Arda Cup Soccer 2008

[the phantom]

Greetings fellow Downers!

I am in the process of preparing for next week's final exams, but as soon as I am in the clear we will get this thing rolling.

Just like last year there will be a separate thread on which you can own a fantasy team, only there will be a couple of wrinkles thrown in.

All 32 teams are from Arda. I will release the full rosters sometime next week. It was quite a job shuffling players around, and I'm not doing any more work on it. Hurin, for instance, could have played for Hithlum, Gondolin, Nargothrond, Doriath, Brethil, or Angband. A couple of players simply had to be relocated, though I always used some sort of logical approach in finding their new home. So, if a player isn't playing for the team you want them to play for, tough luck. It's already a done deal.

The tournament format will be the usual World Cup style- 8 groups of 4, play each other, top 2 from each group advance to single elimination playoffs.

I will have an individual or two helping me run the tournament, but for the rest of you, there are two options....

1) Watch
2) Participate!!

Guess which one I favor. Go on- guess.

Here are the ways in which you can participate...
1) Own a fantasy team!
2) Make predictions on matches!
3) Give your opinion on why teams are performing the way they are!

I strongly encourage people to pick out a few teams to be your favorites (or unfavorites) and cover the tournament in a biased way. For instance, pretend you are covering the tournament for a Minas Tirith newspaper and thus favor teams from that region and express extreme dislike for the Mordor team.

Write your posts in article format even if you'd like. Have some fun with it! Be funny and creative! You are Barrow-Downers! That sort of thing is second nature to you.

Anyway, I figured I'd give everyone early warning. The teams will be posted early next week, the rosters later in the week, and the groups will likely be posted at the end of the week.

[the phantom]

All right, here are the teams that will be featured in this year's tournament....

ALQUALONDE
AMON RHUD
ANGBAND
ANNUMINAS
ARMENELOS
BREELAND
BRETHIL
DORIATH
EDORAS
EREBOR
FORMENOS
FORNOST
GONDOLIN
GONDOR
HELM’S DEEP
HITHLUM
ISENGARD
LOTHLORIEN
MICHAEL DELVING
MINAS TIRITH
MIRKWOOD
MORDOR
MORIA
NARGOTHROND
OSGILIATH
RIVENDELL
ROMENA
TANIQUETIL
TOL-IN-GAURHOTH
TUNA
UMBAR
VALIMAR

Rosters and groupings will come later this week. We'll open up the fantasy league thread after that.

[the phantom]

Rosters are now here.

[Formendacil]

That's a pretty Tar-studded roster Armenelos has.

How did Bilbo and Frodo get onto Team Alqualondë? Last I checked, there were still some pretty intensive nationalist concerns in Valinor preventing foreign players from getting visas. I mean, I know that things eased up in the Lonely Isle, but the government in Avallónë has always been a bit more mixed in its policies than Taniquetil. I guess Frodo really does have the ear of Elbereth!

[the phantom]

That's a pretty Tar-studded roster Armenelos has.

Ha ha ha!

Well, come on Formy, aren't you going to do a joke about the Fornost roster as well?

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by the phantom

Ha ha ha!

Well, come on Formy, aren't you going to do a joke about the Fornost roster as well?

What? You mean about all the players being on the A-list? I would never do such a thing.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Well, phantom, laddie, I'd consider it an honour to be a part of this championship. Luckily for me, my services are apparently in demand, as only yesterday Fornost enquired whether I would like to join their management team. And you heard it here first: I intend to bring the trophy to the frost-bitten north!

[Anguirel]

I am not here, very officially.

I am not remotely interested in football.

But I will be following Formenos and Gondolin with the passion that my siblings devote to Chelsea...

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by the phantom

TOL-IN-GAURHOTH
G- Drauglin
DF- To Be Decided
DF- To Be Decided
DF- To Be Decided
MF- To Be Decided
MF- Thuringwethil
MF- To Be Decided
MF- the phantom
FW- Nogrod
FW- To Be Decided
FW- Sauron

What in Arda?!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Lhuna pretends she's not in that team.

