: Adrian Johnson. 3B: Manny Gonzalez.
Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy.
Wind: 3 mph, R To L.
First pitch: 7:16 PM.
T: 2:36.
Att: 43,238.
Venue: Busch Stadium.
June 9, 2023

Inning	Scoring Play	Score
Bottom 1	Nolan Arenado homers (12) on a fly ball to left field. Brendan Donovan scores.	2-0 STL
Bottom 2	Jordan Walker homers (4) on a line drive to left center field. Paul DeJong scores.	4-0 STL
Bottom 4	Brendan Donovan singles on a line drive to left fielder Stuart Fairchild. Jordan Walker scores. Dylan Carlson to 2nd.	5-0 STL
Top 7	Stuart Fairchild singles on a line drive to left fielder Jordan Walker. Spencer Steer scores. Tyler Stephenson to 2nd.	5-1 STL
Top 7	Kevin Newman out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Tommy Edman. Tyler Stephenson scores. Stuart Fairchild to 3rd.	5-2 STL
Bottom 7	Nolan Gorman homers (15) on a fly ball to right field. Brendan Donovan scores.	7-2 STL
Top 8	Tyler Stephenson out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Tommy Edman. Matt McLain scores. Elly De La Cruz to 3rd.	7-3 STL
Top 8	Stuart Fairchild doubles (12) on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Jordan Walker. Elly De La Cruz scores. Spencer Steer to 3rd.	7-4 STL

Team	Highlight
CIN	Bullpen availability for Cincinnati, June 9 vs Cardinals (00:00:07)
STL	Bullpen availability for St. Louis, June 9 vs Reds (00:00:07)
STL	Breaking down Nolan Gorman's home run (00:00:10)
STL	Nolan Arenado's two-run HR (12) (00:00:28)
STL	Jordan Walker's two-run HR (4) (00:00:29)
CIN	Lively reps Burrow jersey (00:00:54)
STL	Brendan Donovan's RBI single (00:00:16)
STL	Paul DeJong's diving stop, throw (00:00:23)
STL	Field View of Walker's homer (00:00:32)
CIN	Stuart Fairchild's RBI single (00:00:13)
CIN	Kevin Newman's sac fly (00:00:18)
STL	Contreras nabs Benson at 2nd (00:01:10)
STL	Nolan Gorman's two-run HR (15) (00:00:28)
STL	Jordan Montgomery K's 6 batters (00:00:45)
CIN	Elly De La Cruz's single (00:00:14)
CIN	Tyler Stephenson's sac fly (00:00:17)
CIN	Stuart Fairchild's RBI double (00:00:17)
CIN	Ben Lively strikes out 8 batters (00:00:49)
STL	Gallegos locks down the save (00:00:07)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E	LOB
Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0		4	7	0	7
Cardinals	2	2	0	1	0	0	2	0			7	11	0	7

Decisions

• Winner: Jordan Montgomery (3-7, 3.88)
• Loser: Ben Lively (3-4, 4.21)
• Save: Giovanny Gallegos (8, 3.51)

Division Scoreboard

NYM 7 @ PIT 14 - Final
OAK 5 @ MIL 2 - Final
CHC 3 @ SF 2 - Bottom 8, 0 Outs
^{Last Updated: 06/10/2023 12:30:41 AM EDT}

