Media And Now For Something Completely Different

[Barrybran]

With the expansion vote due next Monday, we are seemingly no closer to understanding how Sweet FA might look beyond season 33. The entry of a thirteenth team into the competition throws up the likelihood of including byes in the fixture for next season, an idea that is unpalatable to some around the league. An alternative option put forward sees teams playing double headers, either as a three-team match thread or a team being involved in two separate match threads in one week. This idea, too, has been deemed unfavourable. A 13-team competition would also likely see the season shortened or extended, with views being split each way.

The current Sweet FA season structure sees all current teams play each other three times over the course of two seasons within one calendar year. One season will see 16 games played plus finals while the other season will contain 17 games plus finals. This is not feasible with a 13-team competition. Future admin candidates have been asked to put forward their proposals for how the fixture would look. Current league admin, NaturalDisaster, has seemingly swept the matter under the rug. Some teams have even expressed an unwillingness to vote in favour of expansion until this matter has been resolved.

But what if there was another option?

While double headers are not everyone’s cup of tea, there are teams and posters who would be open to the suggestion. With a 13-team competition, one team would be required to sit on the sidelines and watch each week. Unless they had a team to post against.

The Sweet FA All Stars​

Currently, season 34 is slated to consist of 17 rounds. I am proposing the addition of an unofficial 14th team consisting of interested players from across the league that will play an exhibition game against the bye team each week. Interested players will participate in their club’s regular match thread as well as an exhibition match thread in the same week. I believe there will be sufficient interest to fill at least 20 places on this team.

The season would see all Sweet FA clubs play 16 official games and at least one exhibition match. Two teams would be required to play one double header each. Those same two teams would be required to play the exhibition team twice (a total of 18 games; 16 official + two exhibition). The exhibition team would play a total of 15 games. This would see seven games played each week – six official games and one exhibition game for 15 rounds and seven official games for two rounds.

Finals would remain as normal.

I believe this solution resolves all of the major issues presented by clubs:

• There would be no byes
• Only two teams would be required to play a double header – I believe two clubs would put their hand up for this
• The exhibition team presents an opportunity for additional engagement. Interested players can participate in multiple match threads each week.
• The exhibition team would not be subject to the same squad submission rules and can be rotated to accommodate all interested players if more than 20 people express interest.
• The scheduled season length remains the same while teams lose one official game each
• Finals remain untouched

Proposed S34 Fixture​

ROUND

team1

team2

team3

team4

team5

team6

team7

team8

team9

team10

team11

team12

team13

EXH

1​

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

EXH

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team8

2​

team3

EXH

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team2

3​

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

EXH

team8

team7

team6

team5

team9

4​

team5

team4

EXH

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team3

5​

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

EXH

team9

team8

team7

team10

6​

team7

team6

team5

EXH

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team4

7​

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

EXH

team10

team9

team11

8​

team9

team8

team7

team6

EXH

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team5

9​

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

EXH

team11

team12

10​

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

EXH

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team6

11​

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

EXH

team13

12​

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

EXH

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

team7

13​

EXH

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team2

team1

14​

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

EXH

team7

team6

team5

team4

team3

team8

15​

team3

EXH

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team5

team4

team2

16​

team4

team3

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team2

team8

team7

team6

team5

team9

17​

team5

team4

team8

team2

team1

team13

team12

team11

team10

team9

team8

team7

team6

team3

TOT

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

16​

 

[Headless]

 

[Jabba73]

Do stats count when playing the exhibition team?

 

[Barrybran]

Do stats count when playing the exhibition team?

Not for an exhibition game. The extra game would merely be an outlet for the bye team and those inclined to participate in an additional match thread.

 

[serial_thrilla]

So complicated. Just accept the byes.

 

[Jabba73]

Not for an exhibition game. The extra game would merely be an outlet for the bye team and those inclined to participate in an additional match thread.

Would be the one game the Bombers have a field day then …

 

[Barrybran]

Would be the one game the Bombers have a field day then …

I know that feeling

 

[Cadsky]

Nice out of the box thinking. How do you propose the exhibition team is entered into the Sim to prevent double ups?

 

[Jabba73]

Nice out of the box thinking. How do you propose the exhibition team is entered into the Sim to prevent double ups?

Player 1, Player 2 and so on. Match it to a list provided at the start of the game

 

[Dingster]

Nice out of the box thinking. How do you propose the exhibition team is entered into the Sim to prevent double ups?

You could put a . before the All SFA player name I guess.

 

[Barrybran]

Nice out of the box thinking. How do you propose the exhibition team is entered into the Sim to prevent double ups?

Player 1, Player 2 and so on. Match it to a list provided at the start of the game

You could put a . before the All SFA player name I guess.

The current sim can still be run with duplicates but being an exhibition side Jabba's and Ding's suggestions will work as well

 

[Chipmunk]

Didn’t GremioPower propose this last season?

 

[Barrybran]

Didn’t GremioPower propose this last season?

Got a link to his fixture proposal?

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Good idea. The spare team could also be used for unlisted people curious to see themselves in a game before committing to a team.

 

[Callums_Guns]

Make it happen, there's plenty of time and you have the squad already

 

[Senor M]

Who do you anticipate will be responsible for "managing" this unofficial 14th team?

It would need someone to arrange the team lists and to promote posting engagement, etc.

 

[Barrybran]

Who do you anticipate will be responsible for "managing" this unofficial 14th team?

It would need someone to arrange the team lists and to promote posting engagement, etc.

Someone from the pool of interested players. Again, not something I expect will be a problem.

