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Table of Contents
The Players
Every player in KICKABOUT is rated for a number of attributes which affect his performance during matches. Each player must have a name, (though only second names are recorded), and in addition each player is given an age, performance level, favourite position, and a nationality.
Each player is also of a certain physical Category (powerful player [P], skilful player [S], power/skill player [P/S] and can be one of five types (A qualified professional, an apprentice, a schoolboy, a future star, or a Star). These details along with the player’s contractual details, match appearances, goals, and other statistics are held on our computer system that does all the processing and updating of your team’s details. There are other factors a player might have too, such as his skills at man-marking opponents, and any unusual abilities he has for learning quickly, or even for being an injury-prone bloke who occasionally loses some of his ability through the odd knock or two. Let’s now take a look at each of these attributes in greater detail.
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Rising [r] and Fading [f] Stars
There are players that are not “Stars” in the above sense of the word but people who operate differently from normal players in the game. For simplicity’s sake, these players are known as “rising” and “fading” stars. What makes these players different from all other players in the game is the way that they gain or lose experience from playing matches. A Rising star is a player designated as a fast learner, a player who will improve quickly from just playing in matches, whether he is coached or not. The rate of this Rising ability varies, and with each year that he plays in your team his rate of Rising will decrease, until he becomes just another normal player.
A Fading star is a tricky player to handle, as he is the sort of player who seems constantly picking up little knocks or suffering personal problems that affects his form. These players do not gain experience with each match, but actually LOSE it at a varying rate. As with rising stars, there are a number of degrees of fading star, but they get worse with every season until they reach a level where that lose an enormous amount of experience with every game played. Once that reach this level, they stay there until disposed of by the manager in some way, normally being pensioned off to the non-league.
It’s worth remembering that experience does not effects base level 12 players in ANY manner at all, so a level 12 Fading Non Star will not lose levels during the course of play.
Both of these players are flagged as being special on your squad sheet by the addition of an “[r]” indicator for Rising stars and a “[f]” for fading ones. Note that each season risers + faders get worse; eventually a riser will lose his Riser status entirely, while a fader will stick at the worse possible level of fading forever.
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Apprentices
As in real football your club may take on apprentices to develop into replacements for your existing players in the future, rather than trying to buy replacements on the transfer market. Such players can be `discovered’ at any time as long as you do not have more than five AGE 18 LEVEL 0 APPRENTICES on your books at that time. This is done by selecting him for a match by writing a `D’ in the number box, against the name you chose for him, on your team sheet (don’t forget his nationality). To see how to discover APP’s and SBY’s correctly, take a look at `Filling in your Turn sheet’, towards the rear of this book. Apprentices must be used sparingly however, as during a season there is a limit to how many can be discovered, which presently stands at eight. After that the computer will disallow any further discoveries until the following season, so think carefully about it!
An APP must play his first six `qualifying’ games in the same position that he was discovered in, playing at performance level 0 for these matches. After their six game qualification period APP’s then become a level 2 normal player in that position, the first step on the ladder to regular first team status.
(NB Friendlies grant 1 qualifying game towards this six game target, competitive games grant 1.5 games as the APP learn more quickly in a competitive game setting).
After qualification, and ONLY after qualification, an APP can have his performance level raised through normal coaching methods. As he is young and very keen, the APP can have his level raised by two points each session. The costs in SP’s are the same as for any other player in his position (i.e. an APP GK needs 2 SP’s to raise his level by one point, so raising his performance level by two costs FOUR SP’s). If you have any unqualified APP’s on your books at the end of the season they will be lost (presumed as being not quite talented enough to make the grade) and you will have to discover new APP’s the following season. This means that there can never be a 19 year old APP in the game, for once the season ends, all recently qualified APP’s become normal players, while unqualified APP’s are sent home to get `a proper job’!