Firstly let me say that I love this game, bugs or not. I’d be hesitant to criticize anything about it, because it’s generally satisfying to me, but nevertheless I do have some…questions? Particularly, whenever I play as the north on middle or more difficult settings especially, the confederates mount these huge offenses that capture loads of northern cities and often to the point that I either lose the 1864 election or my morale crashes even before the election. I’ve tried to defeat these AI tactics by constructing 7 or 8 forts around washington and other defenses around louisville and st louis; garrisoning them with ample troops; and recruiting or drafting as efficiently and quickly as possible. I’ve built armies with 1.5 million men at arms in many dispersed corps, but confederate forces always slip past them and capture cities far in northern territory. If they can’t get washington, they’ll go for new york and philadelphia, chicago, cleveland, any sizeable town they can.
On the one hand, there were raids such as the most famous gettysburg campaign or John Hunt Morgan’s raid around Ohio; I don’t necessarily have a problem with the AI’s instincts to take the war to northern territory. But, the AI seems to move faster than I’m able to respond, even with more troops on hand, and even if I have won more battles and scored morale boosts, the AI knows exactly what threshold it needs to win by 1864. Just becomes a game defending against a brutally efficient robot, not the decisions of flawed human beings who make mistakes of their own (as was the case at gettysburg). It is intriguing to see the confederacy win through these tactics, but it also seems like they’re on steroids. Anyone have recommended settings or strategies to defeat this? How can you be offensive while having to be super on guard for these aggressive attacks?

3.79, 157 Lsat
I took my final LSAT in Febuary and started applying to schools in the middle of March. I knew applying that late in the cycle could hurt me so I have always been willing to wait a year. I did not get accepted to as many schools as I anticipated. U Buffalo- A Penn St- A ($30k scholarship +5k aid) Tenn-W Fsu-W South Carolina- W U of F- D Ohio St- Still waiting.
UB was my uber fallback like.. only if it was my only option I would go so right now I'm considering Penn State. Thing about Penn State is It was a late addition to my list and was kind of a safety school. I was thinking I had a good shot at either Ohio St, Tennesee or SC.
I was a Sport Management major in college. I have known I was going to pursue law since High School so I went to undergrad for Spm since sports was a field I wanted to work in potentially but I'm also open to other law paths. I want to go for buisness/contract law.
Penn State is pretty much in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. Did my under grad in Tampa and really don't want to spend 3 more years stuck up north.
I can take the Lsat 1 more time. (Took it 3 times plus had 1 computer issue where I was not able to take the test but It counted as one of my 5 attempts).
I'm strongly considering studying for the September or August Lsat and trying 1 last time, apply early in October and set myself up for a better option in 2024. I wasnt able to study and work as hard as I wanted to for my first few attempts. I recently was diagnosed with Adhd and have been on meds for just over a month. I really think I can score into the mid 160s.
I'm also in a weird spot in life. My family's land lord just died and we know we will have to move soon but have no idea where to go. Very low income household so the stress of money and living situation is tough.
Is this a dumb idea or should I just go for it at Penn St and get my Jd over with. I have to have my 2nd Penn St deposit in by Monday.
Tldr: didn't do as well on lsat as I hoped. Didn't get into as many schools as I hoped. Do I go to Penn St which I'm ok with but not thrilled about or study hard and try to get into 160s for next application cylce?

Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings
I’ve got a LeFevour, and the only prescription is…you finish the sentence.
Central Michigan’s done pretty well for themselves. As an all-time program, they’ve got the 26th highest winning percentage of current Division 1 teams at .589. They’ve produced some NFL greats like probable future Hall of Famer WR Antonio Brown, Hall of Very Good OL Joe Staley, and former #1 pick OL Eric Fisher. CMU finishes 2nd out of the 3 directional Michigan schools, with Western taking the first spot and Eastern finishing last.

