Introduction

Hello, everyone. We've talked endlessly about Man United's various players and how good they really are, but something which I've seen crop up on occasion is the idea of the 'winning mentality'. In other words, it's this idea that part of the reason that this club is struggling on the pitch at the moment is attributable to the fact that most of our players have little to no experience winning trophies and so lack the required drive, desire or experience to succeed in the same way that the likes of Liverpool and Man City have.
How do we measure 'winning mentality', though? I don't think it can truly be measured objectively, but medals and trophy cabinets might give us some indication. Thus, I'll be going through every player currently at the club (with a minimum cut-off of fifty career senior appearances) and looking at all the senior trophies they've won to see how true it is that our current problems stem partially from a lack of experience at winning things.

David de Gea

De Gea was bought from Atlético Madrid by Sir Alex on the 29th of June 2011 for £18.9 million (which was a British record for a goalkeeper at the time) and it's fair to say that he's been among our best players in recent years. You may already know that he's one of the very few players left at the club who has won a Premier League title, but what else has he won?
Not many people talk about this, but DDG had actually won stuff with Atlético prior to joining United, namely the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. Not the most impressive haul, but part of Fergie's magic was instilling a winning mentality into players who otherwise might not have possessed the same mental fortitude.
At United, De Gea was of course part of Ferguson's last title-winning squad. In addition, he has won an FA Cup under van Gaal, a League Cup under Mourinho, three Community Shields (one under Ferguson, one under Moyes and one under Mourinho) and he even got a winners' medal when Mourinho won the Europa League (I checked and he did actually play a few fixtures). All-in-all, not a bad trophy haul, but considering that he was the best goalkeeper in the world at one point, he'll be disappointed to have won just one league title and no Champions Leagues in his senior career. His lack of silverware with Spain will also be an issue for him.

Dean Henderson

Hendo came from the youth ranks but didn't sign a senior contract until August 2015. He has since gone on loan to Stockport County, Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United. In that time, he hasn't won a single senior trophy; the closest he came was making the EFL Trophy final with Shrewsbury and coming second in the Championship with Sheffield United. He's no doubt a solid keeper, but if we're to return to the glory days, Ole (or whoever a future manager might be) is going to need to drill him to win titles.

Sergio Romero

The Argentinian international was signed on a free transfer (his most recent club being Sampdoria) by Louis van Gaal on the 27th of July 2015. Prior to joining United, he had already won the Eredivisie and the Johan Cruyff Shield (which is basically the Dutch Super Cup) with AZ Alkmaar, so he had experience winning league titles. He had also recently featured in the World Cup Final for Argentina, but failed to win.
Since joining United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and, most notably, the Europa League. He has failed to win anything with Argentina despite reaching two Copa América finals. Considering he's essentially a backup, his trophy cabinet isn't too shabby. Plus, he absolutely earned that Europa League title under José considering he played both in the semi-final and the final (take notes, Ole).

Lee Grant

Manchester United's GOAT goalkeeper has had quite the career. Signed from Stoke City on the 3rd of July 2018 for a reported fee of £1.5 million, it's fair to say that he's a bit of a veteran, having made his senior debut all the way back in 2002. In that time, he has won absolutely nothing. I mean, I guess there's no obligation for the third-choice goalie to have won anything, but still, it's a little odd.

Joel Pereira

A youth player, Joel Pereira has spent most of his time on loan. He has yet to win anything.

Victor Lindelof

Lindelof was signed from Benfica by Mourinho in June 2017 for a fee of €35 million, and his list of honours is bigger than you might expect (granted, not quite playing at the same level). His first trophy was the Swedish Division 1 title with Vasteras SK, before winning three Primeira Liga titles, two Taca de Portugal titles, one Taca de Liga and one Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Benfica. In other words, prior to joining United, he had won four league titles, two cups, a league cup and a super cup. He has yet to win anything with Sweden, however, or with Manchester United for that matter.

Eric Bailly

Bailly was the first player to be signed by Mourinho on the 8th of June 2016 for £30 million; he had previously been at Villareal. Bailly is a rather unusual case in that he hadn't won any domestic trophies prior to joining United but he's also the first person on this list to have won international silverware, more specifically the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire. At United, he has won the Community Shield, the League Cup and the Europa League, all under José Mourinho.

Phil Jones

Now we come to none other than Jonesta himself. When he was first signed by Fergie from Blackburn Rovers on the 13th of June 2011 for £16.5 million, he was genuinely seen as one of the hottest young talents at the time despite not having won anything. It's a shame that hasn't really lived up to his potential, but right now, we're focussed only on trophies, and I have to say that he hasn't done too badly for himself on that front.
He's one of the few players at this club who has won the Premier League, more specifically Ferguson's last title (which is still one more than Steven Gerrard). He has also won the Community Shield under both Ferguson and Moyes (not under Mourinho, however), the FA Cup under van Gaal and the Europa League under Mourinho. At international level, he of course hasn't won anything with England.

Harry Maguire

Maguire was infamously signed for £80 million (a world record fee for a defender) from Leicester City on the 5th of August 2019. The only silverware he's ever won, though, is a Championship play-off trophy with Hull City, which is somehow still more than some of our other players. Of course, he's also reached two semi-finals with England (the World Cup and the Nations League) but he's yet to bring football home. With his record in mind, it's easy to see why some fans are sceptical of Slabhead's captaincy.

Marcos Rojo

Like Cristiano, Rojo came from Sporting, having been signed for £16 million by Louis van Gaal on the 19th of August 2014. He has been much-maligned by United fans for a while now (I bet most of you forgot he was still at the club), but his trophy cabinet, compared to most of our players, is actually relatively impressive.
While at Estudiantes de La Plata (which is not one of the Argentinian 'Big Two' of River Plate and Boca Juniors), Rojo won the 2010 Apertura (which I think counts as a league title?) and the 2009 Copa Libertadores. That makes him the first player on this list to have won a continental title. At United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Community Shield. I have to say, if the problem is players who lack a winning mentality then I'm not sure Rojo should be the first to go (though he's still deadwood IMO).

Axel Tuanzebe

Somehow, he actually makes the cut-off; I didn't realise how much he's actually played. Another youth player, most of Tuanzebe's appearances have come while on loan to Aston Villa, and he actually won the Championship play-off with them, so he already has a trophy in his cabinet. He also supposedly has a Europa League to his name, but I'm not sure how considering he hadn't made his debut yet, so I'll be cautious and exclude it.

Luke Shaw

Louis van Gaal signed Luke Shaw from Southampton on the 27th of June 2014 for a reported fee of £30 million (making him the most expensive teenager in world football at the time). What had he won at that point? Nothing. Still, he was considered a generational talent and he has since won a couple of stuff at Manchester United: the Community Shield and the Europa League, both under José. Yeah, his trophy cabinet is pretty barebones.
Interestingly enough, Chelsea were in for him at the same time United were, but backed out due to his wage demands. Perhaps Shaw would have won more trophies had he gone to Chelsea instead? More interesting is that José Mourinho was Chelsea manager at the time, so it's quite ironic that after refusing to sign Shaw, he'd end up managing him anyway.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah

I'm not sure what position TFM plays, but fullback seems most appropriate. Anyway, he came through our academy and didn't win anything on his various loan deals. However, he has won both the FA Cup and the Europa League at United, like most of our players, it seems.

Alex Telles

Signed from Porto for £15 million in this transfer window, I'm happy to say that he's actually won a lot of stuff in various leagues, which is hopefully a good sign.
Firstly, he has won the Copa FGF (a regional Brazilian cup competition) twice with Juventude. Secondly, he has won a league title with Galatasaray, as well as two Turkish Cups and a Turkish Super Cup. Finally, he has won two Primeira Liga titles, a Taca de Portugal and a Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Porto. He has won trophies at every club which he's spent more than a season with, so hopefully, he'll help United to our first piece of silverware since the Europa League under José.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Signed from Crystal Palace for £50 million on the 29th of June 2019, he hasn't got the greatest pedigree, winning nothing. How much he's expected to win at the age of 22, I don't know, but certainly, there's still plenty of time. What's needed is for someone to instil that winning mentality into him like Sir Alex would have done with his young signings.

Diogo Dalot

Dalot was supposedly considered a huge talent before signing for us, but really, it seems to me as if he should be a winger rather than a fullback. Anyway, we signed him from Porto on the 6th of June 2018 for £19 million, but went out on loan this transfer window to A.C. Milan. Believe it or not, he's actually got a trophy to his name, and it's not some minor super cup either; he's actually won the Primeira Liga with Porto. Dude has won more trophies than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Paul Pogba

Depending on who you ask, Pogba is a fantastic midfielder who is United's best player, a talented midfielder who has been too inconsistent or a waste of money who has cared only for himself (in José Mourinho's words, a 'virus'). This isn't too surprising considering we signed him for £89 million from Juventus on the 8th of August 2016, which was a world record for any player at the time; of course expectations were going to be high.
At Juventus, Pogba was a trophy-winning machine, having to his name four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. The lack of European success was his only weak spot in that regard. Since joining United, however, he's been restricted to a League Cup and a Europa League, which must feel like quite the stepdown (at least he's got a European trophy now, though probably not the one he wanted).
That's only counting club trophies, of course. His greatest achievement by far has to be his 2018 World Cup win for France; it's not as if he was a passenger either, being praised during the tournament for boosting France's midfield significantly. This, to me, shows that he can absolutely be motivated to win titles, but it doesn't seem to happening for him at United for whatever reason.

Juan Mata

The only David Moyes signing still at the club, Mata was signed from Chelsea in January 2014 for £37 million, which was a club record at the time. He had an illustrious career prior to joining United, and looking at his trophy cabinet, one could argue that he has effectively wasted his prime years at this club.
Even prior to joining Chelsea, he had won a Copa del Rey with Valencia and the 2010 World Cup with Spain. He then proceeded to win a Champions League, a Europa League and an FA Cup with Chelsea (as well as reaching the final of the FIFA Club World Cup), in addition to winning the 2012 European Championship with Spain. When United signed him at the age of 25, he had already won pretty much every major trophy barring a top-flight title and he hadn't even hit his prime, so the signing must have felt like an absolute steal.
Unfortunately, this is where Mata's success began to fade. At Manchester United, he has won a Europa League, an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Community Shield, but still no league title. At the age of 32, it seems unlikely that he'll win any more major trophies, which is a shame for a player who won so much at a tender age.

Jesse Lingard

Although he made several appearances as an unused sub under Fergie, Lingard didn't make his competitive debut for the club until the 2014-15 season under van Gaal (who loved to use youth players). How much has won, then? Not more than most other players, it should be said. None of his loan spells garnered him any trophies, but he has won the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield for Man United.

Fred

When United signed the Brazilian midfielder for £47 million from Shakhtar Donetsk on the 5th of June 2018, there were no doubt a few eyebrows raised. However, he has actually won a boatload of trophies at club level despite his lack of international success.
While at Internacional, Fred won the Campeonato Gaúcho (the top division of the Rio Grande do Sul regional leagues) twice and then proceeded to win three Ukrainian Premier League titles, three Ukrainian Cups and four Ukrainian Super Cups at Shakhtar Donetsk. That's actually not a bad trophy haul at all.

Bruno Fernandes

Ah, the Portuguese Magnifico himself; when United fans talk about the 'winning mentality', Bruno is often the first player that is pointed to as an example of a player who possesses this mentality. The question is, though, has Bruno actually won anything?
As a matter of fact, he has, but no league titles, unfortunately. While at Sporting, he has won a Taca de Portugal and two Taca da Liga titles, so a cup and two league cups. His most prestigious trophy is arguably the 2018-19 Nations League with Portugal, though time will tell if the Nations League successfully establishes itself as a premier competition. That being said, based solely on his trophy haul, there is little to suggest that Bruno has what it takes to win a league title (of course, anyone can see from his performances and demeanour on the pitch that he hates losing).

Nemanja Matic

The best Nemanja since Vidic, Matic has won a lot of trophies over his career. When he was first signed from Chelsea by Man United on the 31st of July 2017 for £40 million, he had already won the incredibly prestigious Slovak Cup with Kosice, before winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his two stints at Chelsea as well as a Primeira Liga and a Taca de Liga with Benfica. At United, he has won...nothing. In fact, if you discount his season-long loan at Vitesse, this is so far the only club in which Matic hasn't won anything.

Donny van de Beek

For Ajax, DvdB won an Eredivisie title, a Dutch Cup and a Johan Cruyff Shield. He also reached a Nations League final with the Netherlands. Time will tell if he can add to his trophy cabinet at Manchester United.