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Surprise Discoveries
An AGE 18 APP who becomes qualified might be an outstanding prospect for the future and there is a slim chance that he might become something other than just a normal level 2 player. Any qualifying APP might turn into a FUTURE STAR [FUT], or failing this, could show the traits of one of the much valued specialist players. A qualifying DF APP could possibly turn into a DF/A, a FW APP can become a WG or FWS, or if you are very lucky, a MF APP could show all the hallmarks of growing into the sought-after MF/D, MF/A or MF/A/D players.
We suggest that you do not start to plan your strategies around this sort of thing though, as these discoveries are VERY RARE, and Managers who chose to not think about such things are much less likely to be disappointed!
It is always a good idea to keep one of your season’s eight APPS unqualified right until the end of the season, just in case a crucial player is injured, like a GK, and you have no reserve. If you do keep this player in reserve then you can at least discover an APP GK, which is better than playing with no GK. Of course, it is best to have an adequate reserve GK in your squad, but this isn’t always possible or practical. Also, at the end of the season there is a chance of “producing” an MF/G player from one of your UT’s or MF players
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Future Stars
When an APP qualifies he has a chance of becoming a Future Star. Future stars (FUT) are, as their name suggests, bright prospects for the future and are more talented than the normal APP, possessing an ability to learn more quickly, and shape their skills towards a first-team appearance in a far shorter time.
As such they only need half the normal SP’s to raise their performance level by one. (i.e. It costs 1 success point to raise a future star GK or SW by one level, outfield areas cost half a success point per level) making them very valuable. Note that in all other respects future stars are the same as Apprentices (i.e. their performance level can be raised two levels per session, etc). At the end of the season a FUT will age and become a normal Age 19 player - he WILL NOT become a STAR.
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Schoolboys
A club may only have one unqualified (LEVEL 0) schoolboy (SBY) on their books at any one time and to discover one just follow the procedure described above for discovering APP’s. Remember to give him a nationality and tell us that you want him to be a SBY (We will always assume that a newly discovered player is an APP unless told otherwise).
A SBY is regarded as an outstanding young prospect, but one that must be nurtured and given time to mature, therefore he must play 10 qualifying games in his chosen position before he qualifies and becomes a LEVEL 2 player. Once he has qualified he then has the advantage of being able to have his performance level raised by three points per session, and each level only costs half the normal amount in the same manner as for Future Stars.
Therefore, a qualified SBY is a very lucrative asset, and one that everybody will be after. Whilst they are qualifying however, a SBY may only play in one game per session and no more. This means that qualifying a SBY is a long process but SBY’s DO NOT have to qualify in the same season that they are discovered like APP’s and can stay on your books for more than one season. A schoolboy will, however, retire from the game if he ages to 19 without becoming a qualified level 2 player. Another advantage about having a SBY is that on qualification certain really outstanding ones may turn into a UT player, which makes them even more valuable as an asset to your club.
Remember that you cannot have more than one level 0 SBY on your books at any time, and an unqualified SBY cannot be traded (this also applies to unqualified APP’s). Also note that you cannot discover a new SBY in the same session that your last one qualified, but are forced to wait until the following session to look for a new, promising schoolboy.
In general, it is probably better for your SBY to qualify earlier than later in a season, as it allows you more time to coach him as you wish, rather than rushing ahead and possibly neglecting other players who could use the SP’s equally as well. If a SBY is nearing qualification a couple of sessions before the end of a season then as long as he is still 17 years old, hold him back until the beginning of the next season before you qualify him. Qualifying a SBY at the end of a season, for example, is a complete waste of a valuable resource.
Once qualified, SBY’s, as APP’s, become normal players in the following season, and lose all benefits connected with the SBY status. However, always bear in mind that if a SBY is not qualified by the end of a season in which he is already 18 years old, he will be treated in the same manner as an unqualified APP, and stricken from your books (there is no such thing as a 19 year old SBY!).
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Competitive Match Effects
The qualifying period for APP’s and SBY’s can be reduced somewhat if they play in competitive rather than friendly matches. Playing in truly competitive games counts 1.5 games played towards qualification, unlike friendly games which only count as one game played. This reflects the more competitive nature of League and Cup games and that they are more of a learning process for your players.