[the phantom]

As far as the Tol-In-Gaurhoth team, there are six open slots.

Two now, actually.

By virtue of being first to post on this thread and being renowned Werewolf players, Formendacil, Eomer, Anguirel, and Lhuna can all take a slot on the team- IF you want to, and you plan on being around and participating a bit during the tournament.

As far as the other two slots, those will be UP FOR VOTE!!

Anyone can pm me the name of one Barrow-Downs Werewolf player. That person will receive one vote, and you yourself will receive a vote just for voting (no you can't vote for yourself). The two Barrow-Downers with the most votes will be on the team, if they plan on following the tournament. If not, then the next highest vote total will receive the slot, etc...

Voting will close when I feel like it. But don't worry, you have at least a couple of days. Spread the word.

[the phantom]

Yes, Lhuna, I am on the team already, as is Nogrod (he's going to be helping produce the tournament). Or, actually, it's not Nog and I on the team, but rather Nogwolf and Werphantom.

[McCaber]

Just sizing up the rosters, I can see that Erebor looks to a tough team this year, if a bit slow, and I've always had a soft spot for the men of Minas Tirith. Mordor usually has a strong team, but with their captain Sauron out they'll have a fight just to make it past the first round. But the squad I'm most excited about is Angband. Six Balrogs, a Dragon, and Melkor himself look to completely scorch any competion.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

No divided loyalties for me, so at least 3 slots open in the Tol-in-Gaurhoth team.

With a request like that you will need to monitor your PM box frequently phantom. I'll send in my vote now.

[Gwathagor]

Wow. This is funny. Are games decided randomly, or do various teams have various strengths and weaknesses which determine the outcome?

[Gwathagor]

Ooooooh. I want on that team. Somebody vote for me.

[the phantom]

Are games decided randomly, or do various teams have various strengths and weaknesses which determine the outcome?

Yes, and yes.

There is a method to determining the outcomes, and there will be official stats given- shots, saves, cards, etc, but I am not going to give away exactly how these stats will be generated. I have my reasons.

I will open the fantasy league thread sometime this weekend, so be scanning the roster list for who you would like to put on your team.

[Formendacil]

Dear me, posting is clearly a hazardous occupation these days...

On the one hand, I expect to be at least somewhat available, though I won't know that of the summer for another couple weeks for certain, so I would like to say that I'm available to play for Tol-in-Gaurhoth* but on the other hand, I have absolutely no idea what I'm committing myself too. I was non-interneted last summer and so missed the last round of this, and you're being decidedly vague about what sort of a commitment is going on here.



*Something of a scandal in the history of the team, no doubt. The rights to the green-and-black were bought by Sauron just after he was ousted from the management of the black-black-and-redandblack in Mordor. It was payback of sorts, I think, since Sauron's second, the Witchking, who replaced him on Team Mordor, had trained the first Barrow-Wights, when the league expanded in the Second Age. Not that the green and black ever made money when the played on the Downs: Cardolan Stadium was old and small and the place had a bad rap ever since those hobbits got kidnapped after a game with Hobbiton (now Michel Delving), and the neighbourhood was really quite rundown. I mean, you've heard of "redneck". Think about three steps down the social ladder and you've got "yellow boots".

[the phantom]

You don't have to actually do anything Formy- I just don't want to award slots to people who don't plan on following the tournament at all.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

so I would like to say that I'm available to play for Tol-in-Gaurhoth

Originally Posted by tp

You don't have to actually do anything Formy- I just don't want to award slots to people who don't plan on following the tournament at all.

So as you have confessed / admitted Form that "I'm available to play for Tol-in-Gaurhoth" you should quickly run to the Dueling Wizards Werewolf II... It's been a while since your last one!

