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--- overview:start [2020/04/25 17:28] – [Playing KickAbout] stripeyjoe
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-===== Playing KickAbout =====
-A KICKABOUT season lasts 16 league sessions (in some PBM games these are called turns, and the words
-should be regarded as synonymous with one another) and the close season session when ageing of your
-squad occurs. Each session your Club will play a number of matches, usually two, sometimes three, and
-on rare occasions, four. Each session you submit a team selection sheet on which you will select your
-team for all the matches to be played during that session. You also make various other tactical and
-financial decisions regarding your Club at this time.
-When we receive them at this end, your orders are fed into our computers, which then play the matches
-and produce the results. These are returned to you in your team sheets and the League Newsletter,
-which also contains league tables, match reports, news, a press column for managers to contact each
-other, transfer details, cup draws, rules updates, and so on.
-The newsletter is the hub around which the game revolves, and is open to player contributions as well .
-Professionally published and written in lively style, the newsletter is usually at least twelve pages in
-length, often sixteen or more, and many players feel it is worth the price of the game on its own!
-----
-==== The League ====
-When you join KICKABOUT you will either be managing a brand new team in a new League or, more
-likely, taking over the management of an existing one. In the former case you will be randomly placed in
-one of the four divisions created for the new league and, at the end of the season, the top three teams
-from each division will form Division One for the following season, the second three teams forming
-Division Two and so on.
-If you join an existing League you will either takeover an existing team, or you may have the opportunity
-to start with a new team at season’s end in a lower division (where you can build up your strength free
-from the power of that League’s leading teams).
-In an existing league each twelve-man division will operate a three-up, three-down system of promotion
-and relegation at season’s end. Goal difference will separate clubs on the same number of points, while
-if this fails to separate them, then the team that scores the most goals will be placed higher. At the
-beginning of the season you will be provided with a complete fixture list of all your League matches for
-the coming season so you know who you are playing in the league in each session and can make
-your team selections accordingly. Also, details of all the other teams, plus their manager’s contact
-addresses are provided along with your fixture list, so that you can make deals and arrange friendlies
-etc.
-----
-==== The Competitions ====
-There are many competitions within a KICKABOUT season besides the League Championship itself, and it
-is often these competitions that keep a season alive for a team struggling to maintain the league form
-needed to win Division Championships.
-With the knock-out competitions, such as the Cup [and the Bowl for those are KO’d at the 1st round of
-the Cup], the games works as a straight one-leg competition, with a replay being played if the first
-match ends in a draw after ninety minutes. This replay will be on the opponent’s turf, and will go to
-extra time, and a penalty shoot-out if necessary.
-The third knockout competition played within a league is the Trophy, which runs in the second half of
-the season and encompasses all the Third and Fourth Division clubs and the bottom eight in Division
-Two. The Trophy is different in that there are no replays. The games, if drawn, go into extra time and, if
-required, a penalty shootout.
-The longest running knockout competition inside every League is the League Cup. The first round
-consists of the 32 lowest-placed teams in the league from last season, who will play each other on a
-two-leg basis, the winners going through to meet the remaining 16 teams for round two [ the12 sides
-from Division 1 and the top 4 in Division 2 ] . These will be played as two-legs also, as will round three
-and the Quarter-Finals. Both the Semi-finals and Final are straight one-leg games and will be played on
-Neutral grounds with the games going to a replay and extra time if drawn, again held on neutral
-grounds. Note that Email and premier leagues might well have differing League Cup set-ups.
-You must check your Pre-Season Info booklet for the session times of all these competitions, and your
-league schedule. If you have more than two scheduled matches on any one session, you will be unable
-to arrange any friendly games (see later) for that same session, and you do not want to miss putting a
-team out for a vital cup game.
-During the season there will also be REPRESENTATIVE games between sides chosen from the best
-players in each Kickabout League. Players chosen for the Representative Squad will earn their clubs a
-£50,000 (50K) bonus, each and every time they are chosen for the squad. The Representative squad
-manager will usually be the Manager voted Manager of the Year from the previous season for each
-league. The League that wins the ‘REP’ competition gives all its players a higher chance of turning STAR
-the following season, and existing STARS may even start the new season still a STAR, so winning the REP
-competition is a big, big bonus to have.
