Football, Tactics & Glory: A Team History

Football, Tactics & Glory:

Football, Tactics & Glory: From Stardom to the Sidelines and Back

Football, Tactics & Glory: Training the Player and the Players

Football, Tactics, & Glory: Statistically Uncertain

Football, Tactics & Glory: A Team History

Some video games (like Massive Chalice or Darkest Dungeon ) constructed with a collection of characters, create unique events and interactions which lend themselves to a chronicle. During my fourteen season campaign, Football, Tactics & Glory, and my imagination, generated a sizable chunk of data, rather than a plot.

The simple chart below displays the ranking of The Philosophers in the League. The top row lists the year, the numbers in green indicate the ranking of my team in their particular League for the appropriate year. A 7 of 14 indicates that my team was ranked 7th of 14 teams. Red displays the skill level of my team, on a scale of zero to five stars. As mentioned in previous articles, I found advancement an easily achievable goal. In fourteen seasons, the Philosophers only descended to a lesser League twice. Readers will notice it is possible to win the Amateur League in the first season and the Third League in the second (top three teams ascend). The Second League was the first to impose an obstacle, where my team dropped down after a 12^th place finish (bottom three teams drop down). My longest stint was in the First League. This was intentional. I threw the season in 2029, losing just enough games to avoid third, but secure fourth place. I didn't feel confident about the team entering the Premier League in 2030. I feared a resounding defeat if I entered prematurely. In spite of another season in First League, my team flopped out of the Premier League in its first year. After the 2031 season I knew the team needed another five seasons to finish 1^st in the Premier League. Yet I stunned myself with victory in two. It was even more astonishing, advancing from 16^th in the Premier League, to 3^rd in the First, and then rising astronomically to 1^st in Premier. Another indicator of the ease of Football, Tactics & Glory is the stars. Computer controlled teams in the Amateur League average one star, two stars in Third League, three stars in Second, four stars in First League, and five stars in the Premier League. For most of the game I bested teams a star or two my superior.

Year

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

Premier

16 of 18

1 of 18

2 of 18

1st

11 of 16

4 of 16

4 of 16

3 of 16

3 of 16

2nd

12 of 14

7 of 14

3 of 14

3rd

2 of 12

1 of 12

Amateur

1 of 8

Team Skill

1☆

1☆

1☆

1½☆

1½☆

2☆

2☆

2½☆

1½☆

2½☆

3☆

3☆

3½☆

4☆

Across 14 seasons I placed between 80 to 100 characters on the roster. Fifty-three made a significant enough impression that I recorded their achievements in paper notes on my desk. Of these candidates, twenty-four earned superstar status. Their connections, interactions, and skills made the team, and transformed it over time. The original team featured few stars, but they carved out successes for the later superstars. Characters like Diver, Draper, and Drysdale only endured three seasons. Yet, these forerunners earned first place in the Amateur and Third League before retiring. They were already old when I took command of the team.

The first amateur recruit, Greenwood, joined the team the first season, but he didn't become the team captain until Drysdale retired. He was the only character to play the entire fourteen year campaign. The second group of stars, playing from 2025 to 2030, included long term characters, but also a series of stand ins. Of all the characters on the Philosophers, one stood above them all. Pettifer was the only star I traded for. All other players were acquired as young novices, either through trades or in house training. Pettifer carried the team through a difficult transition into its final formation. Though Beaumont was on the team in 2024 he didn't become the lead scorer until Pettifer was traded in 2030.

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

Diver - G

X

X

X

Draper - D

X

X

X

Walter - D

X

X

X

Drysdale - M

X

X

X

X

Finn - F

X

X

X

X

Dear - F

X

X

X

X

X

X

Greenwood M

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Carney - M

X

X

X

X

X

Silver - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

Calhoun - G

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Shakeshaft - F

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Restler - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

McNamee - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Floyd - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

Benton - M

X

X

X

X

X

X

McMinn - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Beaumont - F

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Pettifer - F

X

X

X

X

X

X

Kenyon - D

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Fry - M

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Andrew - F

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Shewell - G

X

X

X

X

X

X

Arlotte - M

X

X

X

X

X

X

The strangest year was 2026. In that year the two rocks of the team, Greenwood and Pettifer both suffered injuries. Greenwood's injury kept him out for the first half of the year. Pettifer for the second. Yet the team still managed to win the Prestige Cup, a tournament of Amateur, Third, and Second League teams. Another character, Restler, suffered from chronic injuries. As a Defensive Wing his job was to carry the ball up along the sidelines, dodging tackles. He excelled at it, but he often ended up injured for weeks or months at a time. In 2029, the Philosophers intentionally lost enough games to end up 4^th in the First League. Advancing to the Premier League seemed risky. I was unprepared. The last three years, with Beaumont leading the scoring rankings, held resounding successes. In 2032 the Philosophers took third in the First League to advance into the Premier. At the time it seemed unlikely they would perform well, after all, it was only third. They were also the runner up in the National Cup (teams from the First and Premier League). Yet, in a single year they earned first place in the Premier League, marking them as the top team in the nation (But The Philosophers failed to reach the National Cup final). In 2034, The Philosophers diverted their energy from the Premier League, focusing on the two tournaments; the National and European Cups. At the finals of the National Cup, against Southampton, it appeared the match would end in a tie, and go to a shootout. But at 90 minutes + 1, Shakeshaft scored a fantastic goal, clinching the game for The Philosophers. The European Cup appeared the same. Against Rotterdam both elite offenses found themselves frustrated. With the game scoreless, the teams approached the shootout. Remember, shootouts are entirely random. The kicker secretly chooses one of six spots to shoot at, and the goalkeeper picks one to block. No Attribute, Skill, or Talent matters.

So when I was down 2-1 after two shots each, I considered quitting. Football, Tactics & Glory has no penalty for quitting a game before it ends. Quitting a game cancels it, allowing the player to start the match from the beginning (I never used this tactic to win games). Instead I tied it 3-3 by blocking one. On the fourth and final shot, Greenwood scored for the Philosophers, while Shewell blocked Rotterdam's final attempt!

A 0 - 0 game, 4 - 3 shootout ended this excellent, if flawed, game.

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