Scott McTominay

McSauce came through the youth ranks, made his debut at the end of the 2016-17 season and has yet to win anything.

Andreas Pereira

Pereira made his senior debut in the 2015-16 season before being loaned to Granada, Valencia and now Lazio. He has yet to win anything at senior level.

Edinson Cavani

The signing of Cavani has divided opinion. Some feel that he'll be the next Bastian Schweinsteiger or Radamel Falcao, while others feel that he could be the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, one thing that can't be denied is his massive trophy cabinet; whether a player who has achieved as much as he has is precisely what United needs is another matter.
The Uruguayan started his career by winning the Primera División with his boyhood club Danubio before winning a Coppa Italia with Napoli. However, it was at PSG where he really shone, winning six Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France four times, the Coupe de la Ligue five times and the Trophée des Champions four times. Yes, it's PSG and yes, he hasn't won any continental competitions, but he's still a proven winner. Add in the 2011 Copa América (which he won with Uruguay) and I don't think Man United have a more decorated player in their squad at the moment. The real question is whether Cavani is past it or whether he still possesses the class that he had in his prime.

Anthony Martial

On the 1st of September 2015, Manchester United famously threw £50 million down the drain to sign a 19-year-old Anthony Martial (who came from France) from AS Monaco. The English press declared that he had no chance; he went on to score 71 goals in 225 competitive games for United.
It should be said that Martial hadn't won anything when we signed him, but considering his age, that's forgivable. He has since won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and the Europa League, but still no Ballon d'Or. As for the French national team, Martial came close to winning Euro 2016 but he (and France) fell at the final hurdle, while he wasn't included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup.

Dr. Marcus Rashford MBE

The future Prime Minister and part-time Manchester United forward came through the academy ranks before making his debut under Louis van Gaal following an injury to Martial. Rashford during his time at Man United has won an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Community Shield, a Europa League, a Member of the Order of the British Empire and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.

Mason Greenwood

The best finisher at the club since Robin van Persie, Greenwood also came through the academy ranks. Given his young age and lack of experience, he of course hasn't won anything yet.

Daniel James

The Welsh winger was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first signing as manager, being bought from Swansea City on the 6th of June 2019 for £15 million. Given his previous club (Swansea) and his national team (Wales), it's no surprise that he's yet to win anything.

Odion Ighalo

Unlike the rest of the players here, Ighalo was loaned to us in January 2020 from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He may won just the one trophy, but when that trophy is none other than the coveted Chinese FA Cup, you can already tell that he's a natural born winner (Chinese FA Cup-winning centre-forward, you'll never sing that!). He also came second place in the Championship with Watford, but second place is first place for losers, so that doesn't really matter.

Jadon Sancho

Bought on deadline day for £120 million, Sancho has won the DFL-Supercup with Borussia Dortmund.
...screw Ed Woodward. At least we have Facundo Pellistri, eh?

Conclusion

This whole thing is turning into a bit of a mess, so let's standardise it with some numerical values. Note that these are just arbitrary numbers that I've assigned for comparison purposes, so don't take them as gospel.

World Cup, confederation cup (e.g. Euros), Champions League, Copa Libertadores = 20 points
Top-flight title in 'Big Five' leagues = 16 points
Europa League, national cup competition in 'Big Five' leagues = 10 points
UEFA Nations League = 6 points
Other top-flight title = 5 points
Other national cup competition = 3 points
Other cup (e.g. league cups, super cups) = 1 point

With this system, here are all the current Man United players (min. 50 senior appearances) ranked by trophy haul.

Cavani: 180
Pogba: 117
Mata: 112
Matic: 52
De Gea: 51
Rojo: 47
Jones: 38
Fred: 33
Bailly: 32
Lindelof: 28
Romero: 28
Telles: 27
Lingard: 22
Martial: 22
Rashford: 22
Fosu-Mensah: 20
Fernandes: 11
Shaw: 11
Van de Beek: 9
Dalot: 5
Ighalo: 3
Maguire: 1
Tuanzebe: 1
Grant: 0
Greenwood: 0
Henderson: 0
James: 0
McTominay: 0
Pereira (both of them): 0
Wan-Bissaka: 0

Obviously, trophies aren't everything (I am not seriously suggesting that Phil Jones has a stronger mentality than Bruno Fernandes) but this might be interesting. For reference, here's the list for all of Man United's players who played in at least five league games in the 2012-13 season (our last league title) up to and including the beginning of that season (so trophies won after the start of the 2012-13 season, including the league title, aren't counted).

Ryan Giggs: 291\*
Paul Scholes: 244*
Rio Ferdinand: 113*+
Anderson: 111*
Nemanja Vidic: 108*
Michael Carrick: 98*+
Patrice Evra: 97*
Wayne Rooney: 95*
Nani: 83*
Shinji Kagawa: 62
Jonny Evans: 44*^
Chicharito: 42
Rafael: 41*
Antonio Valencia: 23
Robin van Persie: 21
Chris Smalling: 18
David de Gea: 12
Danny Welbeck: 9*
Anders Lindegaard: 4
Tom Cleverley: 2
Ashley Young: 2
Phil Jones: 1

*Player won the Club World Cup, which I've assigned 6 points
+Player won the Intertoto Cup, which I've assigned 3 points
^Player won the second division of a 'Big Five' league, which I've assigned 3 points

OK, firstly, jeez, calm down, Giggsy. Secondly, LOL at Anderson being ahead of Vidic, Carrick, Ferdinand, Evra and Rooney. Thirdly, that 2012-13 squad contained 10 players who had a score greater than 52 at the time (and of course, several of them saw a jump after the title win). The current squad has 3. Obviously, it's much easier when you've been winning titles left, right and centre for the past twenty years, but make no mistake: Fergie drilled his teams to win at all costs.

It's a long read, there is no TLDR.

This post is aimed at the ones that are on the fence watching or have jumped the fence but have not a truly formed opinion. There are a lot of opinions about Star Citizen, but I have never seen publicized (not saying they do not exist) a more neutral stance opinion.
While I was thinking about Star Citizen and certain things I have been reading/hearing (good or bad) in the last year to this point, and how new players end up feeling "cheated" not by the game, but how they perceived the game by the community way of exposing things, I decided to sit down, make a cup of cappuccino and write this Q&A style post which I think better illustrates what I'm trying to pass across.
Just a brief explanation of my story with Star Citizen before me procced. I have been following this game since patch 2.1 I believe (a shit ton of years ago) at that time, I was watching a specific streamer which made me jump in the hype wagon. I cashed out the basic pack of the time, an Aurora, and jumped on the game. HOLY. FUCKING. MOLE. Seeing and playing are two very different things. Even for me at the time I was well aware of this fact (less than today, but was). After 3 to 4 days of having purchased my Aurora, I asked for a refund (wich was given), stop following the game, and moved on.
I still read some news from Star Citizen from time to time. At this time, the majority of news was not very different from what you can see today, outside of SC content creators. The game is a scam, the game is delayed while scamming players, SC fans are getting angry, the money is drying up, the game is dead, etc, etc.
Them 2018, I for some reason, end up following the game, and mid of 2019 I once again forked the cash-out. Bought a Cutlass Black game pack that I changed to my current setup Anvil Pisces pack (PU + SQ42 68 euros); Banu Merchantman (300 and something euros) and Aegis Sabre (160 euros or whatever) 550 to 600 euros total +/-
With my presentation made, Let's follow with the Q&A type session.
Q: Is this game a Scam?
A: Clearly at this point in the game life, people that still spout this nonsense have never been scammed or have very little clues about what a scam is supposed to be. Trying to explain why the Sun is hot is stupidy, the Sun is hot period, you do need to be a fucking scientist to figure that one out. Nop, Star Citizen, at the moment I'm writing this post, is not a Scam, period.
Q: But Star Citizen as made more than 300 million just from backers, and depending on who you check the game as been in development from 8 to 10 years. How can it not be a Scam?
A: Is not a Scam, but it's also a prime example of bad money management. If all this money had better management, the project would be 2 to 3 years added of its current stat.
Q: But its been 8 to 10 years developing the game, X game (insert whatever game you want here) took 4 to 7 years and cost much less to make.
A: I will reiterate again, This project had money wasted (millions), that is a fact. But I dare any of the initial backers to come here and tell they were sure SC would gather so much money under its belt? I dare any of the initial backers if Chris Roberts went and opened a studio in the UK: Germany and the dunno how many in the USA right out the belt if they would not call in crazy right in the spot. A megalomaniac dreaming of grandeur.
A lot of people can squirm all they want. One thing is having a studio/studios already in place with devs in their wings under contract, the other is to make everything from scratch. That takes time and more extra money (we are talking millions here, not thousands)
This was the game pitched by the end of 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92rb-8mYHE0 now compare to what we have today...
Q: And the 30 thousand game packs the game sell? Players spending hundreds and thousands in the game. I read about a lot of them saying they were scammed. Do I need that amount to play the game?
A: Nah, they were not scammed. They are simply stupid! Coming to SC that is in development, spending hundreds to thousands, and them cry that the milk bottle fell on the floor and the cat is drinking the milk is like the pinnacle of human stupidity. I love even more the ones saying that they then need the money back because they cannot pay for their current expenses and as such were scammed... Backers can be angry about a lot of things in SC. One of the most in face cases being that CIG oand Chris Robert being natural fucking liars about release dates, and everything that comes out of their mouths should not be believed until it's finally in-game or released. But spending an absurd amount of money that some simply cannot afford to spend and then saying CIG is at fault... rotfl! Cry me some more please =D
And no, you do not need to spend so much. Buy the Cutlass Black pack or Freelance pack and you can do almost everything the game as to offer to this day. Also, remember that you can now buy in-game or simply rent a great number of ships.
Q: But, but, and CR mansion? Boat? Where did he found money for all that? For sure money, it's ending in his pocket!
A: Do you still believe in unicorns and fairies? Of course, the man put money in his pockets! And I'm quite certain was not the only one. The day you can find a place were a multi-million dollar project as no corruption, it's the day you know you are dead and you had the good fortune to end up in Heaven. Congratulations.
Q: So, me buying SC is a sure bet, right?
A: Holy Moly, this question it's so ambiguous and open for debate at this stage of SC live that here is where I think a lot of newcomers are fucked right in the ass.
The first and most important thing that future and current players have to understand... SC is not a game, but a tech demo at the moment. So, if you are going to SC thinking you are buying a game today, I can tell you, NO! You are NOT buying a game, but a promise.
Q: But there are streamers streaming this game all the time. YouTubers. Organizations. How can you say this is a tech demo and not a game?
A: The first two you mention are 90% in the category of "they enjoy the game and want to try to make a living off the game"
Not today, maybe one or another already can, but the idea is to establish yourself as an SC content creator and when the game finally booms in the scene, they will get a large enough base that will allow them to make a living of content creation of this game.
I can assure you for a fact, that streamers and YouTubers have been raised and killed in the years that SC as been up and about because it still as not reach the main stage.
The other 10% and organizations have fun with what SC already offers and they enjoy making content for SC and playing with other like-minded players.
Q: Now I'm confused. Then I should not buy Star Citizen?
A: Again, ambiguous, and open for debate. I will repeat myself, SC is not a game, but a tech demo in its current development stage. Buying in SC right at this moment is beliving in a promise. CIG is putting forward, bit by bit, small step by small step a bigger and bigger tech demo, that will at one point finally be called Star Citizen the game.
Can you have fun in its current life cycle? Sure you can! But you need to understand what the game as to offer atm and if it really can give you that amount of fun. I'm going to use myself as an example. World of Warcraft a game loved by millions. If you ask me, do I prefer to play for 2 hours WoW or SC I'm going to say Star Citizen. No, I'm not saying SC is a superior game, God no! I'm saying is that I don't enjoy playing WoW (single target bash bash, is not my cup of tea) and enjoy much more the little content offered by SC compared to the megamouth that WoW is.
Q: What do you enjoy in the game?
A: I feel immersed in the Star Citizen world. I enter SC and my body is not feeling any pressure. I like visually what I see. I love the feeling of entering my ship and sitting on the cockpit and saying "wow, this ship is mine." I can look at the stars in the sky and be a part of them. I love the work the devs are doing with the planet and moon tech. Hell if we were going to judge the game just for that and its soundtrack, SC would without a doubt the WoW of modern times in the success department. I enjoy flying my ship doing trade and combat. Not analyzing the current 3.10 patch changes, just saying the feeling.
Q: Then, what don't you enjoy in the game?
A: 30k errors. (If you are not aware is an error saying the server died for whatever reason). Nothing like you doing trade, having a Cat full of cargo and sayonara cargo, and all the money spent on it. If SC was able to get rid of the 30k or at least just save what we have in our cargo while trading, SC would be 100x more enjoyable. Lack of optimization. I have a ryzen 2700x, 16GB ram, and RTX2070 overclocked that makes me stay in between a normal RTX 2070 and a normal RTX 2080 and a 1440P monitor and my in-game FPS is dog shit... 30+/- in cities and 60+/- in space. It's not the best PC setup, but it's already a beefy setup. No real gameplay loops. A bunch of space full of nothing basically.
Q: But I have seen vids of players doing things like 25vs25 PvP, amazing space and planet battles, even recreating some funny things from movies and real-life events.
A: Let's take soccer as an example (I'm European, where this sport is the King here) I give you ball and a field from a major team to play on alone. Sure it's going to be fun for some time but comes to a point that it's boring as fuck. Now I get you more 21 people to play with you and a soccer field made of dirt terrain. I can assure you are going to have a ton of fun for a long time, in that shit soccer field with other players than in the all nice and pro soccer field alone. SC is the Pro soccer field all clean and beautiful without the players. For that point, any game with other people is normally fun, does not matter how shit the game is. Taking WoW again as an example. Does not matter how good the game is if you only play that game alone. After a certain time, that game is pure dog shit.
Q: I read some saying the game is getting dated and even console games are now better graphically that SC.
A: This conversation exists since the PS1 time. Insert title game in PC that as amazing graphics to have some guys saying consoles are superior... Consols are getting better and better. That is a fact, but they are still not comparable to PC. even in shit ports to PC, a lot of the games play with 30 FPS in console (not even being able to get that many FPS in all areas of the game), while their PC counterpart plays with 90+ FPS and if in a top pc 120+ FPS
Another point that is extremely important to understand, it's a single-player game is worlds different from a multiplayer game, and even more to an MMO.
It's like the Unreal Engine 5 vs SC... we still do not have a fucking game that uses the full force of Unreal Engine 4 capabilities and some are already fapping over UR5. Yes UR5 will without a doubt bring some new techs to the table that will be amazing, and I love Unreal Engine 3 and 4. But it's like RTX tech. Sure one or another game as this tech (badly implemented) but so what? The tech came to the general public in 2018 and unless you count Minecraft that as some amazing RTX usage, you will wait some more years until RTX is something that enough games will use to be considered a must-have tech... same crap with Unreal Engine 5.
Q: What about all the promises CR and CIG said about the game and we can all see it will be near impossible to come in fruition?
A: As I said before, they are liars. This project as the possibility in my opinion and many others to be an amazing game, that in normal circumstances could never be created when first pitched and in the next years. But there is a lot that was promised that will never see the light of day. That is why I advise any possible new backer to judge the project for what already as to offer and for what we can see as "real" in the near future. Not what the game will be in the next few years.
There could be more things I could write, but I believe I have put a good number of things already in this post. If anyone wants to put a question forward that wants me to answer, please feel free to do so.