-----
-==== Cross-League Matches ====
-As every league of KICKABOUT, plays its season in parallel with all the other leagues, the management of
-Euro games is somewhat different to others. Your normal matches are played on the session you send in
-your orders, and you can see their results in the newsletter for that session. However, Cross-League
-games differ from this in that the competitions that feature teams from every league cannot be played
-until the data for each of those leagues has been entered. Consequently, for matches where your
-opposition is from another league, you will have to wait until the following session before you learn of
-the results. The matches are played at the very end of the session for ALL leagues, so the results of the
-game will be applied to your squad sheets BEFORE your next set of matches are entered. This means
-that any suspensions, injuries and/or SP’s you gain will already have been added to your squad, and
-though the SP’s will be carried over until NEXT session, the unavailable players will still count as being so
-for the current one. This is why you may find you need to rely on your substitutes, as players you pick
-thinking that they are eligible for the game, may not be. If the result of a cross-league game is of specific
-importance to you, then you may prefer to call us and find out the result before submitting your team
-for the next session.
-----
-==== International Matches ====
-INTERNATIONAL matches also take place, and International managers are generally selected by the GM,
-based on individual success, club player nationalities and other factors. All players of the selected
-nationalities have a chance of playing for their country during the International tournaments, based on
-their current ability and form. Players selected for this International squad all gain their clubs a 25K
-bonus EACH TIME that they are chosen for the international squad.
-Managers who control an International side can also gain benefits for their own club too, in the form of
-financial rewards for success and a prize of 1 Motivation Point for each time they win a match + 100K if
-this is against higher rated opposition. Only by beating the best do you get rewards. International
-managers also receive a free SUPERSCOUT for their club side on the basis that they know more about
-the players in any particular league through their International scouts. Each Representative and
-International team is allocated 20 MPs and 2 PPs which can be used up during the season. The maximum
-aggression that can be played in any match is four points (see later). The player who manages the
-winner s/ runners-up and beaten semi-finalists of the international competitions will win a cash prize for
-his club as well.
-----
-==== International and Rep Squad Selection ====
-The squad selection process is controlled by the computer, which will produce a 22 man squad for the
-managers concerned to select from. Generally it selects the best players in each League, though some
-specialist players might be conspicuous by their absence at times. The managers concerned then have to
-select the team in exactly the same way as they would for normal club match.
-Selected, experienced managers, will be invited to manage International and Rep squads
-----
-==== Friendly Matches ====
-Finally, after all the hurly-burly of the important games and matches, we reach the relatively low-key,
-though crucial Friendly games. Clubs who have no second or third match in any session may play a
-friendly (one per session only). This has to be arranged by yourself (the Yahoo forums are a good place to oranise these), and will be against a team from your League.
-If you are lucky there will be a player-run friendly pool in your league (see the appropriate league's startup
-newsletter for news of this!)
-Friendlies are vital for youth development and are exactly the same in all respects as competitive
-matches. There is no aggression allowed in a friendly match, though the computer will apply a random
-aggression with the consequent results. This random aggression is generated with its base in the
-number of disciplinary points each side has generated during the season; when two notoriously dirty
-teams meet in a friendly game, you can bet that it will be anything but!
-Winners of friendly games receive 10K, though no success points.
-Note that you can only play friendlies against the same opponent twice per season, once at home and
-once away; there are NO neutral ground friendlies.
-Friendlies are **EXTREMELY** important for bringing on young players, but tend to be treated in a
-somewhat cavalier fashion by many managers. If somebody contacts you to play a game, make sure you
-turn up and at the right venue as well! Otherwise the game won’t be played. Also, always check that a
-prior commitment doesn’t prevent your opponent from playing (a Cup replay perhaps). Friendly slots
-are too valuable to lose, but it often happens.
-Also, when arranging frieldlies remember that if you play your derby opponent in a friendly then it will still be a derby game, and this is the ONLY case in which you are allowed to select aggression for the match; four points is the minimum AND maximum in this case. You **must** apply this minimum yourself or it will be doubled by the computer.