Hello! I have been gone for a while due to real life commitments, which definitely had its effect on my team's performance, but also on the frequency of my posting - I missed the summary of last season, so instead of a happy post at the end of that one (where I promoted), I will summarize both previous seasons. Sadly, that includes a failed relegation battle. That said, I do not feel particularly sad about it, as I half-expected that result. Of course, as usual I will also include the Rabona season end challenge!
Formation Tactics
Having been in League 1 for the first time (and instantly relegating), I really enjoyed being able to play the real Rabona, where players do switch between formations as the season progresses. It was tons of fun to try to counter others and avoid being countered. The big challenge is not only to guess what the opponent will play but being able to execute the formation properly.
This is something that really hindered me in this season and definitely cost me relegation - I often simply lacked players for certain formation. Because of a tight budget, there was not much I could do to expand my squad, so I was a little stuck from time to time, whenever injuries or red cards happened. Good example is the beginning of the season where I had so many defenders injured that I was forced to play 3-5-2, while my team's ability to play this formation is quite poor. Similarly, with only 2 attackers at a decent level, 4-3-3 was out of the question for the whole season.
Being able to set the right formation and having players to execute it is definitely at the core of Rabona gameplay and something that I have to make sure to take more seriously if I want to be successful.
Promotion and Relegation
I'll be pretty concise about each season as I have two to describe. 2 seasons ago, I had not that much hopes of advancing to League 1. I only finished fourth the season before and some strong teams entered the league. I expected it to be a close battle, but did not get my hopes up for sure. To my surprise, I ended up winning in a pretty decisive fashion - with 23 wins total! It was definitely my best season and I was satisfied with the result.
As you can see - 71 points, +30 goal difference and in general a great season with little to complain about. Sadly, what came after was a little worse: I relegated from League 1 instantly.
The season started in the most horrendous of ways. In the first half of the season, I got a mere 10 points with 3 wins and a draw, as well as a whopping 11 losses. Absolutely disgraceful and I was deservedly sitting at the bottom of the standings. My team was a magnet for unfortunate events - games where I had way more chances than opponents were losses, but most of all: it was an injury after injury, red card after red card. I had to buy some emergency reinforcements and I have to say - my team really hit it off.
As you can see, the second half of the season was absolutely incomparable to the first. I got 24 points, clocking in 7 wins and 3 draws, more than halving the amount of losses I suffered. Nearly everything went well, but once again - I lost quite some players, especially to red cards. Probably the most annoying was the absence of my newly-bought striker: Benoit Vandamme. The Belgian managed to get blocked for 6 games, then come back for 1 and get another red card until the end of the season. I can only imagine what could have happened if I was able to field him and one of my top midfielders in the last game, which ultimately sealed my relegation.
Overall, I am not completely devastated. The relegation is tough, but I have a strong team core and should be able to battle for promotion and then hopefully start making myself comfortable in League 1.
Next Season
As I mentioned - I want to fight for promotion. My team is stronger than it has ever been, with pretty much all of my players being above 70 OS with desirable stats. On top of that, I can play any formation I want, as I made sure to build the lineup in the way that will allow the team to do so!
Of course, I do not want to get cocky - there are quite a few strong teams in the League I relegated to. That said, I gotta look up, as with formation advantage and good players, I see no reason to stay here longer than a season or two. Now that me and my team have seen League 1 is nothing to be afraid of - it's time to go back there!
Closing Words
Rabona is still awesome - even though I relegated. I am also happy to see the newly implemented rewards claiming and hope that it lets some extra rewards accumulate - as many teams in League 2 are inactive and take up some of the rewards that would otherwise go to active players who really deserve them!
Since it's a gaming-related post, here is a bunch of referral links of mine - if you're not playing any of the games I've written about, give them a try! I wouldn't write about bad games.. well, not without saying they're bad anyway. So, here they are:
RABONA - Join the football management game through my referral link to receive a large RBN bonus!
RISING STAR - Here's the referral link to Rising Star. Start your way to mega stardom now!
SPLINTERLANDS - Splinterlands is the poster child of the HIVE blockchain. Join now through my referral link to get a few cards from me!