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Experience
Three other factors have an effect your squad’s performance levels. The first is experience. For every game that a player participates in, of a competitive nature, he will gain an experience bonus (This excludes UNQUALIFIED SBY’s and APP’s, and Level 12 players who are NOT stars).
After a number of games worth of experience, his performance level will eventually increase by one level. Obviously the more games a player participates in the more will his experience rise, and the chance that a player’s performance level may rise could be a factor in keeping an ageing player in a team longer than you normally would. As a rule, younger players who are still learning the basics, and older players who have seen it all before, will gain the least experience from any match, while slower developing, mature players in their prime will benefit the most. It is this factor that might be the one determining how long you keep hold of your ageing club captain!
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Man of the Match
Every game you play will generate a rating out of ten for the players involved, which represents their contributions to that particular game. These will normally be in the range of about four to eight, but may rise to the glorious nine’s and ten’s, or plummet to the two’s and three’s if the efforts are particularly bad or good. The player rated as your sides ‘Man of the Match’, the player with the highest rating out of ten, will gain an additional experience boost. Though you only get to see the final ratings scores for each player, there is an invisible part of that figure you cannot see, so there is always a reason why one player get’s rated as your Man of the Match when his rating is only as high as that of one or two of his team mates.
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Category Changes
Though a player’s category will almost never change, and a Power player will remain a tough, physical player throughout his entire career, it is possible to coach a player in parts of the game he might be lacking. In doing this, you are basically giving the skilful players a new diet and training to build up their stamina, while preparing special exercises to improve the touch and flair of the less delicate players.
Eventually, after enough training, the player will gain the coveted Power/Skill [P/S] status. To do this you must expend SP’s on P/S Training, which will not have any immediate benefits as regards skill levels, but will begin to increase his P/S training level. Once this level reaches 100%, he will become a P/S player, and will compete as such in his next game. The expenditure required for this will be around 10 SP’s or so for a 18-2 APP outfield player, with higher-level, older players taking a little more effort, considerably so for specialist multi-purpose players. It might prove very difficult to shape a very young or very old player, while a mature player is more likely to respond more quickly to the training. As this training is done over a period of time, it cannot be combined with other sorts of qualification, such as playing a player Out-Of-Position.
A player can be EITHER qualifying as a UT [playing OOP in games], or being P/S trained, not both. Once P/S training begins, all Out of Position [OOP] qualification games are set to zero and no further OOP qualification can be undertaken. If it is, and a player is played OOP once more, he will lose all benefits from his P/S training, and in the future such training will begin again at zero as you can only do one or the other to the same player each session, NOT BOTH!
P/S coaching can be done in units of one or two SP’s per player, per turn. Any player can benefit from it, other than players who are already P/S category, unqualified players, or Goalkeepers. Please ensure that it is clear whether you are using SP’s to coach performance levels, or whether they are to be applied to P/S training.
Note; P/S training, unlike OOP qualification, can be carried over from one season to the next.
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Ageing
At season’s end the third factor that affects a player’s performance level comes into play, age! Ageing is the process that will affect the starting performance level of all players for the next season. Players age as shown in the table below. At the age of 32 there is a chance that a player may retire at the end of a season though it won’t be until he becomes 35 or more that this becomes a serious likelihood, with many older players continuing playing well into their thirties; just keep the matter in mind for your older players, especially your club captains.
However, the loss of skill levels from an older player after ageing might well make it less attractive to keep him on the books. If a player’s skill falls below 1 after ageing then he automatically retires. There are advantages and disadvantages to having older players in your team. For a start, once a set age is reached older players tend to tire more easily than younger players when it comes to the Cup matches and extra time. However, older players use their heads more than their legs and between the ages of 23 and 28 their experience earned increases more quickly than does it for younger players, so it’s really a case of swings and roundabouts!