[OC] What if every world cup team had the same population? - Group G

Afternoon all, welcome back to the series that Gary Neville described as ‘How did you get this number, no I don’t know what you’re on about, piss off’. So far I’ve brought to life the teams of 24 hypothetical regions, that’s an entire Euro 2020’s worth! hmm that gives me an idea...
Before I begin separating the counties of Estonia, let’s stay focused and remind ourselves of how we got this far.
Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F,
Today’s post details the squads of the tournament’s penultimate group. Whilst this pool of players isn’t the greatest, they will be playing in front of the most participant sets of fans. Mexican waves meet Vuvuzelas in the battle for top spot while the other two’s wavin flags will look like this.
Southern Africa
South Africa, Lesotho, Eswantini, Mauritius, Reuinion, Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania
Population (millions): 255.34
The part of the world that brought us the only African world cup to date (and some other less wholesome moments in history), this southern hemispheric subcontinent has underachieved in modern memory.
The region is a mix of engrossed and apathetic when it comes to footballing subscription in the public consciousness, with four of the top seven African GDP’s per capita, their resources should theoretically be better than anyones. Just four World Cup qualifications (one of those by default) makes this the second least punctual region of the continent.
Lusophone’s Angola are the exception to an otherwise South African sweep of appearances. The ‘Giant sable antelopes’ (I’m sure it sounds better in portuguese) shocked the CAF by toppling Nigeria by the narrowest of margins to reach the 2006 finals; the nation’s top scorer and Barbie Girl singing eurodance group Akwá was the protagonist in a 1-0 win against the Super Eagles, this retrospectively acted as a tie-breaker when David & Goliath finished with the same points in their qualifying group. Their time in Germany was short yet respectable, conceding just two goals in three games and almost holding their colonisers Portugal to a bore draw, revenge is sweet.
A rugby nation by trade, South Africa were crowned World Cup champions just last year, unfortunately for soccer fans they have flattered to deceive in the world’s most beloved game. A ‘golden generation’ in 2002 featured the coloured careers of Steven Pienaar, Benni McCarthy, Lucas Radebe and Quinton Fortune; failing to escape an easy group, a huge opportunity missed. 18 years on Bafana Bafana’s only big names are of a literal sense.
Contrary to what I would have guessed, South Africa is not the regions most populous nation; Tanzania’s 56 million inhabitants puts them level with England, and the nation seem to identify as footyholics as much as their historic oppressors, unfortunately they haven’t got their money's worth for their sporting subscription.
The tiny island of reunion has produced the likes of Dimitri Payet and Laurent Robert, but since still being a French territory, anyone worth their salt gets a plane to Paris.
Botswana fail to feature in the squad, but with top clubs called ‘Meat Commision’ and ‘Miscellaneous’, it might be safe to say the nation isn’t taking the game as seriously as others.

Goalkeepers				Birthplace	FM20	Value	Age
Itumeleng Khune	RSA	Kaiser Chiefs	GK	Ventersdorp	67	€0.47	32
Darren Keet	RSA	OH Leuven	GK	Cape Town	58	€0.80	30
Defenders
Bastos	ANG	Lazio	CB	Luanda	70	€12.70	28
Mexer	MOZ	Bordeaux	CB	Maputo	65	€4.50	32
Clinton Mata	ANG	Club Brugge	CB	Verviers	63	€7.70	28
Jeremy Morel	MAD	Rennais	CB	Lorient, France	63	€0.30	35
Bruno Gaspar	ANG	Olympiakos	RB	Evora, Portugal	60	€1.70	26
Romain Metanire	MAD	Minnesota	RB	Metz, France	60	€3.30	30
Reinildo	MOZ	Lille	LB	Beira	54	€0.75	26
Nurio	ANG	Charleroi	LB	Luanda	60	€3.60	25
Midfielders
Wilson Eduardo	ANG	Braga	RW	Pedras Rubras	66	€5.90	30
Percy Tau	RSA	Club Brugge	RW	Witbank	65	€17.60	25
Marvelous Nakamba	ZIM	Aston Villa	CDM	Hwange	64	€14.00	26
Khama Billiat	ZIM	Kaiser Chiefs	RW	Harare	66	€0.50	30
Thulani Serero	RSA	Al Jazira	CDM	Soweto	61	€4.90	30
Keagan Dolly	RSA	Montpellier	CAM	Johannesburg	62	€3.70	27
Bongani Zungu	RSA	Amiens	CM	Duduza	64	€4.80	27
Djalma	ANG	Alanyaspor	LM	Luanda	60	€1.10	32
Forwards
Mbwana Ally Samatta	TAN	Aston Villa	ST	Dar Es Salaam	66	€19.90	27
Patson Daka	ZAM	RB Salzburg	ST	Chingola	64	€2.60	21
Lebo Mothiba	RSA	Strasbourg	ST	Johannesburg	62	€3.70	24
Tinotenda Kadewere	ZIM	Lyon	ST	Harare	62	€3.70	24
				Averages/Totals	63	€118.22	28

On paper the team shouldn’t need to rely on talismanic powers as the middling quality runs true throughout this team. Aston Villa surely have a scout in this part of the world as they are blessed with the services of key players Marvellous Nakamba and Mbwana Samatta.
Samatta became the Premier League’s first Tanzanian in January and will hopefully have a chance to add to his three appearances sooner rather than later. The imposing frontman scored 23 goals in the Belgian league in 2018-19 which makes him almost over qualified to lead the line in this XI.
Patson Daka was 13 and playing for locals Nchanga Rangers when Zambia sensationally shocked the world to lift the 2012 AFCON; the goldenboy of a generation determined to sequel the Copper Bullets’ success. The speedy Salzburg striker already has 24 caps for his country, time will tell if he is to follow Haaland and Minamino out of Austria to a European giant.
Mononymous Angolan Bastos will command the defence as best he can. Although recently struggling to make the squad, Bastos has served Lazio well with his protective prowess.
A plethora of pacey playmakers completes the assembly that will most likely finish runners up in this group. An exit in the round of 16 is on the cards as by process of elimination lots of you have already worked out Group H’s heavyweights are North & Central Europe.
West India
3 Indian States (Maharashtra, Gujurat, Madhya Pradesh)
Population (millions)
All the way back to the simpler time of Group A I hastily declared Uttar Pradesh as the worst region in the world, I’d like to publicly apologize for that remark as it’s become clear to me that West India is the bottom of a very deep barrell.
The region that provides the setting for Slumdog Millionaire has plenty to answer for as finding 22 players in this part of the world was harder than a where's wally of Manish market.

Goalkeepers				Birthplace	FM20	Value	Age
Kunal Sawant	IND	Mumbai City	GK	Maharashtra	16	€0.01	28
Sukhdev Patil	IND	Churchill Brothers	GK	Maharashtra	14	€0.00	21
Defenders
Rahul Bheke	IND	Bengaluru	RB	Maharashtra	33	€0.03	29
Ashutosh Mehta	IND	Mohun Bagan	RB	Gujurat	22	€0.02	28
Raju Galkwad	IND	Kerala Blasters	CB	Maharashtra	21	€0.01	29
Jayesh Rane	IND	ATK	RB	Maharashtra	21	€0.01	27
Abhishek Ambekar	IND	East Bengal	LB	Maharashtra	20	€0.01	28
Rohan Adnaik	IND	DSK Shivajians	CB	Maharashtra	13	€0.00	28
Karan Amin	IND	Jamshedpur	LB	Maharashtra	13	€0.01	30
Pratik Chaudhuri	IND	Mumbai City	CB	Maharashtra	18	€0.01	30
Midfielders
Raynier Fernandes	IND	Mumbai City	CDM	Maharashtra	26	€0.02	24
Farukh Choudhary	IND	Jamshedpur	CAM	Maharashtra	25	€0.02	23
Kean Lewis	IND	Bengaluru	LM	Maharashtra	21	€0.01	27
Alwyn George	IND	Minerva Punjab	CM	Maharashtra	20	€0.01	28
Shilton D'Silva	IND	Mohun Bagun	CM	Maharashtra	19	€0.01	27
Aditya Ashok Jha	IND	ARA fc	LW	Gujarat	11	€0.01	20
Nikhil Kadam	IND	Northeast United	RW	Maharashtra	17	€0.01	25
Darren Caldeira	IND	Kerala Blasters	CM	Maharashtra	17	€0.01	32
Forwards
Aniket Jadhav	IND	Jamshedpur	CF	Maharashtra	16	€0.01	19
Arif Shaikh	IND	Gokulam	ST	Maharashtra	13	€0.01	26
Bipin Singh	IND	Mumbai	ST	Maharashtra	17	€0.01	25
Girik Khosla	IND	Minerva Punjab	ST	Maharashtra	17	€0.01	25
				Averages/Totals	19	0.25

With 8 caps for the national team, Rahul Bheke is made to look like prime Cafu alongside his defensive compatriots. The Bengaluru full back plays a leading role in a one-star Bollywood show.
Aniket Jadnav is maybe the one to keep an eye on, the wide forward failed trials at Blackburn late last year, but the fact that they even asked him makes this teenage talent the side’s crappy Mbappe.
A Bombay mix of unknowns will be thankful they haven’t drawn against the real heavyweights of the competition, or they could be on the end of a cricket score.
Mexico & Central US
Mexico, 16 US States (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois)
Population (millions): 244.75
The big wall will have to wait as this side leaves rednecks turning in their trailers. The region has fathered two point three tournaments with one on the way, but the main feature of this team always seems to leave the party early when it’s not at their house.
Mexico have been excruciatingly expelled in the second round an eye-watering SEVEN times running, the sombrero wearing soccer obsessed Senior’s are so frequently the bridesmaid it’s no exaggeration to call them football’s spinsters.
The US’s largest state, Texas, is the birthplace of one of America’s greatest players and worst rappers, Clint Dempsey. His impressive club career was an MLS sandwich with a London filling, the posterboy of a Fulham team that miraculously reached the Europa league final. Romantically tied with fellow yank legend Landon Donovan, Dempsey retired joint top scorer for USMNT, including four goals in three seperate world cups.
Mexican legends of the game include Hugo Sanchez, who scored over 200 goals for Real Madrid, and Barcelona treble winner Rafael Marquez who incredibly played 19 games across five World Cups, considering they never manage more than four, that’s almost as good as it gets.
Today El Tri are seemingly at the beginning of a promising Mexican generation that coincides with some notable late bloomers.

