Warrior General Games

I say 5 should be the max. Then, you can have a lineman and a skill player on offense, a front seven guy and a secondary guy on defense and a kicker or punter. Anything else, you're just buying players to fill in needs because you're not a good enough owner to do it the old-fashioned way by recruiting. Personally, I only have one player on my own team and feel very hesitant about adding another when his contract runs out since it feels like it's going against the spirit of the game.

Anyway, looking at some of the top teams in Eastern Europe, I can see they're getting a sizable advantage from using their own players. Here are a list of the undefeated teams and how many owner-controlled players they employ:

Washington Chairmen- 11 players controlled by team owner
Sheboygan Chaos Theory - 14 players controlled by team owner
Prague Punishers- 7 players controlled by team owner
Chernobyl Mutants- 8 players controlled by team owner
Cincinnatti Tigers- 7 players controlled by team owner
Rome Gladiators- 12 players controlled by team owner

I think it's pretty clear that this amounts to a sizable competitive advantage. It's not just that "everyone is doing it" either. In addition to my team (the Georgia Tec-9s), I quickly looked over 4 other teams in the Alpha conference with varying records and none had more than 5 of their own players. The fact is that the teams at the top of the league have all gotten there by relying on paying for more flex points rather than tactics, recruiting, and skill. I think it's rather distressing that this has become such a large factor. I'm not trying to be a sore loser or anything and I'm not saying it's cheating, but I do think it's a clear flaw in the making of the game and it will only make me that much more determined to knock off some of these unworthy opponents.

Also, if I hear anyone saying that I must be a bad owner because I still have a few CPU starters, I might be a little more inclined to flip the fuck out.

not sure it matters, if they want to have that many players and want to be on the same team thats their choice....i have 17 players and I wish they were all on the same team but I've spread them out for it to be more interesting.

Check this team http://goallineblitz.com/game/home.pl?user_id=51963

yes thats right 30 of his own players on same team all boosted and custom, and yea we look forward to playing him

I'm not going to make any excuses. It's part of my enjoyment of the game and I have a LOT of active, human players on my teams. If I wanted to, I could move players from my Bermuda team and replace the players on my roster but then people would start calling me a cheater. As it is, I like having a few of my players on each team because it helps me understand the game better, correct player builds, and if I need depth I am able to provide a quality backup rather than having to send out 100 contract offers or sign an inadequate level 3.

To each their own... it's part of the game and something you're just going to have to learn to deal with and compete against. To say that I haven't used tactics, recruiting, or skill, however, to get my team to where it is... is a very flawed... and wrong... statement.

i think people use their own players so they dont need to worry about signing/releasing players as well as trading those who want out. but having like 20+ players is serious way to much. i can barely keep track of 4 guys. but there should be a limit.

I originally only wanted my QB and WR to start on my team, but you quickly realize as an owner how much of a pain in the arse it is to fill certain positions-- especially backup positions in areas of less glamour, with mature people running them. You get tired of hiring "players" who turn out to be 9 year-olds who throw tantrums when their defensive end isn't getting sacks because you wanted him to run-stop more effectively, for instance. Or a CB who thinks he should keep his starting job at level 5 even though everyone else around him boosted to level 8+, and again, throws a tantrum while demanding to be traded.

That, and the fact that there were certain shortages of positions BEFORE the expansion, and I just found it easier to plug my own guys in as backups.

Honestly, I was hoping to have found replacements for half these guys in FA by now, but again, the expansion has put the chances of that somewhere between hell and an ice storm. I'm going to have to recycle some of these guys for flex points next season to keep my other players boosted. Not only would it be prohibitively expensive to boost all 14 again, but I've decided I'm not going to spend another dime on this game until I see a few changes (which I will not get into here).

But does it give me an advantage? Honestly, yes. It's 14 less potential tantrums, thus 14 less potential headaches.

Yep, I just had another "I really like playing for you, you're a great owner, but would it be possible to trade me to a team I own/GM" messages.

People wonder why I have so many players... that's one of the big reasons right there.

I wish that I could get rid of a few of mine, I cant afford to boost them all and special items are at a premium .. and I HAD 3 of the 7 as backups (I wish I had 6/7) but one of them had to move to starting duty after I RELEASED 2 L13s .. most of yalls teams dont even have a L13 much less would you be willing to release them .. so cry me a river.