Best Seasons and Highlights

1. 2009: 16. Central Michigan: 12-2 (21.788) 2. 1991: 28. Central Michigan: 6-1-4 (13.709) 3. 1983: 28. Central Michigan: 8-3 (11.522) 4. 1984: 28. Central Michigan: 8-2-1 (11.291) 5. 2006: 36. Central Michigan: 10-4 (9.306) 6. 1990: 31. Central Michigan: 8-3-1 (9.158) 7. 1994: 30. Central Michigan: 9-3 (7.715) 8. 2021: 44. Central Michigan: 9-4 (3.384) 9. 1985: 37. Central Michigan: 7-3 (1.278) 10. 1988: 44. Central Michigan: 7-4 (-1.302) 11. 2020: 59. Central Michigan: 3-3 (-4.809) 12. 2008: 57. Central Michigan: 8-5 (-6.542) 13. 2005: 56. Central Michigan: 6-5 (-7.420) 14. 2017: 61. Central Michigan: 8-5 (-7.561) 15. 2015: 64. Central Michigan: 7-6 (-7.854) 16. 1987: 54. Central Michigan: 5-5-1 (-11.490) 17. 1992: 59. Central Michigan: 5-6 (-12.266) 18. 1989: 63. Central Michigan: 5-5-1 (-12.904) 19. 2014: 74. Central Michigan: 7-6 (-12.963) 20. 2007: 70. Central Michigan: 8-6 (-14.080) 21. 2019: 75. Central Michigan: 8-6 (-14.612) 22. 1998: 65. Central Michigan: 6-5 (-16.416) 23. 1993: 63. Central Michigan: 5-6 (-16.771) 24. 2012: 77. Central Michigan: 7-6 (-19.031) 25. 1986: 71. Central Michigan: 5-5 (-19.488) 26. 2016: 87. Central Michigan: 6-7 (-21.822) 27. 1996: 76. Central Michigan: 5-6 (-23.792) 28. 2013: 88. Central Michigan: 6-6 (-24.375) 29. 1995: 73. Central Michigan: 4-7 (-27.662) 30. 2022: 112. Central Michigan: 4-8 (-32.236) 31. 2004: 97. Central Michigan: 4-7 (-36.154) 32. 2010: 99. Central Michigan: 3-9 (-36.932) 33. 1999: 97. Central Michigan: 4-7 (-36.956) 34. 2002: 96. Central Michigan: 4-8 (-39.844) 35. 2011: 101. Central Michigan: 3-9 (-40.096) 36. 2001: 96. Central Michigan: 3-8 (-40.204) 37. 2003: 105. Central Michigan: 3-9 (-48.508) 38. 2000: 106. Central Michigan: 2-9 (-50.395) 39. 1997: 103. Central Michigan: 2-9 (-52.476) 40. 2018: 128. Central Michigan: 1-11 (-63.714) Overall Score: 11853 (77th) 

• 231-229-8 record
• 5 conference titles
• 4-9 bowl record
• 0 consensus All-Americans
• 22 NFL players drafted

Central Michigan is the first 40-season team with a winning record! They’ve got 19 winning seasons and 5 more .500 seasons, so football in Mount Pleasant has been pretty satisfactory. Throw in 4 more years with just one more loss than win, and you’ve got 27 out of 40 seasons that have a win percentage of .454 or better. Hard to complain. Of CMU’s 5 title-winning seasons, 1990 and 1994 barely miss the list at #6 and #7, respectively, while 2007’s 8-6 team led by Butch Jones falls all the way to #20. Gives you an indication about the level of success the Chippewas have had.