But yes. No actual scoring (not to talk of practising or spending hours in the gym) is needed from anyone - but even more going to go for your side / players and to comment on your feelings ie. make the thread alive!

Pick your team and win!


PS. As phantom said I will be helping this tournament out.

PS2. Do you think tp that it would be wise to lay out the rules of the game for everyone to see here in the thread so that also those who have never joined the game could participate knowing what this is about?

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Dear me, posting is clearly a hazardous occupation these days...

Rightly said, Formy. That sneaky phantom...

Originally Posted by the phantom

As far as the Tol-In-Gaurhoth team, there are six open slots.

Two now, actually.

By virtue of being first to post on this thread and being renowned Werewolf players, Formendacil, Eomer, Anguirel, and Lhuna can all take a slot on the team- IF you want to, and you plan on being around and participating a bit during the tournament.

And all the above were players in the first game you modded. I think you might have bewitched us to post here.

Hmm, I can't honestly say I'll have all the time I want to spend in the Downs once classes start on June. (I can't even join DWW II - so sorry, Noggie.) But just so I have a reason not to forget this beloved place - and to feed Lhuna's starved ego - fine, I'll let you count me in...

Originally Posted by Eomer of the Rohirrim

No divided loyalties for me, so at least 3 slots open in the Tol-in-Gaurhoth team.

...if Eomer can be convinced not to back out from the Tol-in-Gaurhoth team.

Come on, you can probably adopt a different nick if you don't want to be confused with that dude from Edoras!

[Lhunardawen]

I just noticed Elenwë's in Tuna. I thought she might be starting her own team of penguins in Helcaraxë. Lommy would probably be interested.

[the phantom]

Ah, quite right, Nogrod. I should explain the set up.

There will be eight groups of four teams. Each team will play the other three teams in their group. A win is worth 3 points, a tie is worth 1. After the games are finished, the two teams from each group with the highest point total advances into the playoffs (so that would put 16 teams in the playoffs).

If two teams have the same number points the team with the best goal differential gets the nod. If they have the same differential the team who scored the highest number of goals gets the nod.

The playoffs will be the standard winner-advance-loser-go-home set up.

Oh, and players will not sit games (because I can't have backups for everyone). Someone can be sent out of a game for a penalty and leave their team a player short for the remainder of the game, but no one will ever be benched for an entire game.

The fantasy league rules will be posted on a separate thread.

In the meantime, vote for the remaining roster spots, and spread the word about this tournament. Put links in your sigs if you want. The more people we have the more fun it will be.

I might be able to post the groupings tomorrow afternoon. If not then you can count on seeing them sometime before I go to bed on Sunday.

[the phantom]

Glad to hear you'll be playing, Lhuna.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by the phantom

You don't have to actually do anything Formy- I just don't want to award slots to people who don't plan on following the tournament at all.

Ah, well in that case, I would be delighted to accept a position with Team Tol-in-Gaurhoth--provided the salary is acceptable. All the talk of a salary cap that's been floating around the commissioner's offices has me worried that with all the big names that Sauron wants to sign for the team will leave little money left to spend on the other players, such as myself.

Originally Posted by Nogrod

So as you have confessed / admitted Form that "I'm available to play for Tol-in-Gaurhoth" you should quickly run to the Dueling Wizards Werewolf II... It's been a while since your last one!

It has, indeed, been a VERY long time. Two years, I think, but it'll have to be a little while yet before I can do so again; as noted above, I can't be sure about the stability of my summer internet for a couple weeks yet. In any case, I never cared much for the Dueling Wizards variety. However, I digress from the topic at hand--unless we're planning on tie-breakers with dueling wizards.

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by the phantom

Glad to hear you'll be playing, Lhuna.

Only if you'll help me get Eomer of the Rohirrim to stay in Team Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

If that's what you want then you'll have to vote for me, Lhuna. Not that you're usually averse to voting for me.