Goalkeepers				Birthplace	FM20	Value	Age
Guillermo Ochoa	MEX	America	GK	Guadalajara	71	€4.20	34
Jonathan Orozco	MEX	Santos Laguna	GK	Monterry	68	€2.90	33
Defenders
Jesus Corona	MEX	Porto	RB	Sonora	72	€23.00	26
John Brooks	USA	Wolfsburg	CB	Berlin	67	€7.10	26
Hector Moreno	MEX	Al Gharafa	CB	Sinaloa	68	€6.10	31
Carlos Salcedo	MEX	Tigres	CB	Guadalajara	68	€5.70	25
Nestor Aruajo	MEX	Celta Vigo	CB	Guadalajara	70	€15.80	26
Hugo Ayala	MEX	Tigres	CB	Michoacan	68	€2.70	32
Miguel Layun	MEX	Monterrey	RB	Veracruz	66	€3.80	31
Jorge Sanchez	MEX	America	LB	Coahuila	63	€2.30	21
Midfielders
Isaac Brizuela	MEX	Chivas	RM	California	64	€4.40	29
Hector Herrera	MEX	Atleti	CM	Tijuana	75	€33.40	29
Hirving Lozano	MEX	Napoli	RW	Mexico City	75	€27.70	24
Victor Guzman	MEX	Pachua	CM	Guadalajara	66	€4.20	24
Andres Guardado	MEX	Real Betis	CM	Guadalajara	71	€9.20	32
Jonathan Dos Santos	MEX	LA Galaxy	CM	Monterry	70	€5.60	29
Rodolfo Pizarro	MEX	Miami FC	CAM	Tamulipas	72	€4.40	25
Edson Alvarez	MEX	Ajax	CDM	State of Mexico	70	€8.10	21
Forwards
Raul Jimenez	MEX	Wolves	ST	Hidalgo	74	€39.00	28
Javier Hernandez	MEX	LA Galaxy	ST	Guadalajara	66	€4.10	31
Gio Dos Santos	MEX	America	CF	Monterry	64	€2.20	30
Carlos Vela	MEX	LAFC	LF	Quintana Roo	75	€6.30	30
				Averages/Totals	69	€222.20	28.04545455

One of the more mundane concoctions, it’s plain to see that Johnathan Brooks is the only ‘American’ to dare cross the border. The centre back scored a winner against Ghana in 2014 avenging the defeat of 2010.
After struggling badly at Atleti and then Benfica, it’s an unlikely story that aged 27 Raul signed for Wolves and has since become one of the Premier Leagues most feared strikers. The nation is hoping to harness whatever time he’ll be able to stay at this level, having scored five goals in a winning Gold Cup campaign.
Eredivisie fans will be familiar with Guardado and Alvarez, the bookends of a variety of age groups in the middle of the park.
‘Chucky’ Lozano is the posterboy, the Napoli winger scored the only goal in an historic victory over 2014 champions Germany. At just 24, it shouldn’t be of too much concern that he is competing to become a regular amongst fierce Neopolitan competition.
As usual, perhaps North-America’s best bet for success. They should win this group, but with the second round curse yet to be broken, maybe another John Brooks goal is needed to make the quarters.
Greater Beijing
7 Chinese provinces (Beijing, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Tianjin)
Population (millions): 246.63
The capital with plenty of capital, Beijing is the focal point of a Chinese region that stands the best chance of all it’s countryfolk. The region boasts half of the national team’s top ten appearance makers.
Liaoning is the most vibrant reserve of Chinese talent, defender Sun Jihai is often revered as the country's greatest player with 127 premier league appearances for Man City, after years of battling relegation his departure came just one month before the Abu Dhabi group took over, a cautious tale of what happens when you let cookies decide your fortune.
Domestic football is rife in the region with six of 16 CSL teams, including Beijing Guoan, who pay for the services of Cedric Bakambu and Renato Augusto.

Goalkeepers				Birthplace	FM20	Value	Age
Liu Dianzuo	CHN	Guangzhou E	GK	Liaoning	47	€1.90	29
Wang Dalei	CHN	Shandong Luneng	GK	Liaoning	53	€3.70	31
Defenders
Nico Yennaris	CHN	Beijing Guoan	RB	London	59	€10.40	26
Li Xuepeng	CHN	Guangzhou E	LB	Liaoning	51	€3.40	32
Wang Tong	CHN	Shandong Luneng	RB	Liaoning	50	€3.20	27
Liu Yiming	CHN	Guangzhou E	CB	Liaoning	49	€3.40	25
Dai Lin	CHN	Shandong Luneng	CB	Liaoning	49	€2.00	32
Feng Xiaoting	CHN	Guangzhou E	CB	Liaoning	48	€1.10	35
Gao Zhunyi	CHN	Guangzhou E	CB	Jilin	48	€3.50	25
Ren Hang	CHN	Hebei C Fortune	CB	Liaoning	48	€2.40	31
Midfielders
Wu Xi	CHN	Jiangsu Suning	CDM	Hebei	53	€4.40	31
Yu Hanchao	CHN	Free Agent	RM	Liaoning	53	€2.50	33
Chi Zhongguo	CHN	Beijing Guoan	CDM	Jilin	52	€4.60	30
Zheng Zhi	CHN	Guangzhou E	CM	Liaoning	52	€0.48	40
Zhang Chengdong	CHN	Hebei C Fortune	RM	Hebei	50	€3.20	31
Jin Jingdao	CHN	Shandong Luneng	CM	Jilin	47	€2.60	28
Piao Cheng	CHN	Beijing Guoan	CM	Jilin	47	€3.20	31
Yin Hongbo	CHN	Hebei C Fortune	CAM	Jilin	47	€2.70	30
Forwards
Dong Xuesheng	CHN	Hebei C Fortune	ST	Liaoning	49	€3.50	31
Yang Xu	CHN	Tianjin	ST	Liaoning	47	€3.00	32
Tan Long	CHN	Changchun Yatai	ST	Liaoning	47	€3.00	32
Wu Xinghan	CHN	Shandong Luneng	ST	Liaoning	46	€2.40	32
				Average/Totals	50	€70.58	30.81818182

Ex-Celtic and Charlton midfielder Zheng Zhi has 108 national caps and counting, still wearing the arm-band at 39 years old. An industrious and efficient playstyle combined with terrific passing range lends itself to still being able to compete at such a late age, although he will require the leg work of fellow 30-somethings Wu Xi and Chi Zhonguo if moves can be made.
Born in London, Nico Yennaris or ‘Li Ke’ was the first ever naturalised Chinese player, the former Arsenal youth and Brentford stalwart is hoping to become a trailblazer to the development of Asian football.
It isn’t an absolute certainty that this team will come third, but beating Southern Africa will be key, in a group of subjectively low quality, China’s best team is maybe their only hope.
Emotional times as tomorrow brings the final group, by this point it should be obvious who’s left.
See you all in the comments to discover what I’ve got wrong today (I will comb through the whole thing with your suggestions once this is done).

Royale | Parahumans World Tour Episode 2: London, England

Countdown to Kickoff 2020: Sporting Kansas City

Welcome to the /MLS Sporting Kansas City Countdown to Kickoff!

If you fancy a trip back in time, here are 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Many thanks to dd12939 for allowing me to steal this template.
Now on with the show!
Team Name: Sporting Kansas City Head Coach: Peter Vermes Technical Director: Brian Bliss Captain: Matt Besler Stadium: Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, KS Ownership: Sporting Club Mascot: Blue the Dog Kits: Primary, Secondary Supporters Groups: The Cauldron and South Stand SC Subreddit: /SportingKC USL Championship Affiliate: ~~Swope Park Rangers~~ Sporting KC II News and Commentary: The Blue Testament, The Full 90, Talkin' Touches Podcast, No Other Pod Twitter Follows: Andy Edwards, Chad Smith, Mike
History: • MLS Cup: 2000, 2013 • Supporters’ Shield: 2000 • US Open Cup: 2004, 2012, 2015, 2017 Coaches: • Ron Newman (1996-1999) • Bob Gansler (1999-2006) • Curt Onalfo (2006-2009) • Peter Vermes (2009-Present)
Sporting Legends: • Winger Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic (1996-2000/2002-2005) • GK Tony Meola (1999-2004) • Coach Bob Gansler (1999-2006) • Defender Jimmy Conrad (2003-2010) • DefendeCoach Peter Vermes (2000-2002/2009-Present) • Owner Lamar Hunt (1995-2006) • Midfielder Chris Klein (1998-2005) • MidfieldeAssistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin (2000-2008/2009-Present) • Forward Mo Johnston (1996-2001)
• Forward Josh Wolff (2003-2006, 2008-2010)
2020 Season Opener: Saturday, February 29 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2020 Home Opener: Saturday, March 7th vs. Houston Dynamo
Preseason Roster
Predicted Preferred Gameday 18: 4-3-3

-------------------Pulido------------------- --Salloi---------------------------Russell-- ------------Felipe-------Espinoza----------- --------------------Ilie-------------------- -Martins-----Besler-----Puncec-----Zusi- -------------------Melia--------------------

Subs: Sanchez, Barath, Dia, Kinda, Busio, Gerso, Shelton
Note: It is entirely possible Gerso starts over Salloi. That’s the only real positional battle for the opener, though.

2019 Overview

Western Conference Table

Pos.	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
10	Houston Dynamo	34	12	18	4	49	59	-10	40
11	Sporting Kansas City	34	10	16	8	49	67	-18	38
12	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	8	16	10	37	59	-22	34

Offensive Leaders

Player	Minutes	Goals	Assists
Felipe Gutierrez	2722	12	3
Johnny Russell	2115	9	9
Krisztian Nemeth	1559	8	2
Yohan Croizet	1091	3	2
Gianluca Busio	923	3	1
Gerso Fernandes	1749	2	6
Ilie Sanchez	2509	2	5

Season Review

Heading into 2019, expectations were sky-high for SKC fans. Fresh off of securing the top spot in the Western conference and being one half away from going to the final game of MLS Cup, Sporting returned a bunch of veterans and brought in some new players to replace and improve upon the departures. We’ll talk about the players later, but suffice to say: they didn’t. Even the most pessimistic SKC fan wouldn’t have predicted the bottom falling out quite as hard as it did in 2019, causing SKC to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2010. It seems that everything that could go wrong, did. The fact that the season started off as well as it did made the collapse all the more painful.
We began our season in CONCACAF Champions League, beginning with the toughest draw of any MLS team: Toluca. Since SKC was the lower seed, we started our campaign at home, with the second leg of the contest being at Toluca. The result? 3-0, SKC. Goals from Nemeth, Gerso, and Ilie. Nemeth looked like the goalscorer we needed at the striker position, Gerso looked like he was going to put it all together with a goal and an assist, and Ilie did this. It was as great of a result as we could have imagined, heading down to Mexico with a commanding lead and no away goals conceded. Everyone expected a cagy, defensive match where we held on for dear life and advanced. Instead, Sporting KC scored in the 8th minute and never looked back, ending the game with a 2-0 victory and heading on to the next round 5-0 on aggregate. At one point, Toluca’s own fans were mocking their team, shouting “Ole!” every time SKC completed another pass. It was hailed around the league, with articles written about the historic win and pundits calling Sporting KC potentially the best pure possession team in MLS history. It’s safe to say that the hype was very real. Next up: MLS play.
We opened our MLS campaign against LAFC, who finished third in the West in their expansion year and were widely considered to be a real contender in 2019 (and for good reason). The game took place three days after the victory in Toluca, and three days before we were scheduled to travel to Panama to take on Independiente in the next round of CCL. Peter Vermes opted to play his full first choice XI in California, wanting to fight for as many points as possible to avoid digging a hole early. It would have worked, too, if it wasn’t for a meddling Diomande, who broke the 1-1 tie in the 90+4 minute to give LAFC 3 points. It was a disappointing result, but not cause for any panic. LAFC was good, SKC was tired, all was fine. Fontas suffered a hip pointer and was subbed out, but that’s no big deal. Oh, how naive we were. We didn’t know what was coming. Next up: Independiente. We traveled down to Panama and brought a 2-1 deficit, as well as an injured Salloi, home. SKC beat Philadelphia 2-0 in the home opener, calming concerns that things were going wrong. The home leg of the Independiente contest had SKC cruise to a 3-0 win, 4-2 on aggregate, and backup striker Hurtado was hurt, undergoing knee surgery and given a 2-3 month timetable for return.
The next two games were MLS play: a 1-1 tie with Colorado made notable by former SKC striker Diego Rubio scoring the opener before Russell’s incredible free kick salvaged a draw for SKC. There was also the 7-1 home victory over Montreal. Nemeth hat trick, Busio goal, tons of fun. Unfortunately for SKC fans, that was just about the last bit of fun for a long while. Their next win wouldn’t come until the end of May against Seattle. The next CCL matchup was against Monterrey, who completely obliterated SKC to the tune of 5 goals to nil. In the first leg. The second leg wasn’t much better, with Monterrey beating SKC in KC 5-2, for an aggregate score of 10-2.
The rest of the season was very bad and I won’t spend much time on it. Two wins against Seattle was certainly nice, but there were way too many embarrassing scorelines. 1-4 against SJ, 0-3 against Atlanta, 1-5 against LAFC, 2-7 against LAG, and 0-6 against FC Dallas all stand out. I’ll get into the players, but it’s safe to say that injuries completely and utterly destroyed SKC’s season. At one point, there were 6 players healthy enough to practice. SKC earned 1 point from the 6 games they played after August to close out the season.