Top 5 Seasons

Worst Season: 2018 (1-11 overall, 0-8 MAC)
This season came out of nowhere. Sure, Central Michigan was picked 5th out of 6 teams in the MAC West and were starting a new QB. But they had made 4 straight bowl games. They had one media member pick them to win the MAC West. They had some pretty talented players on defense, but this season was a disaster. Their 1 win was 17-5 over Maine. They did have 7 losses by 11 points or less. The offense was 3rd worst in the country, averaging just 15.0 PPG. QBs Tony Poljan and Tommy Lazzaro combined for just 7 TD and 15 INT, with the offense averaging a whopping 4.5 yards per attempt. Poljan was a massive human at 6’7 250 lbs, and would eventually transition to TE, earning 2nd Team All-MAC in 2019 before transferring to Virginia and putting up a 400+ yard season for them in 2020. The defense was very good for such a bad offense, giving up 27.3 PPG with a conference-high 4 defensive players making 1st Team All-MAC. Of the 4, DL Mike Danna, DB Sean Murphy-Bunting, and DB Xavier Crawford were drafted, with Murphy-Bunting starting for the 2020 Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
5. 2006 (10-4 overall, 7-1 MAC)
There were some big names on this team. Brian Kelly was the coach, and he definitely earned his way to the top. After winning 2 Division II national titles at Grand Valley State from 1991-2003, he moved to Central Michigan, where he won the MAC title in 2006. After 2 opening losses to Boston College and Michigan, CMU got 2 very close wins over conference opponents Akron (24-21) and Eastern Michigan (24-17 in OT). After another 36-45 loss to Kentucky, it was time to get to work on winning a MAC chip. CMU was great the rest of the year, beating every MAC team aside from Northern Illinois by 2 or more possessions. Heading into the MAC title game, Ohio’s defense was allowing just 16.2 PPG and less than 300 yards per game, but Central Michigan went for 457 in a 31-10 win. RB Ontario Snead had a 96 yard TD run for the dagger and WR Damien Linson set a MAC title game record with 191 receiving yards. Central Michigan drubbed Middle Tennessee in the bowl as well, 31-14.
QB Dan LeFevour won MAC Freshman of the Year, throwing for 3000+ yards with 26 TD 10 INT, and running for 500+ with 7 TD. OT Joe Staley was 1st Team All-MAC, and ended up having a great career with the San Francisco 49ers. DE Dan Bazuin, the returning MAC Defensive POTY, had another 1st Team All-MAC season with 10.5 sacks, and was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL Draft along with Staley in the 1st. Staley formerly played TE, and caught 11 passes for 130 yards and 1 TD as a freshman in 2003.
4. 1984 (8-2-1 overall, 6-2-1 MAC)
Central Michigan had one of the best defenses in the country, and a solid offense to boot. A 6-0-1 start helped CMU jump out to a 4-0-1 conference record, competing with Bowling Green and Toledo for the MAC title. That set up a match with Bowling Green (5-2 overall, 4-1 MAC) for 1st place. Central Michigan dominated the day 42-21, but still had Toledo to get through. A 7-8 loss to Northern Illinois shortly after sucked, but had no impact on Central’s title hunt, and they rebounded to beat Ball State 51-7. That set up a de-facto conference title game between Central Michigan (8-1-1, 6-1-1 MAC) vs Toledo (7-1-1, 6-1-1 MAC). Despite a great CMU defensive effort, the Chippewas fell 7-14, and Toledo took the title. CMU’s season ended there, but it wasn’t without accolades. The defense was top 5 in the nation, giving up just 12.8 PPG. RB Curtis Adams earned 2nd Team All-American with 1204 rushing yards and 13 TD, while 5 other CMU players earned 1st Team All-MAC.
3. 1983 (8-3 overall, 7-2 MAC)
Just like 1984, this year’s team was in the hunt for a MAC title all year long with a top 5 defense and solid offense. 1983 was a 4-horse race between Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Toledo. After a 5-1 start, Central Michigan was right there in the hunt with a 4-0 conference record, but close losses put them out of it, losing 7-12 to Miami (OH) and 14-15 to Bowling Green. Left for dead, CMU rose up and put on their best 3 stretch of games maybe ever, beating 7-1 Northern Illinois 30-14, 6-4 Ball State 38-10, and 9-1 Toledo 34-6. NIU and Toledo were the top 2 teams in the MAC, yet Central Michigan beat them by a combined score of 64-20. If not for the 1 point loss to Bowling Green, Central Michigan would’ve been conference champions. Still, a fine year, and they finished in a 3-way tie for 2nd place with BG and Toledo. RB Curtis Adams arguably had a better year than his ‘84 season, rushing for 1431 yards and 15 TD. OG Chris McKay won team MVP. DB Jim Bowman earned 1st Team All-MAC in addition to those two, ranking 3rd in the nation with 8 picks. 3 other players for a total of 6 finished 1st Team All-MAC. Bowman was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1985 NFL Draft, and Adams went in the 8th round.