So we can pick players from every area? I thought the lists as the phantom posted them were the final teams. Does that mean I can't be Fornost?

[Anguirel]

I think I may have to refuse a slot in the Tol-in-Gaurhoth team, great though the honour is; I wouldn't trust myself to be very helpful if we clashed with the Feanorians. I shall maintain a media role as PR agent to Maeglin Sharpboot and extraordinary reporter on Formenos City.

[Valesse]

Considering Arwen's appointment to the Lothlorien team, I suppose if I were to do the "Arda Cup" images that I did for the original I would have to find another announcer. I am tempted to just nick one of the many remaining balrogs to do the reports for Angband. However if I did that I fear the end would consist nothing of wing jokes, and no one wants that. We'll see what happens.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Valesse

Considering Arwen's appointment to the Lothlorien team, I suppose if I were to do the "Arda Cup" images that I did for the original I would have to find another announcer. I am tempted to just nick one of the many remaining balrogs to do the reports for Angband. However if I did that I fear the end would consist nothing of wing jokes, and no one wants that. We'll see what happens.

Quite to the contrary! Nothing brings a community together like a dead horse flayed to the bones. (And we're all about death around here, right?) I'm already anticipating reports of the Balrogs flying from the field in a rout.

[the phantom]

Eomer, for the fantasy league....

No, you can't just be Fornost in the fantasy league. You can put the max number of players on your roster from Fornost, but that's only three.

However, you will be able to gain points from Fornost if you make them your pick to win it all. At the beginning of the tournament everyone who owns a fantasy team will also attempt to predict the overall tournament winner, the player who will score the most goals, the player who will have the most assists, and the player which will score the most fantasy points.

If any of your predictions prove to be accurate, you will gain bonus fantasy points (they will be awarded at the end of the tournament).

So, you can pick Fornost as your fantasy prediction, but your fantasy team must feature players from other teams as well.

[the phantom]

So Ang is vacating his spot as well? Great.

Eomer, you might just have to play.

You are in the lead right now as far as votes go.

Lovely to see you Valesse! You did some great work in the past. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

And Formy, come on- Sauron is our team boss! You know he'll pay us well. We might even get rings if we win him the tournament.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by the phantom

And Formy, come on- Sauron is our team boss! You know he'll pay us well. We might even get rings if we win him the tournament.

Well, I'm signing at the dotted line, but I'll forgo payment in rings. The last couple times Sauron handed out rings, he expected them back--kind of like a bad credit card user, those Nazgûl were stuck paying off their debts for millennia. Might be why the Witch-king stayed with Mordor after Sauron was turfed; he was practically working for free beforehand. Sure the perks were nice with the pad in Minas Morgul and all, but he was getting a better deal playing for Carn Dûm in the minor league than he was getting in Mordor under Sauron.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Ah, I see how the game works now. Well, without my guidance I'm not sure if Fornost can handle this challenge. But we'll see.

If the public wants it then I'll be happy to play for Tol-in-Gaurhoth. But I am a bit surprised. Supporters tend to be not fond of me: having plied my trade in numerous places -- defending in Mirkwood, attacking in the Shire -- my reputation is one of a foreign mercenary, not always popular in this game.

Ach. The game's all about money these days. Those rings sound lovely. Sign me up!

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Having just gotten my home pc back
working, I'd be interested in this "soccer"
tournament, but I'm unclear on what a
player does. Obviously you've got to like
TEAM GONDOLIN! Although I have doubts
that Maeglin is a team player.

[the phantom]

Yes, I have the groupings ready. Here's how this works...

