BuzzerBeater Forums

One helluva lot of opinion and conjecture in there Wolph.

Thus far, Taiyo's case is laid out - and the results are there. You've got some good points (your ability to communicate in 3 primary languages found in Japan for example), but I think some of the points you raise Taiyo is just as good - if not better (communication, identifying talent, selecting line-ups).
Additionally, I think some of your beliefs are somewhat questionable. You point to "finding better players" - they're simply not their at this point in time. The amount of active users here in Japan is around 32, and for better or worse, that's what there is to work with. Sure, you might be able to help raise the number - but what you've been asking for (whilst being something that would help - advertising in Japanese) simply isn't likely to occur. Certainly, you being U21 coach or not isn't going to impact that in the slightest.

I would raise this as a question for you:
Reading this...

D) Respectful Relationships. Success is the result of everyone’s contributions. Both local and international managers as well as those who participate through discussion and suggestions. I work to maintain a positive and respectful relationship with everyone involved. You will never see me criticize or question the comments someone makes or how they manage their team or players. Ultimately we all have our own approach to the game. I think maintaining positive relationships are important to keeping people interested in working with me and supporting our teams.

How do you respond to that?

You are doing a great job with Asano, but 1/2 of his training was managed by me.

When I got him, he had 2 strongs....now he has 7 skills over strong and has had 13 pops wearing the Kitakyushu Jersey....

How are you defining 'caliber'?

I think there's a bit of a gap between what you want, and what's realistic.
Yes, I agree that there should be a desired aim of having players such as you describe... however given the reality of our nation, you simply can't expect to completely fill the U21 roster with players that are going to one day play in the NT (even given the number divide which means that can't happen).

Posting a question for Taiyo, there's been a quizzing of Wolph, and nothing for the incumbent (perhaps most people are aware/happy with what's been done there?).

Taiyo, is there anything that you'd do differently should you win this election and return to the U21 team? What things have surprised you - is there anything new you hope to focus on?

Surprises - I guess one thing that proves to be a big challenge is that you don't really control any of the players. You have to rely on their owners to provide them the right training, or in some cases actually train them at all. You'd be surprised at how many good draft picks get totally wasted because their owner doesn't train them or has only a passing interest in the game.

Also I've seen a number of players, sometimes even our starters that look like they are going to be very promising and then the manager comletely disappears. Sonoda is an example of that. Owner was very dedicated to training his player but only wanted to train inside skills, wouldn't train secondaries. He was still going to be the best player on the U21 team as a senior (21) and then his owner disappears with the roster set having him play 48 a game. The team went to the final 4 or 8 of the cup so Sonoda was playing 3X48 minutes a week and his game shape went to crap. I basically couldn't play him for most of his senior season.

I can share a few other cases as well but I don't want to call out any active managers.

As far as new things to focus on. Well, I would actually say the way I've managed the team continues to evolve as I learn and try different things. If I had a new breakthrough idea then you should ask me why I'm not doing that already.

Some examples:

Recently I've changed to put much more focus on getting National team potential players on the team early. I've just added 3 new players this week. All 3 are 19 and MVP or better. All 3 have been trained well in their first season. All 3 will need work to get to their potential. It will be up to the managers to give them the right training. I will give them guidance and make recommendations for training but I cannot train the player for them.

Right now we have accumulated 9 players on U21 with Superstar or better potential. They are probably the best raw talent we've had on the team. Some of them will make the National team, Some of them may not. There are also another 27 Japanese players 21 and under that are Superstar or better that are not on the team. Some of them are possible for making the U21 or National Team someday. But there are alot that aren't getting much training at all and some that have just to many holes to be viable.

(BTW, I own a 19 year MVP and he is getting trained. He started with a tough base of skills so he will be a late bloomer. He's the only decent draft pick I ever got. He will be on National Team some day but not sure about U21.)

The other area I've added some more attention to recently is the frequency of general communication on the team, and want to enhance that even further. Since I started the weekly press blog I've noticed more discussion from others about the team and increasing interest. I want to take this further. The hope is that the more interest I can generate the more excited people will be about getting their player on the team.

With the press blog I'm thinking of adding some additional content like how players rank in certain categories, season leaders in different skills, or game highlights. Also, I was thinking I would invite managers to give a write up about their player to include in the press blog. I think that might get some managers excited about being part of the team and have their palyer highlighted. It also might get other mangers excited to want to be part of the team in the future. The key though is to build more buzz and interest in participating.

I should call out that the weekly press blog was started based on a suggestion from YellowCake to share a weekly posting that includes the team depth chart so people can watch their player progress and try to push for higher position. I recieved a good idea implemented it, and as I find value from it I add my own enhancements. Soemtimes that is in the form of public realtions like a blog, sometimes they are more about team strateg

I should call out that the weekly press blog was started based on a suggestion from YellowCake to share a weekly posting that includes the team depth chart so people can watch their player progress and try to push for higher position. I recieved a good idea implemented it, and as I find value from it I add my own enhancements. Soemtimes that is in the form of public realtions like a blog, sometimes they are more about team strateg

And that is why you are getting my vote....The depth chart is huge..it allows managers to see where their players are...I know I am always looking forward to it...I like how you got he suggestion and it was up with in the week...great work....