Players

Check out The Blue Testament’s Year in review for every player, located here!
Shoutout to major_winters_506 for their offseason roster thread here

Transfers Out

Date	Player	Position	Action
11/19	Medranda	Midfielder	Removed: Picked in Expansion Draft
11/19	Zendejas	GK	Removed: Traded to Nashville SC
11/21	Sinovic	Defender	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Feilhaber	Midfielder	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Zelalem	Midfielder	Removed: Contract Option Declined
11/21	Nemeth	Forward	Removed: Contract Expired
11/21	Hasler	Defender	Removed: Contract Expired
11/21	Wallace	Defender	Removed: Contract Expired

Jimmy Medranda: Sporting loses another fan favorite in the expansion draft, as part of a deal including leaving Jimmy exposed and trading Zendejas to Nashville SC. Jimmy was always the heir apparent to Seth Sinovic, while also being able to fill in pretty much anywhere on the pitch. His 1v1 ability will not be forgotten, nor will his incredible goals. Unfortunately, injury really robbed him of a lot of time.
Adrian Zendejas: The three-year backup to Melia moved on in a trade with Nashville SC. He only made one appearance with the senior team, starting the 1-1 tie with FC Cincinnati.
Seth Sinovic: Seth was acquired by SKC in 2011 from the New England Revolution. Since then, he’s made 210 appearances for us before having his option declined this offseason. He was signed in free agency by the Revs. I think every SKC fan still believes that at some point before the end of the season, we’ll see Seth back on the team and winning the starting left back position. After featuring there for so long, and fighting off so many challengers, it just makes sense.
Benny Feilhaber: Another long-time SKC veteran, Benny returned this season from his stint with the Colorado Rapids while SKC was in the midst of its horrible injury crisis. He started 13 games, and gave us some life when we needed it most. Benny had his option declined and remains a free agent.
Gedion Zelalem: The extremely talented midfielder never found his footing under Vermes, only managing 5 starts for the injury-riddled SKC. His reportedly very expensive option was declined, and he was picked up by NYCFC.
Krisztian Nemeth: Oh, what could have been. Nemeth had a promising start to his second stint with SKC, scoring 7 goals in his first 11 regular season games in 2019, and 4 in CCL. Unfortunately, he would only score once the rest of the way en route to Vermes choosing to not renew his contract. Nemeth is currently without a team.
Nicolas Hasler: Hasler was signed for one year to be defensive/midfield depth, and he did just that in 2019, making 9 appearances for SKC. Hasley now plays for FC Thun of the Swiss Super League.
Rodney Wallace: Rodney Wallace was signed as wing/left back depth for 2019. He had one start, playing 27 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury. Wallace is currently without a team.

Transfers In

Date	Player	Position	Action
11/26	Sanchez	GK	Added: Selected in Re-Entry Draft
12/4	Puncec	Defender	Added: Signed through 2021
12/9	Shelton	Forward	Added: Signed through 2022
12/10	Pulido	Forward	Added: Signed through 2023
1/10	Dia	Defender	Added: Signed for 2020 with options through 2022
1/13	Townsend	Midfielder	Added: 2020 MLS Super Draft
1/13	Kasak	Defender	Added: 2020 MLS Super Draft
1/23	Kinda	Midfielder	Added: One-Year Loan
2/4	Dick	GK	Loaned to USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC for the 2020
2/14	Reid	Defender	Added: On loan from West Ham

Richard Sanchez: Sanchez was acquired via the re-entry draft from the Chicago Fire after making no appearances in 2019 for them. He will serve as backup to Tim Melia while Dick gets experience on loan and Pulskamp starts for SKCII.
Roberto Puncec: Puncec was out of contract after playing for HNK Rijelca in the Croatian league. He appears to be the starting right center back next to Matt Besler, starting there in every preseason match so far. Puncec has played extensively in Europe between Israel, Croatia, and the 2. Bundesliga.
Khiry Shelton: Shelton returns after a short stint with SC Paderborn, during which he rarely featured and never scored for the senior team, while suffering an injury which caused him to miss substantial time. While Shelton was injured, Paderborn earned promotion to the Bundesliga, which seems to have proved too high of a level for Shelton. Nonetheless, he’s back in KC and appears to be much improved technically, and figures to be the backup striker and potentially a feature on the wing.
Alan Pulido: The Striker that was Promised. He’s here. Sporting KC ownership finally opened their pocketbooks, spending a rumored $9.5m on the Mexican striker who won the golden boot in Liga MX’s 2019 Apertura. Pulido appears to be the perfect striker for what Vermes wants, with a high defensive workrate, combination ability, positional flexibility, and a deadly finish. Expectations are sky-high for the player who more than doubled SKC’s historical net spend.
Amadou Dia: Dia returns to SKC after a three year stint in the USL with Phoenix. He will be the backup left back behind Luis Martins.
Jaret Townsend: Hey look a draft pick!
James Kasak: Hey look another draft pick!
Gadi Kinda: I Gadi say, this guys’ name seems Kinda great for puns. Kinda was acquired on loan from Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He had enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, scoring 7 goals and 4 assists from midfield in 16 appearances. The Ethiopian has yet to feature for the senior Israeli national team, despite appearing for their youth teams. He was called up for EURO 2020 qualifying. Kinda appears to be midfield depth, but is sure to push for a starting spot this season. He has impressed in preseason with his runs, footwork, and work rate.
Winston Reid: The 31 year old New Zealand center back is on loan from West Ham, who he’s made 222 competitive appearances for. Reid hasn’t made a senior competitive appearance since March 2018 due to injury. With almost two years off injured, this move appears to be a gamble that he can regain his form and once again become a top defender. If he does, he will undoubtedly be cemented in the SKC backline.

Returning Players

The Vets

Roger Espinoza: A bulldog in the central midfield, Honduran international Roger Espinoza was drafted by Sporting KC in 2008. Apart from two seasons he spent in England with Wigan, Espinoza has been a mainstay in the middle of the field, playing as a box-to-box destroyer. Roger lost a chunk of 2019 to injury, and another chunk to red cards (three, tying his personal “best” and moving into the league lead for total). He also proved just how much he means to this team, as SKC went on a terrible run when he was out. As Peter Vermes continues to search for a replacement for the 33 year old, expect Roger to continue to get plenty of minutes.
Matt Besler: Drafted in 2009 by the then-Kansas City Wizards, hometown hero Matt Besler has long been a stalwart in Peter Vermes’ defense. Apart from a down year in 2016, Besler has been one of the most consistent players in recent memory, but he’s 33 years old and his contract expires at the end of the year. Could this be the last year we see Besler in an SKC uniform? He looks to be entrenched as a starter and our captain, but it’s uncertain how much longer that will last with a potentially deep CB room behind him.
Graham Zusi: Zusi has been a near-constant presence on the wing for Sporting since he was drafted in 2009, though since the beginning of 2017 he has become Peter Vermes’ go-to right back. 2019 saw him named an MLS All Star, although most believe that honor was a year too late and not quite deserved this year. Regardless, how they told him was one of the highlights of the season. Graham looks to be the starter at right back yet again, but Lindsey is gunning for his position and Zusi may not be able to hold him off for much longer. Zusi’s contract runs through 2021.
Tim Melia: The 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year should need little introduction at this point, nor should his storied career move from Rochester Rhinos’ backup to MLS pool goalkeeper to his current tenure with Sporting Kansas City. While Melia, along with the rest of the backline, performed not very well in 2019, he will look to regain his top form as the starter between the sticks.

The New Core

Johnny Russell: Scottish winger Johnny Russell returns for his third year in Kansas City having made himself a favorite both on and off the field. Most often deployed as an inverted right winger, his strength and skill terrorized defenses as he contributed 9 goals and 9 assists in 28 games last season. Look for him and his pet turtle to continue to put the fear of god in defenders from the right side of the field.
Ilie: The 29-year-old Spanish midfielder is a product of the Barcelona academy and played for Barcelona B for five seasons before a short stint in 2. Bundesliga with 1860 Munich. After joining SKC in 2017, he locked down the starting defensive midfield spot, starting 67 of 68 league games over two years and becoming an essential part of the team’s midfield structure. 2019 saw Ilie start 27 games, and when he was on the field he seemed much less effective than in years past. An All-Star in 2018, Ilie will look to regain that form this year.
Felipe Gutiérrez: Chilean midfielder Felipe Gutierrez was probably the MVP of the team in 2019, scoring 12 and assisting 3. Guti was behind only Melia in minutes played, and could be found at all three midfield positions throughout the year, although Vermes obviously prefers him at the attacking midfield spot. His ability and versatility means that it’s a safe bet Guti Gang will be in contention for the most starts on the team, as well as team MVP.

Something to Prove

Andreu Fontas: Fontas, uh, didn’t exactly work out in his first year. His $1m salary was part of the reason why Ike left, and then Fontas only started 10 games, a number of which were very bad, before getting injured for several months. Once he was healthy, Vermes declined to include him in the 18, and Fontas had surgery as soon as the season was over, which will keep him out for roughly the first month of this season. It’s widely speculated that the front office plans to buy out Fontas’s contract, considering the additions of Puncec and Reid and the fact that Fontas doesn’t appear to be in Vermes’s plans even when healthy. The biggest stumbling block for that is his contract: guaranteed at $1m through 2022, it would cost $3m to buy him out and get the cap space that he takes up back. The fans want him gone, so we’ll see if the ownership continues the “injection of capital” and buys out his contract.
Botond Barath: The Hungarian center back entered 2019 as the third center back on the depth chart, but ended up starting 20 games, behind only Matt Besler. Barath wasn’t a disaster, but he certainly didn’t distinguish himself as part of Sporting’s backline. Heading into 2020 it appears that he will go back to being a third or fourth option on the depth chart, capable of stepping up when needed but unlikely to be a difference maker.
Graham Smith: The 24 year old draft pick has yet to impress for the senior team, starting 10 games and giving up 20 goals last year (including 7 to Zlatan and the Galaxy). Barring another injury disaster, Smith will likely find himself playing the whole season with SKCII, as the fifth center back on the depth chart.
Luis Martins: Brought in to replace Seth, Martins appears to have done what nobody has done before: actually replace Seth. Starting the final 9 games of the season, Martins flashed his potential on offense and appeared capable on defense. Martins will start at left back this season and will hope to provide that spark of offense on the left side that Vermes has been searching for, while improving upon 2019’s truly terrible defense.
Daniel Salloi: After leading the team in goals in 2018, Salloi suffered a pretty severe decline in production, only managing to find the back of the net once, in the second to last game of the season. By the way the team celebrated, you’d think we had just won the cup. Salloi was another player who lost time due to injury, getting hurt in CCL against Independiente. Daniel will surely look to rediscover his form this season, which should see him draw plenty of starts at left wing.
Gerso Fernandes: Gerso was another player hampered by injuries, breaking his left wrist in a game against New England. He had seized the starting role at left wing from Salloi after Daniel’s run of poor form, but wasn’t a clear-cut starter when he returned from injury. Gerso possesses speed that nobody else on the roster has, so he will definitely have a role to play. The battle between him and Salloi for the left wing remains open, and both will surely see plenty of minutes.
Eric Hurtado: Guess what happened to Hurtado in 2019? You’re right, he was injured. Sporting’s backup striker lost most of the season to injury, starting only 8 games, all after the season was pretty much over. It appears that the 29 year old will fall to third on the center forward depth chart.