2. 1991 (6-1-4 overall, 3-1-4 MAC)
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Yes, their 4 ties tied the NCAA record for the most ties in a season. Going into week 3, CMU was 1-0-1, heading to #18 Michigan State for the Spartans’ season opener. Michigan State was coming off an 8-3-1 season in which they were Big Ten co-champions. Because of this, they were 21 point favorites over a CMU team that was coming off a conference title themselves. The game was a slow burn for MSU fans. Central Michigan took a 14-3 lead into halftime and never let up, winning 20-3. The Spartans never recovered, going 3-7 the rest of the way. For the conference slate, Central Michigan apparently loved to play it safe, going 3-1-4 for the strangest 2nd place finish you’ll ever see. Central Michigan wasn’t invited to a bowl, and can you really blame the bowl reps? Sure they only lost 1 game, but they also only won 6. Still, it was a great year. Wins included Michigan State, 6-5 Ball State, and rival 6-5 Western Michigan, with the only loss to 11-1 MAC champion Bowling Green. RB Billy Smith led the NCAA in carries, rushing 374 times for 1440 yards and just 6 TD on 3.9 YPC. This was a typical Central Michigan team for the time, ranking top 15 in PPG allowed (14.3, 12th) with a stale offense (18.6 PPG, 75th).
1. 2009 (12-2 overall, 8-0 MAC)
This was a really good team. After an opening 6-19 loss at Arizona, Central Michigan travelled to East Lansing, and just like 1991, beat Michigan State 29-27. CMU, down 20-27 with 30 seconds remaining, scored a TD and opted for 2, but QB Dan LeFevour’s pass sailed long. An onside kick and 25 second drive later, and CMU’s Andrew Aguila was kicking a 42 yard FG for the win. With 4th year starting QB Dan LeFevour and one of the best WR tandems in the country in Antonio Brown-Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan was the big bad team in the MAC, and they lived up to the hype, winning their 3rd conference title in 4 years. They ran through the MAC with a perfect 8-0 record, the only loss coming out of conference to Boston College. Wins included 56-8 over Eastern Michigan, 56-28 over Toledo, and 35-3 at Ball State. CMU beat Ohio in the title game for the 2nd time in 4 years, winning 20-10. They ended in a barn burner of a GMAC Bowl against Sun Belt champion Troy, winning 44-41 in 2OT, thanks to 200 yards and 1 kick return TD from Antonio Brown. Central Michigan finished #23, their only ever finish in the top 25.
LeFevour won MAC Offensive POTY for the 2nd time, completing 69.7% of passes for 3438 yards 28 TD 7 INT. He added another 713 yards and 15 TD on the ground, ranking 2nd in the NCAA in total TDs with 43. LeFevour completed an illustrious career, having won 3 MAC titles. LeFevour finished 1st in NCAA history for total TDs (150), and to this day is 3rd behind Case Keenum (178) and Baker Mayfield (153). In 2007, LeFevour became the 2nd player in NCAA history (1st being Vince Young) to pass for 3000 yards and rush for 1000 yards in a season. LeFevour also finished 2nd all time in total yards with 15,853, and is now 4th behind Keenum, Timmy Chang, and Landry Jones. At 6’3 230 lbs with great athleticism, LeFevour was a 6th round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Antonio Brown put together another fantastic season, finishing 4th in the nation in catches with 110 for 1198 yards and 9 TD. He also ran for another 341 yards, and was the MAC Special Teams POTY with 3 returns (1 kick 2 punt) for TDs. The 6’5 WR Bryan Anderson finished as Central Michigan’s all time leading receiver with 3648 yards, going for 784 in 2009, the lowest total of his career but still earned 2nd Team All-MAC. Brown went on to have a Hall of Fame level career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. LB Nick Bellore led the team in tackles with 132, and has gone on to have a 12 year career in the NFL as a FB/LB. Coach Butch Jones left for Cincinnati after the season, and went on to coach at Tennessee.

5th Quarter

Do you remember that 2009 team with LeFevour and AB? Who was the better Central Michigan player all-time, Brown or LeFevour? Do you think Central Michigan’s place on this list is fair? What players/plays/games do you think of when you think of Central Michigan? Why does Michigan State lose so often to CMU? They also did it in 1992.
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