As season 4 came to an end, I had printed off the season-ending rosters of the top 8 teams in Zeta so I could track their movements in the offseason. It has been eye-opening to see the differences in philosophy:
#1 Rome Poison
On paper, Zeta is a one-team conference this year, with Rome asserting themselves as the New York Yankees of WEA6 by giving out THIRTEEN salaries of $200,000 or more!! And another SIX between $180-200k! I don't believe there is a single other player in Zeta with a salary of $180k+ (but admittedly I did not check all rosters).
Rome signed TWENTY new players of level 24 or greater! Hell I doubt the rest of Zeta put together signed that many high level players. Rome let their checkbook do their talking this offseason. Oekius must be 2 parts George Steinbrenner, 2 parts Eddie DeBartolo and 2 parts Al Davis. Crazy!
Chemistry is destroyed, but when you consistently outlevel the competition by 3-4 levels (to their starters, let alone backups!) I don't think chemistry will count for jack.
These comments are not a knock. There is no cap and if you can sell it and bring those huge FA's, more power to you. Rome has earned that right by being a winner, hosting home playoff games and building the best stadium in the league to date. But at what price? On the surface, one could question the loyalty of those that Rome has brought aboard.....are they "team players" or hired guns? Will they take direction from the team or will they speak in the third person about themselves and say they have to get their stats instead of adhering to team goals. Also, keep in mind that they have exactly ONE PLAYER signed beyond Day 40 of this season. What good would a promotion to AA do you if you have to resign these hired guns at something close to the "highest bidder" price? Should be fascinating.
#2 - Polk High Panthers
Polk is in a state of flux with the questionable availability of their owner wallysmith. So far it looks like he is staying on, which would be great for the league. Polk High is the anti-Rome, only adding 2 players in the offseason to their conference-contending team from last year. They have (basically) maximum chemistry and a team of coaches and GM's who are winners. In my limited experience in GLB to date, a team that is out-leveled CAN defeat a stronger, higher-leveled opponent with great team chemistry, depth and gameplanning. They have an excellent stadium and tons of cash to ensure long term stability.
With everyone on the same page and going in and rowing in the same direction, can Polk High keep up with the free spenders in the Conference? I say Polk High stays at #2 until somebody knocks them off.
#3 - Mannheim Jaguars
Mannheim busted out the checkbook this year in order to jump towards the top of the conference, signing 13 players of level 24 or higher. Mannheim was already a strong team last year, but somehow lost their way to slip out of the top 4. Not this year, with strong starters and depth, Mannheim will be knocking on Polk's door for a top-2 seed in the conference.
4 (tie) - Eastwick Savages
Eastwick was selective, bringing on 4 players level 26 or better. Combining this with the enthusiastic boosting of their owner, and you have a ton of high leveled players. I was very conflicted as to where to rank them, and in the end decided that their roster strength was pretty difficult to ignore.
4 (tie) Tilburg Lightning
Tilburg put together a fair number of high level signings to fill holes and restructure our roster. While things aren't perfect with a notable weakness or two to be addressed, Tilburg is looking to take that jump from "just a playoff team" to "multiple home games in the playoffs".
Serious consideration was given to our nemesis the Dublin Shamrocks and to the London Pounds. Each team pretty much brings the same people to the dance as they had last year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives them superior chemistry and gives them some "intangibles" points for, presumably, having their agents be accustomed to tactics and are active in the forums. But in the end it sure seemed like the other 5 teams (save for Polk) ahead of them all made pretty significant player additions while they stayed the same.
No disrespect is intended to teams I did not review. As I said I only printed off the top 8 or 9 teams. It would not surprise me to see a non-playoff team from Season 4 make a huge splash in Season 5. It's what makes the game a blast.
Good luck to all!
#1 Rome Poison
On paper, Zeta is a one-team conference this year, with Rome asserting themselves as the New York Yankees of WEA6 by giving out THIRTEEN salaries of $200,000 or more!! And another SIX between $180-200k! I don't believe there is a single other player in Zeta with a salary of $180k+ (but admittedly I did not check all rosters).
Rome signed TWENTY new players of level 24 or greater! Hell I doubt the rest of Zeta put together signed that many high level players. Rome let their checkbook do their talking this offseason. Oekius must be 2 parts George Steinbrenner, 2 parts Eddie DeBartolo and 2 parts Al Davis. Crazy!
Chemistry is destroyed, but when you consistently outlevel the competition by 3-4 levels (to their starters, let alone backups!) I don't think chemistry will count for jack.
These comments are not a knock. There is no cap and if you can sell it and bring those huge FA's, more power to you. Rome has earned that right by being a winner, hosting home playoff games and building the best stadium in the league to date. But at what price? On the surface, one could question the loyalty of those that Rome has brought aboard.....are they "team players" or hired guns? Will they take direction from the team or will they speak in the third person about themselves and say they have to get their stats instead of adhering to team goals. Also, keep in mind that they have exactly ONE PLAYER signed beyond Day 40 of this season. What good would a promotion to AA do you if you have to resign these hired guns at something close to the "highest bidder" price? Should be fascinating.
#2 - Polk High Panthers
Polk is in a state of flux with the questionable availability of their owner wallysmith. So far it looks like he is staying on, which would be great for the league. Polk High is the anti-Rome, only adding 2 players in the offseason to their conference-contending team from last year. They have (basically) maximum chemistry and a team of coaches and GM's who are winners. In my limited experience in GLB to date, a team that is out-leveled CAN defeat a stronger, higher-leveled opponent with great team chemistry, depth and gameplanning. They have an excellent stadium and tons of cash to ensure long term stability.
With everyone on the same page and going in and rowing in the same direction, can Polk High keep up with the free spenders in the Conference? I say Polk High stays at #2 until somebody knocks them off.
#3 - Mannheim Jaguars
Mannheim busted out the checkbook this year in order to jump towards the top of the conference, signing 13 players of level 24 or higher. Mannheim was already a strong team last year, but somehow lost their way to slip out of the top 4. Not this year, with strong starters and depth, Mannheim will be knocking on Polk's door for a top-2 seed in the conference.
4 (tie) - Eastwick Savages
Eastwick was selective, bringing on 4 players level 26 or better. Combining this with the enthusiastic boosting of their owner, and you have a ton of high leveled players. I was very conflicted as to where to rank them, and in the end decided that their roster strength was pretty difficult to ignore.
4 (tie) Tilburg Lightning
Tilburg put together a fair number of high level signings to fill holes and restructure our roster. While things aren't perfect with a notable weakness or two to be addressed, Tilburg is looking to take that jump from "just a playoff team" to "multiple home games in the playoffs".
Serious consideration was given to our nemesis the Dublin Shamrocks and to the London Pounds. Each team pretty much brings the same people to the dance as they had last year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives them superior chemistry and gives them some "intangibles" points for, presumably, having their agents be accustomed to tactics and are active in the forums. But in the end it sure seemed like the other 5 teams (save for Polk) ahead of them all made pretty significant player additions while they stayed the same.
No disrespect is intended to teams I did not review. As I said I only printed off the top 8 or 9 teams. It would not surprise me to see a non-playoff team from Season 4 make a huge splash in Season 5. It's what makes the game a blast.
Good luck to all!