The Kids

Jaylin Lindsey: After starting 6 games in 2018, Lindsey only started once for SKC in 2019. The reason? You guessed it - he got injured. Turning 20 this year, Lindsey will look to unseat Graham Zusi at right back, something that should be easy if Zusi plays as poorly as he did in 2019. Sporting a ton of personality, Lindsey is a fan-favorite and should at least get minutes rotationally, assuming he stays healthy.
Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal: Long-touted as the future of SKC’s defensive midfield, Kuzain missed his chance to get minutes with the first team by getting injured right when SKC needed players the most. Instead, he spent the entire season with SPR, often playing further ahead in the midfield than his preferred position. His passing accuracy of 88.4% shows his skill with the ball, and the 21 year old homegrown will look to have a breakout year with SKC II and potentially get minutes in the senior team’s crowded midfield.
Gianluca Busio: Sporting KC’s most promising prospect, 17-year-old Homegrown player Gianluca Busio, was the second-youngest player to ever sign an MLS contract, and is the second-youngest goal scorer in MLS history (thanks a lot, Freddy Adu). In his second full year as a professional, Busio took advantage of SKC’s injury situation by staying healthy, increasing his minutes from 153 in 2018 to 923 in 2019. While Busio occasionally looked lost, he more often did not look out of place playing with men significantly older than him. While he didn’t lock down a starting spot, Busio will look to improve on his minutes for the second consecutive year as part of a very crowded midfield.
Cameron Duke: The 11th homegrown player in SKC history, the 19 year old midfielder has been in the Sporting Academy since 2012, and has been part of the US youth national team at the U-14, U-15, U-16, and U-18 levels. Duke will almost certainly spend the entire year with SKC II.
Felipe Hernandez: Felipe Hernandez is the first player to go from a SKC Academy affiliate, to the SKC Academy, to the Swope Park Rangers and then to the first team. He’s been touted as the heir apparent to Roger Espinoza, and often looked the part while drawing tons of starts with SPR. He scored eight goals for the USL team, second only to the center forward. Hernandez has the potential to see some midfield time with the senior team, but look to see him spend the bulk of his time with SKC II
Tyler Freeman: The youngest player signed to the first team, Freeman spent the whole season fighting for minutes on a poor SPR team, starting only 12 games. The 17 year old forward will look to improve his minutes and production with SKC II this year.

2020 Preview

Things to Watch

WE GOT A STRIKER Mission accomplished. After spending years and years waiting for the ownership to open up their wallets and pay for a big-time number 9, they finally did it. And boy, did they do it. Sporting’s net spend on transfer fees heading into this offseason was approximately $4m. Alan Pulido reportedly cost $9.5m, or more than double that. If he can live up to his price tag and capitalize on the opportunities SKC regularly produces, Pulido will score a ton of goals.
What’s a defense? Unfortunately, all the goals in the world don’t mean much without a competent defense to back them up. 2019 was a horrible year for SKC’s usually stellar defense. They let in 67 goals, a mark only beaten by FC Cincinnati. Vermes has responded by bringing in two new center backs, Puncec and Reid, keeping Martins around after he started the last run of games last year, and letting everyone else get healthy over the long, long offseason. If SKC wants to be back in the postseason, the defense will have to massively, massively improve.
#PlayYourKids
The HashtagPlayYourKids movement had its ups and downs with SKC in 2019. A couple of kids missed out on opportunities due to injury, most notably Jaylin Lindsey and Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal. Busio managed to improve his MLS minutes substantially, however, and SKC fended off a couple of suitors to hold on to the extremely promising midfielder. If Vermes wants to boast one of the best academies in MLS, and he does, then he’ll have to give the kids some more time with the senior team, something he’s been criticized for not doing in the past. The players with the clearest path to minutes are Busio in the midfield and Lindsey at right back, along with Salloi at left wing, so expect to see those three to get a solid amount of time. There are seven total homegrowns on the roster, including Busio, Lindsey, Kuzain, Cameron Duke, Tyler Freeman, Felipe Hernandez, and Daniel Salloi.
Do the vets still have it? As the corollary to #PlayYourKids, SKC still has a number of older players on the team. The biggest question of this year might be “Was 2019 an aberration due to injury, or a sign of things to come for Besler, Roger, and Zusi?” While Vermes seems to be betting, at least initially, that the older guys still have what it takes, there are capable and hungry replacements waiting in the wings for them to slip up. This is likely the last window for trophies for those three all together, so they will have a strong desire to work hard and prove that they’re not completely over the hill yet.

Prognosis

There are a lot of open questions for this Sporting KC team, which means the range of outcomes is going to be wide.
Realistic Best Case Scenario Turns out, 2019 was entirely the fault of historic levels of injury! Sporting looks like the 2018 and early 2019 team, dominating with the ball, snuffing out counter-attacks, and scoring at will by committee. The team returns to the top of the Western Conference and is competitive throughout the playoffs, although not quite doing enough to win the whole thing - the roster construction isn’t quite there. The team does bring home a trophy, though, winning the USOC in a thrilling game.
Realistic Worst Case Scenario The veterans really are past it, the kids aren’t quite ready, and injuries do not stay away. The back line remains mediocre and Pulido can’t put the offense on his back. SKC misses the playoffs for the second year in a row, and calls for Peter’s job get much, much louder.
Realistic More Probable Scenario Injuries hurt in 2019, but they clearly weren’t the only problem. The defense improves from last year, but is just league average. The midfield is much better than last year, and 5 players play more than 1000 minutes, keeping everyone fresh and competitive. The front three really improves with the addition of Pulido, and SKC scores a ton of goals and is generally fun to watch. It’s enough to put SKC back in the playoffs, and even win a playoff game! Unfortunately, that’s where things end, as Sporting falls in the second round of the playoffs in a competitive game. They make a USOC run, but don’t win that either.

[OC] Cult figures of Greek football

An exposé on some of the most fascinating and amusing characters that graced or continue to grace Greek pitches.
Entirely subjectively I excluded certain personalities who I felt were cashing in on a manufactured persona. This one is devoted to those who managed to steal the spotlight with their authenticity or charisma. If enough worthy candidates are mentioned in the comments there will be a part 2.
After the positive response on the previous post I had to do some more extensive research for this one.
Vlassis Tsakas
I'd try and give you a description on what this man does for a living but the truth is no one actually has a fucking clue. Things that he has been involved in include a furniture business that went tits up and he ended up in prison for cutting unbacked cheques, manager at 5 star hotels at the popular tourist destination of Halkidiki and working with a solar panel company in the similarly exotic Kilkis.
His first involvement with football came in 2001 when he approached PAOK as the representative of an Argentine investment group looking to buy the club for 12 billion drachmae or 36 million euros not adjusted for inflation. The two sides were far from an agreement as PAOK representatives were making some obscene requests such as being given a phone number to verify the interest of said group or Tsakas depositing some of the money promised. The deal fell through when center back Venetidis got sold to Olympiakos at which point the offer was withdrawn. It seems the Argentines really only cared for Venetidis and the rest of the club came in just to sweeten the deal.
It should have been obvious by then that Vlassis Tsakas had as much reliability as a Nigerian prince however eleven years later the man was back in the spotlight with a vengeance and with an Arab prince.
It's 2012 and Panathinaikos is struggling financially. The saviour came out of a taxi in the form of the T-shirt wearing mediator of an Arab prince willing to buy the club for 220 million euros. His promises of bringing Ronaldinho, the wet dream of all big teams at the time flooded the press. That prince's name began with Sultan and ended in Al Saud but it also contained a variable that changed every time Tsakas uttered his name such as Harhan, Farfan, Afrahan, Rahman while on his excellency's passport it was Farhan. Not to mention the "bin" that changed place frequently.
Unsurprisingly the deadline for the first deposit of the 220 million was missed but surprisingly the Greek press did get to see Al Saud in a press conference in Athens six months later. While he promised 70 million in the next two years after that his interest sort of fizzled away. Perhaps the attack with eggs and yogurt against Tsakas just before the press conference by Panathinaikos fans discouraged the ambitious investor whose saga officially ended in early 2013.
Panathinaikos would eventually find an investor with a surname beginning with Al, unfortunately it was Giannis Alafouzos.
Tsakas would go on to buy the small club of Kavala, scam 80 thousand euros of a local businessman and get convicted.
Makis Psomiadis
A man whose life beyond football would probably make for a more interesting read. I'll just name a few of his other escapades for the sake of brevity; torturing political prisoners dressed as a priest during the military junta, smuggling gold, owning multiple nightclubs, getting shot in the buttcheek by a fellow nightlife mobster and escaping bleeding from the hospital to evade arrest for pending warrants, accused at least twice of kidnapping and recorded torturing fellow crime associate. The majority of these were already documented by the time he got involved with AEK.
In all his public appearances (here's a best of) he came across as a shrewd and no nonsense businessman always brandishing his trademark cigar. His intimidating physique and his visible frustration to any challenge of his authority were probably indicative of the way he ran all his businesses. The distinctive tone of his voice, his way of speech that showed him as a man of the laity and his minimal understanding of tact solidified the mold for the satirical stereotype of the mob boss/club owner.
"Makaros" was involved with AEK from 1988 but it's in 2001 that he would become president of the football department. His presidency was short -only till 2003- but definitely memorable with AEK winning the Greek cup in 2002 and losing the league on the last matchday. He laid the blame on the "watermelon farmer from Estoril" ; Fernando Santos.
One of the highlights of his tenure was the transfer of proud Olympiakos fan Georgatos from Inter with Psomiadis marking this a day for celebration while dozens of ultras outside were protesting by turning Georgatos' car into a convertible. Coincidentally a few days later one of those ultras would see his own business severely damaged.
Psomiadis would probably have had a longer presidency had he not have opened a conflict with team legend Demis Nikolaidis.
The moustache wearing businessman had been doing late night social calls along with a group of neckless bodyguards to players to ensure they were not out clubbing. When he decided to pay a visit to Demis, Nikolaidis misunderstood the president's concern as an intrusion on his privacy and told him to get lost. Psomiadis grabbed him by the neck and threatened him, Nikolaidis pressed charges and shortly left for Atletico Madrid.
The incident marked the beginning of the end for Makis who fell out of favour with the entirety of the AEK fanbase and passed the presidency for a transitional period onto his cousins; Charilaos Psomiadis and... Charilaos Psomiadis. (In order to tell them apart they were given the nicknames Charilaos "past five" and Charilaos "five to".)
It was later found out Makaros had embezzled about 20 million euros from AEK and died owing the club 80 million with interest. He had owned the club of Kavala which in 2010 he promoted to the Superleague getting them a handsome 6th place. The club would get relegated after the ensuing match fixing scandal the following year with Psomiadis convicted.
The rest years of his life were spent half in prison and half in North Macedonia evading arrest until he died in 2016. Upon his death AEK offered its sincere condolences.
Giorgos Minos
Like a lot of other state television employees he wouldn't be working in any other country's broadcasting corporation. However he is a product of different times and the small society of Thessaloniki. And thus Giorgos Minos has been a reporter for 39 years. For as long as I can remember Minos has been covering the news for PAOK in the longest running sport show in Greece, his raspy voice and incoherent speech becoming staple of our Sunday nights.
What comes across quite subtly as he covers the news for PAOK is that he may actually support this team. Some such subtle indications include the amount of times he mentions the name PAOK in his every reportage.
During the past years with PAOK's increasing success he has really come into his own. In the 2017-18 season Apollon's Giannis Kontoes (former AEK) who was a guest on the show dared to say he thought AEK had a better team. Minos visibly distraught tried to ask what was supposed to be a question but turned out to be nonsensical fast paced jarble containing some stats about PAOK's results in an attempt to change the doubter's mind. The answer of a laughing/pleading Kontoes; Please Mr Minos, I'm sorry, I'm just a footballer, I just said my opinion.
It was the same season that he tried to take a jab at AEK's Galanopoulos by telling him to ask a former PAOK player and teammate how it's like to play in Toumba. What he forgot was that Galanopoulos had indeed played in Toumba the season before that and won 1-0 and the footballer in fact reminded that to a dumbfounded Minos.
And if that season's title was lost, Giorgos Minos would be rewarded for his lifetime loyalty to covering PAOK with the 2018-19 title.
Great moments from that season include him wearing PAOK'S coach Razvan Lucescu's trademark cap on live coverage , getting two musicians to perform Ivan Savvidis' favourite traditional song for the PAOK owner's 60th birthday
and the bus parade after the award ceremony during which he would have his name chanted by PAOK fans while also managing to mix up Superman and Batman referring to a shirt with the trademark giant S that our goalie was wearing.
I do apologize for the great deal of clips of him that I left out, however the one that is a guilty pleasure of mine is this potato quality one pronouncing in its entirety the name of another less remembered cult icon.
Ognen Vranjes
This one may come with a hint of recency bias. Vranjes came to Greece as a center back for AEK in 2017, having already built a reputation for controversy, and immediately became a fan favourite. Maybe it's due to his passionate defending. Maybe it's due to his hot temper that makes a bet on him getting the most cards in a season, one of the few safe investments in Greece. Or maybe it's due to his numerous trashy Instagram posts either attacking Olympiakos , praising AEK ultras or both at the same time
In any case his 2017-18 stint in Greece was so memorable that both sides never really got over their one year break and the Bosnian returned. In large part that was due to his behaviour outside the pitch, his constant misdemeanors in the dressing room and the aforementioned Instagram posts including one with similarly hot-headed Croat teammate Marko Livaja singing chants against Olympiakos. All these would suffice to build a turbulent relationship with his club(s) and a love affair with the AEK fans.
The reason he makes it on this list however is for a different love affair. The one he had with the married Bosnian singer Jelena Karleusa. The two were involved in a dramatic Instagram feud with Karleusa posting their interactions strife with mutual emotional abuse, in response to him jeopardising her wedding by publicizing their relationship. More importantly she also shared this legendary picture of him crying. He in return posted her nudes, pleas from her to rebuke his statements and proof of their affair with a video of them visiting the Acropolis. Fair to say the Greek public opinion was thoroughly entertained and Olympiakos fans couldn't drop the chance to poke fun at the Bosnian in this season's derby with this banner. Vranjes once again to the club's dissatisfaction replied in his usual mature and thoughtful way ; you can only wank over this bitch, only aekara.
Savvas Theodoridis
85 yr old former Olympiakos keeper and father of UEFA executive Theodoros Theodoridis was a footnote in Greek football history until the 2010s. Few remember his playing days in the fifties and his presence as something of a team staff member at the club afterwards was not that memorable.
He first started making ripples with his statements from 2013 onwards;