Each group will be played in a different location- specifically, in the home stadium of one of the teams in the group. All eight hosts have fine facilities and boast a highly rated home team. Hosts are marked by -> (H)

GROUP A
FORNOST
MICHEL DELVING
RIVENDELL (H)
ROMENA

GROUP B
BREELAND
EDORAS (H)
MIRKWOOD
TOL-IN-GAURHOTH

GROUP C
ALQUALONDE
DORIATH (H)
FORMENOS
ISENGARD

GROUP D
LOTHLORIEN
NARGOTHROND
OSGILIATH (H)
UMBAR

GROUP E
EREBOR
GONDOLIN (H)
GONDOR
TUNA

GROUP F
AMON RHUD
ARMENELOS
HELM'S DEEP
TANIQUETIL (H)

GROUP G
HITHLUM
MINAS TIRITH
MORDOR (H)
MORIA

GROUP H
ANGBAND (H)
ANNUMINAS
BRETHIL
VALIMAR

There you are. Feel free to begin giving your breakdowns of the groups, and try and predict which teams have the best chance of moving on.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by the phantom

GROUP B
BREELAND
EDORAS (H)
MIRKWOOD
TOL-IN-GAURHOTH
........

There you are. Feel free to begin giving your breakdowns of the groups, and try and predict which teams have the best chance of moving on.

Well then, let's start with the local favourites and their competition. The long flight to Edoras is not going to favour Tol-in-Gaurhoth at all, since we're coming the farthest--all the way from Beleriand. First you have to fly from Tol Sirion to the main hub in Angband, then there's the transcontinental sleeper to Minas Tirith, then back to Edoras. There's some talk of a direct flight from Angband, but no carrier as yet.

On the other hand, the competition doesn't look too bad. None of the other teams are leading the league. Edoras is probably the most difficult of the three. Théoden, Éomer, and Éowyn are all prominent names, and for good reason, but none of them are in the Sauron/the phantom range, and the rest of the team is a bunch of relative no-names. The population in Edoras simply isn't enough to sell tickets for a world-class team, and there are well-establish teams just around the corner in Minas Tirith, Helm's Deep, and Isengard. Mirkwood has one of the biggest fanbases in the league, with Legolas Greenleaf, but his fame is perhaps more derived from those "lighter than snow" running shoe ads than any real talent. The rest of the team is worse. Oropher still hasn't done adequate penance for his horrid defence of the goalposts in the famous Last Alliance series, and half the players are D-lister rejects from Mordor.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, we have Breeland, and while they are lacking in star power, there is an admirable team spirit from Eriador's centre most team, and Old Man Willow has to be one of the best goalies in the league. Hopefully, we'll get to see a lot of Breeland/Tol-in-Gaurhoth action, since they had a spectacular local rivalry back in the days when Tol-in-Gaurhoth played as "the Barrow-Downs", and the fans haven't had much of that since the move, now that Tol-in-Gaurhoth plays in the Beleriand more than Eriador.

My bet:

Tol-in-Gaurhoth will narrowly win the group, followed by Edoras. Breeland will be a respectable third, and Mirkwood a distant fourth.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

GROUP E
EREBOR
GONDOLIN (H)
GONDOR
TUNA

The early line is that this bracket comes down to two heavyweight contestants:
Erebor and Gondolin. not to disparage Gondor and Tuna, but these two are
clearly second division talent who will be fortunate to earn one or two points
before their quick exit. Just consider, Tuna's goalie is Orodreth! Manipulated by
elf and man as ruler, how can he maintain discipline and cohesion. And how
will Miriel hold up under the pressure of Erebor's and Gondolin's pressure?
Yes, Faramir is at times a devastating forward and team leader for Gondor and is
there a more inspiring goalie and leader then Beregond, but the rest of the
team is mediocre at best.

Bain and Tuor are, as far as can be discerned from their league play, essentially
equal, but the Minas Tirith and Angband bookmakers currently slightly favor Erebor due to the
more cohesive team organization. However, there are questions with both
sides. Will Smaug and Bard continue their "backbiting" and unfortunate
sarcastic comments in the tabloid press or will their will to be Number 1
continue their brilliant recent play (1st and 5th in points scored the last two
years)? Playing captain Turgon has astutely placed himself as defender,
perhaps as much as anything nto keep a supervisory eye over his three
charismatic, if mutually distrustful and feuding scorers Idril, Eol, and
Maeglin- who, when not disparaging each other both on and off the playing field-
are the deepest and most talented team in this bracket.