Really, to each his own, if they want to make a team of ALL their own players, let em...One thing I like about this game is interacting with the players as a gm/owner or interacting with other players and the owner/gm's as a player. I choose not to own a team because I dont wanna pay for it, and thats the same reason I dont have many players, but I can see why they would do it.

Seems to me that it's much more fun to interact with 30 to 40 other people coming together for a common cause than to play with your team by yourself. That's why they call it a team. We have nearly 600 posts on our "team" forums, wander how many they have? We discuss player development, training help, strategy, status of the franchise, among other things. Everyone seems to be happy and they just want to contribute. We've trimmed our roster so we can accomodate playing time for all of our players,and their all human. All pretty much signed to long term contracts, a couple more to take care of. And best of all, it's alot of fun to watch them level up, it's like watching the kids grow up, very satisfying! We built a nice addition to our stadium and tickets are nearly sold out. We're just getting stronger everyday! Now that's fun.

I have 5, but they are all backups. I created them during the "level 1s refuse to sign any place but starting for a USA team" period. Ironically, the three players I have that would actually start for my team are all on other teams.

I think the point the OP is trying to make is that part of the game of being an owner is about bringing people together.

Yeah, obviously dealing with players is annoying, but it's part of the game. I've managed to find a Level 10 WR that doesn't mind not starting and am working to juggle playing time to keep my two HBs reasonably happy as well. I really wasn't trying to attack anyone here, just trying to point out that whether you use a lot of your own players has become a significant factor in who can compete. Also, it does seem like a pretty simple work-around on the salary system when you can sign your own players for bargain-basement wages.

Specifically I was frustrated looking over the Washington Chairmen's roster during scouting where 8 of the 12 players that are Level 12+ are controlled by the owner. When he's got his own Lvl 15 QB, his own Lvl 13 HB, his own Lvl 14 WR, his own Lvl 12 TE, and his own Lvl 15 OT. All starting, of course. I really don't know how I'm supposed to stop that. Truly elite players like that aren't even available in free agency most of the time. As in, there are no Level 15s to even offer contracts too.

I'm not throwing in the towel though. Just today, I signed two Lvl 10 Gs and a Lvl 11 DE so I'm going to do what I can to build up depth and try to compete anyway. I'm just thinking of it as a little extra degree of difficulty.

P.S. You're damn right I wouldn't outright release a Level 13. He signed a contract, if he really wants to leave, he can wait until I find a reasonable trade offer.

Well, on the note of starting your own players...Being a GM is about the same, it is hard for me to objectively say, well my guy is better than his I shall start mine. So getting mad at someone starting their own players is only really justified if A)you truly believe he did it because the player is his and that is the only reason. Or B) his are inferior to yours and you deserve to start.

On the how your supposed to stop it, he has the money to spend to boost his players, power to him. Sometimes you gotta say, "Well, I am not going to be the best team this year, maybe next year." Just keep finding players that will work with you, and you will eventually start winning. This is how it is in real life in any sport. You dont just start a team and expect to win that year.

Actually the more players you have the more expensive it gets... having 10-12 players to boost and buy equipment for is anything but cheap

Dealing with players isn't annoying to me-- I want to clarify that. But dealing with unreasonable expectations and/or immaturity is.

The vast majority of the contact I have is positive, and quite fun. The problem, and perhaps fatal flaw of this game, is that not everyone can have a starting position or be guaranteed a certain amount of playing time. A typical roster has 50 people on it, but only half are 'starters'. The other half are backups. And on a competetive team like most of ours are in this Pro League, it's tough to tell a level 10 player that he's got to remain a backup when he could be a God on one of the new teams out there.

But the ones that are willing to do that on a team like ours are the guys I have the utmost respect for. They want to win, and have fun doing it, even if they don't contribute quite as much as others. Chaos Theory has quite a few of these types of people, and as an owner, it's great to work with them.

Well chaos thats the difference between the pro league and the minors. Every pro might be a backup or 2nd string on a pro team but if they went to semi pro or minor league team they would be the stars of the league. Kinda like NFL Europe was.