"Olympiakos has always answered on the pitch and never used TV to slander other clubs."
"These are human mistakes. Stop with all this fairytales about referees, it dishonours the great club of Panathinaikos."
"All they want is to slander Olympiakos and intimidate the referees."

No one really mulled over these statements too much but the public opinion formed for Mr Theodoridis was that of a senile old man that people shouldn't pay that much attention to. And thus he was given the fond nickname of "Kyr Savvas" or "Mr Savvas" as you would call the elderly shop owner of your neighborhood.
For a bit of historical background, from 1996 to 2016 Olympiakos won every single championship apart from two. The majority at least a month before the season ended.
2017-18 and 2018-19 are the only two seasons that Olympiakos had a significant title challenger in this decade. In both occasions they lost the title to AEK and PAOK, coming third and second. I won't comment on the integrity of refereeing prior or after the 2016 intervention of UEFA in Greek affairs as most people already have an opinion. Instead here are some handpicked quotes (in contrast with those he previously made) from Mr Savvas during the past three seasons that gave him his cult icon status;

"I found out this German referee is from the 3rd division. Mr Pereira (UEFA refereeing supervisor) is certainly involved with this and is bringing us every 'faulty device' from Europe. Because of Pereira we've lost two Greek championships. He should leave Greece immediately. Him and the other guy -whatdyoucallhim- Fusek (UEFA supervisor of Greek football). They should hit the road and leave."
"I want to thank our fans for putting up with this referee, appointed by Mr 'Fereira' and all these dogs inside the federation. I will not stop from now on with lawsuits. [...] They should leave me alone because I have a glorious history with huge certificates behind me... huge.... And if I show them the world will.. (incomprehensible). No one is worthy to get such papers of decency and admiration and congratulations. In my life I've won 45 trophies, how can little PAOK compare, it's laughable. [...] I'm talking as Savvas Theodoridis, the servant and soldier of Olympiakos."
"I cannot talk to ERT (public broadcasting corporation). I'm not talking to you as Olympiakos but as Savvas Theodoridis, 70 years honorary president of Olympiakos with 45 trophies. We have great complaints from ERT, not just me but the 5 million fans of Olympiakos (author's note ; Greece's population is 10 million) who haven't heard a nice word for the president of Olympiakos, Mr Marinakis in four years. We cannot accept this. I'm struggling to keep these 5 million calm."

Unfortunately a lot of his stuff does get lost in translation such as the racially undertoned comparison of his team's reception at AEK with things happening in his invented African country home to the "Bazibuzuks".
Despite his age he still follows the team everywhere and likes to give his two cents after every game in front of the cameras and I for one I'm glad.
Aggelos Anastasiadis
As a player he can boast two championships and three cups however he is neither a man to boast nor is his playing career what he's known for.
Anastasiadis has been a coach since 1994. His resume includes historic teams such as Panathinaikos, PAOK (three times), Iraklis (two times) and Larissa as well as many other smaller clubs, a successful tenure with the Cyprus NT and a very recent not so successful tenure with the Greek NT.
He lead PAOK to an unlikely cup win in 2003 and the CL qualifiers of 2005, Iraklis twice got to play European football with him, his time in Panathinaikos was not bad, he's never been relegated and he took Cyprus out of the bottom feeders with some big wins.
With that said, the reason he makes this list is for his quotes and habits. While he has a great way of reading the game and making incisive subs he always came across as someone who doesn't quite understand football tactics.
One of the many such examples after he won the 2003 cup final when he was quoted;

Don't ask me about tactics lads after a cup final, that's for you to talk about.

Indeed it's fair to say by those who have followed his career he doesn't seem to really worry about these details.
It's that attitude that Sokratis didn't appreciate when Anastasiadis was NT coach and after a loss to Armenia, said either me or him prompting the manager's sack after four qualifier games.
Apart from football tactics he seems to not fully grasp foreign players, (having famously come to a disagreement with Souza at Panathinaikos) or their names for that matter. Eyal (Golasa) turned into the easier Giannis as well as Facundo (Pereyra) who switched to the more convenient Fanouris.
More to the point the easiest excuse he gives for ridicule is his love for the Holy Mother. He frequently mentions Her as the driving force behind his teams' success in previous or upcoming matches. As he said on his last time with PAOK;

From now on I leave the team on the hands of the Queen. Now some will say ; is he going to be sitting? [as in not working] I don't know who would say such a thing and why.

One particular display of his affection towards the Theotokos during this clip before the start of a match.
He has stated in an interview that he doesn't accept a job unless he asks his priest and has rejected a manager position at AEK when he received a negative response. Anecdotal stories exist of him taking the team to church on Sunday and players to Mt. Athos so it's perhaps fitting that his longest interview was given to a small ecclesiastical TV station which I watched in its entirety for the sake of research... I think...
I feel though that part of him has been persecuted with a vengeance by the media and far be it from me to mock a man's faith. Besides he is probably the only innocuous man on this list.
There's dozens of others that I have left out so feel free to complain and if you also have someone in your country's football of similar grandeur you can do them justice by mentioning them in the comments.
Edit; Thanks for all the positive responses and awards, they're very much appreciated.

Revel | Parahumans World Tour Episode 3: Athens, Greece

The game is simple. Each week, we visit a location on an Earth and collaborate to build a cape scene for it.
Below is whatever critical canonical information on today's pitstop I could find, along with a collection of prompts and structures that might curry your creativity. Using these materials, contribute a parahuman element to the local cape scene, be they a person, team or group. Provide spaces on these contributions for allies, enemies, underlings and superiors, and other commenters will build off of what you have provided.
Guidelines (Read These!):

A date is provided in addition to location. Try and centre your contributions around this time period. References to things that may happen further along or happened way-back are encouraged, provided they're cemented in what's happening "now." The location is assumed to be on Earth Bet unless stated otherwise.
Take care to show respect for the locals. If you're not sure if something is offensive, don't find out by posting it anyway.
This is not a place for politics. If someone says something that you disagree with, you are welcome to privately message them or downvote. However, long arguments about morals, parties and policies are not welcome here because they detract from the rest of the thread.
The overall intent is for the community to create a cape scene that would fit organically into Worm's setting. Therefore, try not to break it. It's not a crime, it'll just be a poor contribution. To acknowledge some tantalising faux pas; not every cape is S-Class, err on the side of weakness; shards are subtle, not everyone is on the brink of clocking the Entities; and the events of Worm and Ward are limited to northeast America, there are other places.
Stories are encouraged, but not mandatory. Creating a narrative for your cape, team or monster is excellent, but if you don't want to, don't bother. The opposite is also true: if you want to write a short story in this setting, you are welcome to.
I'm not so much a Game Master as a Referee here. You're welcome to take the scene in whatever direction you like, and you don't have to operate within the confines of another player's contributions. That being said, this is a community thing, and I'll take the moral responsibility of making sure people don't get excluded. Amateurs are welcome. If you don't like someone else's work, ignore it, but if someone's work hurts you, you have every right to say so.

Without further ado, come one, come all, to the Parahumans World Tour. Next stop: Athens, Greece, January 19th 2012.
Fun Facts:

Greece's Economy has been in very dire straits for a number of years now. Exchanging their national currency of the drachma for the euro in 2002 damaged their financial assets, and when the 2008 GFC came around Greece plunged into a recession. However, Wildbow is on the record for saying the parahumanity inflicts isolationist practices, and due to the Endbringers, the international markets that caused the GFC never formed. Is Greece better off than it is in our world? Why? Why not?
The Suits- The EU sponsored conglomerate of capes, named after Tarot and French-suited cards- operate as a loose hero team across Western Europe. Greece isn't really much of a part of Western Europe, especially with reduced ties to it via a weaker EU. How do the Suits play into that? Are any Greek capes among their number? Do they dabble where they're not welcome?
The Blasphemies are three mysterious artificial capes. According to Ward, they were constructed by multiple different unrelated tinkers building the same thing simultaneously and independently. There was supposed to be greater than three, but the creation of the others was intercepted. The Blasphemies that do exist- appearing as three eerie women with white skin, hair and dresses- attack political figures and, in addition to being able to survive Eidolon's most powerful abilities, would rise from the dead if even one of them survived. Are they active in Greece? To what end? What do you think their powers are, and any ideas who they might target? Is anyone in Athens able to stand against them?

Prompts:

The central prompt to this thread is Revel. Assume that Greece's parahuman situation gives them a great deal more freedom than examples we've had in canon, though the specifics are up to you. The black-and-white division between heroes and villains is a lot more like an amoral grey soup. Parallels between the fickle gods of Ancient Greece and the parahumans of the modern day are comparisons that the capes make themselves, with mythological names being a great deal more common, more "acceptable" and more accurate than they might've been in the US. Who are these force-of-nature capes? What communities have formed around appeasing their dangerous whims? Keep in mind that Greek Mythos is defined by the gods being neither good nor evil, but catastrophically petty and human.
The date today is January 19th, 2012, the day before Khonsu appeared. Behemoth is dead and the Simurgh's change to guerilla tactics has presumably not effected Greece very much- the UK and China are having their own little spat. Are any of Greece's parahumans feeling like the Endbriger-sized Sword of Damocles is being handled? How is that relief changing their behaviour? Are any concerned enough for the outside world to be waiting for the other shoe to drop?
What does industry look like in a country with primarily unregulated cape activity? Is it something to be replicated or avoided like the plague?

Meta: Excellent responses last week. Special thanks to u/LiteralHeadCannon, who continued to contribute very high effort capes the whole week long. I think we're really getting into the swing of things, and am looking forward to leaving the eurosphere in the coming weeks. Suggestions and requests are welcome!
Previous Thread: London, England.

I am a professional Day Trader working for a Prop Fund, Hope I can help people out and answer some questions

Howdy all, I work professionally for a proprietary trading fund, and have worked for quite a few in my time, hope I can offer some insights on trading etc you guys might have.
Bonus for you guys
Here are the columns in my trading journal and various explanations where appropriate:
Trade Number – Simply is this the first trade of the year? The 10th?, The 50th? I count a trade
that you opened and closed just one trade number. For example if you buy EUUSD today and
sell it 50 pips later in the day and close out the trade, then that is just one trade for recording
purposes. I do not create a second trade number to describe the exit. Both the entry and exit are
under the same trade number.