There are a few special cases of player’s performance levels not reducing as much as they should due to ageing. This comes from being the season’s highest goal scorer in the division, being the eldest defender/sweeper playing in the defence that concedes the least goals in each Division, or from being a STAR PLAYER. Also, at the end of the season, one of your players will be automatically rejuvenated at random (i.e. he ages but loses no performance levels). This will generally be one of the older players in your squad, but with random elements being what they are, there is no certain way of calculating who this might hit. The computer does check your oldest players first. SBY’s and STARS are exempt from losing levels through ageing.
Also, remember rejuvenation comes before retirement in the end of season ageing routine, so BOTH can happen to the same player. Also, when trying to calculate exactly what the effects of ageing will be on a player, you will generally find that they will fall between two performance levels after deductions. This is where experience comes into play once more, as the fractional gains they have made throughout the season will be what determine whether `half-levels’ are rounded upwards or downwards.
Basically, if an older player has played a good few games during the season, and has not benefitted from an experience gain, then he is more likely to have his post-ageing levels rounded up rather than down.
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Club Captain
Each team will have a Club Captain whose job is to lead and inspire his fellow players. A Captain allows the manager to assign extra levels to his team, to simulate the motivation that such a player provides. These levels depend upon the Captain’s age and the number of games he has actually played in as Captain. So, an Age 27 captain who has played 179 games as captain would gain an extra 7 levels to distribute across your outfield areas. On your squad sheet will be the number of bonus levels available to your team if your captain is selected to play in any games that session. If your captain is not selected to play in a game for any reason then you will have no bonus levels to assign. To choose a new captain, fill in the relevant box on your turn sheet.
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Transferred Captains
When a Captain is transferred between clubs, he will take a percentage of his Captains Games with him, dependent upon his age. This is presently marked at 2% per year x age, which means a 20 year-old will take a maximum of 40% of his Games with him, while a 33 year-old will carry 66% of them. Though this is not much of a disparity between the younger and older players, you will usually find that not many 20 year-olds have many games under their belts, while the aged Captains may have played upwards of two hundred games, and therefore gain a far greater benefit. A newly acquired Captain must be designated as such on your next set of orders; otherwise he will not play as such.
Note that if a Captain is placed in the Auction but remains unsold, he will lose some of his influence on returning to the team in exactly the same manner, due in some part to his disillusionment at being offered up for sale!
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Loss of Captain's Influence
If your Captain is sent off during a game, then some of the influence he had on your side will also be lost, depending upon when he was actually dismissed. His levels are taken from the team from all areas, but from your attack first then midfield, and then your defence, in as equal measures as is possible.
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Playing Out of Position (OOP)
Occasionally a manager may wish, or be forced, to play a player out of his normal position. When doing this, a player does not perform at his usual level of efficiency, due to the strangeness of playing in an unaccustomed role. For that game only, the player will be rated as only half his normal performance level, rounded upwards, when calculating the skill totals per area. For example, if a Level 11 Defender is played in a midfield role, then he will be rated as a Level 6 player for that game (being reduced to a 5.5, and then rounded upwards).
For every match that a player is played beyond his normal position, he gains experience in his new role, to the value of 1 qualifying game for a competitive match, and 0.5 for a friendly game. If a player gains ten qualifying points from playing out of position (OOP) during any one season then he will be able to play OOP in all future games without any loss of levels. This turns him into a Utility player (UT) and thus worth significantly more to his team and his manager. The only restrictions on a player playing out of position are as follows:-
- A player playing as a GK or SW must always be a GK or SW.
- A GK cannot play in an outfield position
- Unqualified APPs and SBY’s cannot play OOP
- A SW may play in DF without losing any levels. Playing him there is not considered as Out-of-Position with respect to qualifying as a UTILITY. If he plays in MF or FW then he starts to qualify as a UT.
Note: that an unqualified SBY or APP Sweeper cannot, under any circumstances, play in defence until he is qualified. He must play all his qualifying games in the SW role.
A UT player can play in any outfield position (DF/MF/FW) without losing any performance levels. His position should be recorded as the outfield area he is playing in, not written as `UT’.
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