 

[Senor M]

Someone from the pool of interested players. Again, not something I expect will be a problem.

Then how is it any different than accepting an average expansion bid from a 14th team, other than it leads to the same Top 20 posters contributing more rather than spreading the wealth of valued posters across a 14th team?

 

[Barrybran]

Then how is it any different than accepting an average expansion bid from a 14th team, other than it leads to the same Top 20 posters contributing more rather than spreading the wealth of valued posters across a 14th team?

I'll treat this as a serious question. An exhibition team will be made up of existing Sweet FA players who would like to participate in an extra match thread. Pitch the idea of 'spreding valued posters' to an additional expansion team and see responses you get.

This idea is NOT a permanent solution and is not intended to be one.

 

[Senor M]

I'll treat this as a serious question. An exhibition team will be made up of existing Sweet FA players who would like to participate in an extra match thread. Pitch the idea of 'spreding valued posters' to an additional expansion team and see responses you get.

This idea is NOT a permanent solution and is not intended to be one.

I'd prefer to see a 14th unique side (even if it's not as strong as the OOB) than see an "Exhibition team" of rotating posters who are treating it with little respect because it's their second priority.

What 20 posters will you find in the league that could contribute to a second match thread, without their current team being impacted from quality output?

IMO when the OOB vote goes through next week-- a progressively thinking admin should be calling for applications for a 14th team. That should be the first aim forward rather than getting the same posters to post in two separate match threads.

 

[Barrybran]

I'd prefer to see a 14th unique side (even if it's not as strong as the OOB) than see an "Exhibition team" of rotating posters who are treating it with little respect because it's their second priority.

What 20 posters will you find in the league that could contribute to a second match thread, without their current team being impacted from quality output?

IMO when the OOB vote goes through next week-- a progressively thinking admin should put applications in for a 14th team. That should be the first aim forward rather than getting the same posters to post in two separate match threads.

I would prefer to see a proper 14th team as well however the appetite for that option appears to be limited right now. I am confident that an interim team of active posters would provide a unique experience for all involved however as The Filth Wizard said, we should be looking at a 12- or 14- team competition in season 35 as a non-negotiable.

As for finding posters to fill an exhibition team, that process would voluntary however I would expect MORE than 20 people to be interested in participating in an extra match thread each week without significantly impacting their contributions for their listed clubs

 

[Senor M]

As for finding posters to fill an exhibition team, that process would voluntary however I would expect MORE than 20 people to be interested in participating in an extra match thread each week without significantly impacting their contributions for their listed clubs

If it was a once off match I'd agree with you, posters can spread themselves for one week. However, expecting 20+ posters to contribute to 2 match threads for an entire season without significantly impacting their listed clubs is unrealistic. We already see drop offs from posters as the season progresses from burn out, before asking some of the leagues best contributors to effectively double their output.

We then also see a potential problem regarding Beez voting. Do the "exhibition team" posters only get considered for their effort for their listed team or across the entire league? If it's across the entire league, do they then get a significant advantage of being more visible in the league and posting weekly alongside potentially a third of the Beez voters? That's a massive advantage and will skew Beez votes.

 

[Tigerturbulance]

I would prefer to see a proper 14th team as well however the appetite for that option appears to be limited right now. I am confident that an interim team of active posters would provide a unique experience for all involved however as The Filth Wizard said, we should be looking at a 12- or 14- team competition in season 35 as a non-negotiable.

As for finding posters to fill an exhibition team, that process would voluntary however I would expect MORE than 20 people to be interested in participating in an extra match thread each week without significantly impacting their contributions for their listed clubs

I believe once the OOB expansion bid is supported and approved the 14th team will be more likely to occur because anyone setting up knows they will have a good run at being accepted just to remove the bye (obviously the bid still needs to be solid and meet requirements).

I do like Baz that you are thinking outside the box, the stuff the Sweet F.A. should thrive on

 

[Barrybran]

If it was a once off match I'd agree with you, posters can spread themselves for one week. However, expecting 20+ posters to contribute to 2 match threads for an entire season without significantly impacting their listed clubs is unrealistic. We already see drop offs from posters as the season progresses from burn out, before asking some of the leagues best contributors to effectively double their output.

We then also see a potential problem regarding Beez voting. Do the "exhibition team" posters only get considered for their effort for their listed team or across the entire league? If it's across the entire league, do they then get a significant advantage of being more visible in the league and posting weekly alongside potentially a third of the Beez voters? That's a massive advantage and will skew Beez votes.

That's not a potential problem. Should your posts here be disregarded? Should a poster posting in another match thread be disregarded?

The beez Trophy is a posting award. It is NOT limited to posting in your own match thread. This interested in beez votes will likely sign up to participate in such a venture.

 

[Senor M]

That's not a potential problem. Should your posts here be disregarded? Should a poster posting in another match thread be disregarded?

The beez Trophy is a posting award. It is NOT limited to posting in your own match thread. This interested in beez votes will likely sign up to participate in such a venture.

Thank-you for completely disregarding my valid point and talking down to me.

Why is the Beez voted upon by 5 posters from each club rather than the Top 50-60 contributors in the league? Because votes from each club provide a fair representation of the entire league. That equal representation no longer exists if some posters could vote for "Exhibition" team mates because they've spent as much time bantering alongside them as they do their own team mates.

Your idea is flawed and I think you should consider critique on it rather than just shutting it down because you don't value my opposing view.

If this is an indication on how you'll act as the next admin, I hope one of the other candidates win.