Ticket Number – This is ticket number / order ID number that your broker gives you for the trade
on your platform.

Day of the Week – This would be simply the day of the week the trade was initiated

Financial Instrument / Currency Pair – Whatever Financial Instrument or currency pair you are
trading. If you are trading EUUSD, put EUUSD. If you are trading the EuroFX futures
contract, then put in Euro FX. If you are trading the emini S&P, then put in Emini S&P 500. If
you are trading a stock, put in the ticker symbol. Etc.

Buy/Sell or Long/Short – Did you buy or sell to open the new trade? If you bought something to
open the trade, then write in either BUY or LONG. If you sold(shorted) something to open a
trade, then write in SOLD, or SHORT. This is a personal preference. Some people like to put in
their journals as BUY/SELL. Other people like to write in Long/Short. My preference is for
writing in long/short, since that is the more professional way to say it. I like to use the lingo
where possible.

Order Type – Market or Limit – When you entered the trade was it a market order or limit order?
Some people can enter a trade using a combination of market and limit orders. If you enter a
trade for $1 million half of which was market order and the other half was limit order, then you
can write in $500,000 Market, $500,000 Limit as a bullet points.

Position Size / Units / Contracts / Shares – How big was the total trade you entered? If you
bought 1 standard lot of a currency pair, then write in $100,000 or 1 standard lot. If you bought 5
gold futures contracts, then write in 5 contracts. If you bought 1,000 shares of stock, then write
in 1,000 shares. Etc.

Entry Price – The entry price you received entering your opening position. If you entered at
multiple prices, then you can either write in all the different fills you got, or specify the average
price received.

Entry Date – Date that you entered the position. For example January 23, 2012. Or you can
write in 1/23/12

.
Entry Time – Time that you opened the position. If it is multiple positions, then you can specify
each time for each various fill, or you can specify the time range. For example if you got
$100,000 worth of EUUSD filled at 3:00 AM EST, and another $100,000 filled at 3:05 and
another $100,000 filled at 3:25, then you can write all those in, or you can specify a range of 3:00
– 3:30 AM EST.

Entry Spread Cost (in pips) – This is optional if you want to keep track of your spread cost in
pips. If you executed a market order, how many pips did you pay in spread.

Entry Spread Cost (in dollars) – This is optional if you want to keep track of your spread cost in
dollars. If you executed a market order, how many dollars did you pay in spread.

Stop Loss Size – How big is your stop loss size? If you are trading a currency pair, then you
write in the pips. If you are trading the S&P futures contract, then write in the number of points.
If you are trading a stock, then write in how many cents or dollars your stop is away from your
entry price.

% Risk – If you were to get stopped out of the trade, how much % loss of your equity is that?
This is where you input your risk per trade expressed in % terms if you use such a position sizing
method. If you risked 0.50% of your account on the trade, then put in 0.50%

Risk in dollars – If you were to get stopped out of the trade, how much loss in dollars is that. For
example if you have a $100,000 account and you risked 1% on a trade, then write in $1,000
dollars

Potential Reward: Risk Ratio – This is a column that I only sometimes fill in. You write in what
the potential reward risk ratio of the trade is. If you are trading using a 100 pip stop and you
expect that the market can reasonably move 300 pips, then you can write in 3:1. Of course this is
an interesting column because you can look at it after the trade is finished and see how close you
were or how far removed from reality your initial projections were.

Potential Win Rate – This is another column that I only sometimes fill in. You write in what you
believe the potential win rate of this trade is. If you were to place this trade 10 times in a row,
how many times do you think you would win? I write it in as percentage terms. If you believe
the trade has a 50% chance to win, then write in 50%.

Type of Inefficiency – This is where you write in what type of inefficiency you are looking to
capture. I use the word inefficiency here. I believe it is important to think of trading setups as
inefficiencies. If you think in terms of inefficiencies, then you will think in terms of the market
being mispriced, then you will think about the reasons why the market is mispriced and why such
market expectations for example are out of alignment with reality. In this category I could write
in different types of trades such as fading the stops, different types of news trades, expecting
stops to get tripped, betting on sentiment intensifying, betting on sentiment reversing, etc. I do
not write in all the reasons why I took the trade in this column. I do that in another column. This
column is just to broadly define what type of inefficiency you are looking to capture.

Chart Time Frame – I do not use this since all my order flow based trades have nothing to do
with what chart time frame I look at. However, if you are a chartist or price action trader, then
you may want to include what chart time frame you found whatever pattern you were looking at.

Exit Price – When you exit your trade, you enter the price you received here.

Exit Date – The date you exited your trade.

Exit Time – The time you exited your trade.

Trade Duration – In hours, minutes, days or weeks. If the trade lasts less than an hour, I will
usually write in the duration in minutes. Anything in between 1 and 48 hours, I write in the hours
amount. Anything past that and I write it as days or weeks as appropriate, etc.
Pips the trade went against you before turning into a winner – If you have a trade that suffered a
draw down, but did not stop you out and eventually was a winner, then you write it how many
pips the trade went against you before it turned into a profitable trade. The reason you have this
column is to compare it to your stop loss size and see any patterns that emerge. If you notice that
a lot of your winning trades suffer a big draw down and get near your stop loss points but turn out
to be a profitable trade, then you can further refine your entry strategy to get in a better price.

Slippage on the Exit – If you get stopped out for a loss, then you write in how many pips you
suffered as slippage, if any. For example if you are long EUUSD at 1.2500 and have your stop
loss at 1.2400 and the market drops and you get filled at 1.2398, then you would write in -2 pips
slippage. In other words you lost 2 pips as slippage. This is important for a few different
reasons. Firstly, you want to see if the places you put your stop at suffer from slippage. If they
do, perhaps you can get better stop loss placement, or use it as useful information to find new
inefficiencies. Secondly, you want to see how much slippage your broker is giving you. If you
are trading the same system with different brokers, then you can record the slippage from each
one and see which has the lowest slippage so you can choose them.

Profit/Loss -You write in the profit and/or loss in pips, cents, points, etc as appropriate. If you
bought EUUSD at 1.2500 and sell it at 1.2550, you made 50 pips, so write in +50 pips. If you
bought a stock at $50 and you sell it at $60, then write in +$10. If you buy the S&P futures at
1,250 and sell them at 1,275, then write in +25 points. If you buy the GBP/USD at 1.5000 and
you sell it at 1.4900, then write in -100 pips. Etc. I color code the box background to green for
profit and red for loss.

Profit/Loss In Dollars – You write the profit and/or loss in dollars (or euros, or jpy, etc whatever
currency your account is denominated in). If you are long $100,000 of EUUSD at 1.2500 and
sell it at 1.2600, then write in +$1,000. If you are short $100,000 GBP/USD at 1.5900 and it
rises to 1.6000 and you cover, then write in -$1,000. I color code the box background to green
for profit and red for loss.

Profit/Loss as % of your account – Write in the profit and/or loss as % of your account. If a trade
made you 2% of your account, then write in +2%. If a trade lost 0.50%, then write in -0.50%. I
color code the box background to green for profit and red for loss.

Reward:Risk Ratio or R multiple: If the trade is a profit, then write in how many times your risk
did it pay off. If you risked 0.50% and you made 1.00%, then write in +2R or 2:1 or 2.0. If you
risked 0.50% and a trade only makes 0.10%, then write in +0.20R or 0.2:1 or 0.2. If a trade went
for a loss that is equal to or less than what you risked, then I do not write in anything. If the loss
is greater than the amount you risked, then I do write it in this column. For example lets say you
risk 0.50% on a stock, but overnight the market gaps and you lose 1.50% on a trade, then I would
write it in as a -3R.

What Type of trading loss if the trade lost money? – This is where I describe in very general
terms a trade if it lost money. For example, if I lost money on a trade and the reason was because
I was buying in a market that was making fresh lows, but after I bought the market kept on going
lower, then I would write in: “trying to pick a bottom.” If I tried shorting into a rising uptrend
and I take a loss, then I describe it as “trying to pick a top.” If I am buying in an uptrend and buy
on a retracement, but the market makes a deeper retracement or trend change, then I write in
“tried to buy a ret.” And so on and so forth. In very general terms I describe it. The various
ways I use are:
• Trying to pick a bottom
• Trying to pick a top
• Shorting a bottom
• Buying a top
• Shorting a ret and failed
• Wrongly predicted news
• Bought a ret and failed
• Fade a resistance level
• Buy a support level
• Tried to buy a breakout higher
• Tried to short a breakout lower
I find this category very interesting and important because when performing trade journal
analysis, you can notice trends when you have winners or losing trades. For example if I notice a
string of losing trades and I notice that all of them occur in the same market, and all of them have
as a reason: “tried to pick a bottom”, then I know I was dumb for trying to pick a bottom five
times in a row. I was fighting the macro order flow and it was dumb. Or if I notice a string of
losers and see that I tried to buy a breakout and it failed five times in a row, but notice that the
market continued to go higher after I was stopped out, then I realize that I was correct in the
move, but I just applied the wrong entry strategy. I should have bought a retracement, instead of
trying to buy a fresh breakout.

That Day’s Weaknesses (If any) – This is where I write in if there were any weaknesses or
distractions on the day I placed the trade. For example if you are dead tired and place a trade,
then write in that you were very tired. Or if you place a trade when there were five people
coming and out of your trading office or room in your house, then write that in. If you placed the
trade when the fire alarm was going off then write that in. Or if you place a trade without having
done your daily habits, then write that in. Etc. Whatever you believe was a possible weakness
that threw you off your game.

That Day’s Strengths (If any) – Here you can write in what strengths you had during the day you
placed your trade. If you had complete peace and quiet, write that in. If you completed all your
daily habits, then write that in. Etc. Whatever you believe was a possible strength during the
day.

How many Open Positions Total (including the one you just placed) – How many open trades do
you have after placing this one? If you have zero open trades and you just placed one, then the
total number of open positions would be one, so write in “1.” If you have on three open trades,
and you are placing a new current one, then the total number of open positions would be four, so
write in “4.” The reason you have this column in your trading journal is so that you can notice
trends in winning and losing streaks. Do a lot of your losing streaks happen when you have on a
lot of open positions at the same time? Do you have a winning streak when the number of open
positions is kept low? Or can you handle a lot of open positions at the same time?

Exit Spread Cost (in pips) – This is optional if you want to keep track of your spread cost in pips.
If you executed a market order, how many pips did you pay in spread.

Exit Spread Cost (in dollars) – This is optional if you want to keep track of your spread cost in
dollars. If you executed a market order, how many dollars did you pay in spread.

Total Spread Cost (in pips) – You write in the total spread cost of the entry and exit in pips.

Total Spread Cost (in dollars) – You write in the total spread cost of the entry and exit in dollars.

Commission Cost – Here you write in the total commission cost that you incurred for getting in
and out of the trade. If you have a forex broker that is commission free and only gets
compensated through the spread, then you do not need this column.

Starting Balance – The starting account balance that you had prior to the placing of the trade

Interest/swap – If you hold forex currency pairs past the rollover, then you either get interest or
need to pay out interest depending on the rollover rates. Or if you bought a stock and got a
dividend then write that in. Or if you shorted a stock and you had to pay a dividend, then write
that in.

Ending Balance – The ending balance of your account after the trade is closed after taking into
account trade P&L, commission cost, and interest/swap.

Reasons for taking the trade – Here is where you go into much more detail about why you placed
the trade. Write out your thinking. Instead of writing a paragraph or two describing my thinking
behind the trade, I condense the reasons down into bullet points. It can be anywhere from 1-10
bullet points.

What I Learned – No matter if the trade is a win or loss, write down what you believed you
learned. Again, instead of writing out a paragraph or two, I condense it down into bullet points. it
can be anywhere from 1-10 bullet points. I do this during the day the trade closed as a profit or
loss.

What I learned after Long Term reflection, several days, weeks, or months – This is the very
interesting column. This is important because after you have a winning or losing trade, you will
not always know the true reasons why it happened. You have your immediate theories and
reasons which you include in the previous column. However, there are times when after several
days, weeks, or months, you find the true reason and proper market belief about why your trade
succeeded or failed. It can take a few days or weeks or months to reach that “aha” moment. I am
not saying that I am thinking about trades I placed ten months ago. I try to forget about them and
focus on the present moment. However, there will be trades where you have these nagging
questions about they failed or succeeded and you will only discover those reasons several days,
weeks, or months later. When you discover the reasons, you write them in this column.

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I love HoN

Trophies and Winning Mentality