Unsuccessful efforts by Team Gondolin to use some of the fabled
treasures of Gondolin to purchase Smaug's contract have only fueled the
animosity between these two sides that may make a final bracket match
of the two teams an intense struggle indeed.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by the phantom

GROUP A
FORNOST
MICHAEL DELVING
RIVENDELL (H)
ROMENA

Going back to the beginning, let's take a look at Group A. Personally, I'm rooting for Fornost out of this group (Formen=north, after all, and Fornost=north city, basically). Unfortunately for my inclinations, however, Fornost doesn't look make the next round of playoffs. Sure, the luckless Arvedui was traded to Annúminas, but he was the biggest name they had. Really, for all the family cameraderie on the team, and some impressive pedigrees in track and field department, they just don't make the cut, I'm afraid.

Michel Delving, on the other hand (though not actually named Michael Delving, alas), has a very strong looking team. They've put together some of the best up and coming players in the league--and for half the price they deserve! These "halflings" really are known less than half as well as I should like, and liked less than half of them deserve. My personal has to be the Bullroarer--also an avid golfer, I'm told--but the acquisition of Sam Gamgee, Pippin Took, and Merry Brandybuck is a huge coup for the management.

Rivendell and Rómena will give them a run for their money, I'm sure, and I would not be surprised at all if Rivendell took the cup. Of the two, Rivendell looks to play stronger. Rivendell has one of the best teams in the league, if not THE best team. It's practically a rundown of the most prominent names in the book: Elrond, Gandalf, Aragorn, Glorfindel, Boromir 2.0. Never mind the physical prowess of this team, the combined experience of the players is astounding. If it has a weakness, however, Rivendell's team favours defencive plays, sitting around the goal waiting for the enemy to strike. With players like Aragorn and Boromir, this is simply sloppy. Still, if any team is going to anticipate the kind of "fool's hope" tactics that Michel Delving is renowned for (just look back at the Orodruin series against Sauron in Mordor!), it's Team Rivendell.

Rómena, alas, is overshadowed in this group by Michel Delving and Rivendell, and will probably suffer for that. It's a pity, because there are a lot of classy players here that deserve to go far. Elendil and Isildur are probably best known on the team, though in Isildur's case this is not a good thing, since it's mostly due to fumbling that play against Sauron, setting back his team's fortunes by an age or more. Still, he's the sort of player who can make things happen. It's been mostly forgotten in past years, but he stole the game against Armenelos with the whole White Tree episode, and Ar-Pharazôn likely hasn't forgiven him that one yet.

This is really a tough grouping to predict, but if we're playing for money, I'll put mine on Michel Delving to upset Rivendell for top spot. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the great.

[Anguirel]

Originally Posted by the phantom

GROUP C
ALQUALONDE
DORIATH (H)
FORMENOS
ISENGARD

Ahhhahhahhahha! Whether degenerate sea-elf, mincing halfling, dark-elf lurking in its cave, false Maia, or rustic tree-shepherd, whosoever it be, if it take a Silmaril from us and keep it, or, just, you know, gets in our way...

FIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRE! BUUUUUUURRRN! Hahahaha...

Formenos will obliterate its opponents in an inferno of skill. Doriath will limp on for a little, it generally takes a couple of Kinslayings to finish 'em off altogether. Alqualonde's only likely success is that it might injure Amrod, probably through some kind of own-goal situation - other than that, the Teleri are literally toast, hahaha. And Isengard are mostly trees, with a token lickspittle Ainu and some Orcs to get our lads really, really angry. Chuck them on the forge!

(more comprehensive commentary when I have ceased laughing feyly)