5-0 defeat for GRE, a defeat was expected, I could not justify playing my full strength team, but played a side I hoped could snatch a draw is QOS were similarly weakened. As it happened they played a decent lineup, but the stats were not hugely in their favour.

8 shots, from which they scored 5 times, I had plenty posession and mustered 3 shots myself.

Can this blowout be over-ruled or am I chancing my arm?

Stats:-

Match Summary
Statistics QOS GRE
-----------------------
Halftime 5 0
Final 5 0
Shots 8 3
Saves 1 1
Possession 23 77
Free Kicks 5 2
Corner Kicks 1 0
Offsides 0 0
Penalty Kicks 0 0
Yellow Cards 1 3
Red Cards 0 0
Revenue 91 91

Attendance: 23,342

Team Area Totals
MIN TM T GP DEF OFF
-----------------------------
01 QOS N 45.00 122.50 177.25
01 GRE O 49.00 142.75 106.75
46 QOS N 45.00 121.50 175.75
46 GRE O 52.80 145.75 103.10

Well, I was not expecting to win 5-0 against a team with a higher Top 11 (27.55 vs 25.18) and Top17 ( 23.00 vs 22.35) than me. I played a reasonably strong team but left out four of my Top11. More importantly, I played my first choice keeper but Gretna played an SL14 keeper with a fairly weak defence and four aggressive players.

I agree that Gretna were unlucky - QOS scored from all three of our shots from open play, but this was against an SL14 keeper, and we also scored from 2 of our five free kicks. By contrast, Gretna missed from their only shot and their two free kicks. Having said that, since QOS had scored five by halftime the software applied a huge factor to stop us shooting any more, so maybe we would have scored more from open play.

The real question is, what is the purpose of the blow-out rule? In this case, Gretna gambled by playing only four of their eleven SL26+ players and both of their sub SL5 players in a 4-3-3 formation and were unlucky to concede five. Presumably Gretna are "concentrating on the league". Should they be penalised for not trying very hard in the Cup?

With only 6 league games left, GRE can afford to drop 9 pts and still win title (GD is hugely in their favour).

GRE may aswell send out strong teams in SESL Cup then to attempt to ensure progress in that.

The Chairman is watching,
as any attempt to throw matches may be punished!

The Chairman has just given away his true identity, he is Vladimir Romanov.

Threatening to sack his manager that is at the top of the table!

GRE clearly deserve their CP back.

Those line-ups were pretty even and blowout not deserved.

I think this re-inforces need for blowout to be changed to a 6 goal difference, as after 5 goals it is much harder for a team to keep scoring as shot% is greatly reduced after 5 goals according to the rules.

I'm afraid I don't agree with that. I fielded an average SL of 22.4, compared with a Top11 of 24.45 at the start of the session. Gretna fielded an average SL of 16.7, compared with a Top11 of 27.36 and Top17 of 23.00 at the start of the session. I also had two star forwards (SL29 and SL28) against an SL14 keeper, compared with Gretna's best forward of SL26 against my SL29 keeper. Those lineups were not "pretty even".

The idea of the blowout rule is to discourage teams from fielding weak lineups. Gretna definitely fielded a weak lineup, considering the players they had available. As a payoff, Gretna won their two league matches this session (3-0 and 4-0) and have a virtually fully available Top11 for the next league matches. Meanwhile, I have had a boost to my goal difference in the SESL Cup, which is great for me but possibly unfair on the rest of the group.

You are almost always unlucky to lose by five goals, as the shot chance is reduced by a factor of five when the difference is four. (After 29 minutes, the score was 4-0 and QOS didn't have any more shots after this, but QOS did have four free kicks, thanks to a slightly strict referee and Gretna playing four aggressive players.) A blowout is not guaranteed by fielding a weak lineup, but it is a risk.

So, now that I have thought about it, I feel that, if there is going to be a blowout rule, then Gretna have fallen foul of it. Sorry.

You are a man of honour QOS.

So you lost a couple of CPs.
Big deal

I don't understand why everyone is crying when they get blown up.
Motherwell made my side into chopped liver and I played my T11, these things happen, nothing is wrong with that, it's just a part of the game.

It makes me wonder why is it that for some strange reason not even a single manager on the league had ever complained about getting their MVPs or Captain's bonuses on the grounds that he fealt that the matches on the particular session were just too easy and thus made him feel like he didn't deserve getting the prize.

Goodness sake! Gabbarelli laid out a fair argument and simply and politely posed a question:
"Can this blowout be over-ruled or am I chancing my arm?"

Seems QOS cannot make up his mind on arm chancing or if GRE were unlucky.

The team stats suggest GRE deserved to lose, but not by 5-0. GRE put out a decent side and far better than some other Cup line-up eg. DEV, DEE, COW, ABE.

Therefore this was an Olmec software freak result. Blowout refunded.

Did GRE try and lose the match? NO

Did GRE deserve to lose 5-0? NO

Is QOS not content with his win? NO

Is QOS being a bad-sport? YES

Should GRE get CP back? YES

As INV said on another part of this forum earlier today:-
" The penalty was brought in (it's automatically done by the code) to prevent managers deliberately fielding a weak team, not to punish managers that are unlucky.

GRE unlucky to lose 5-0.
So his appeal means CP back I'd think.

Well, you probably know my opinion about blow-out. Successfull appeals of getting CP's back should be extremely rare, maybe 1 or two per season.
Like Yoav, I also don't understand why everyone is crying when they get blown up?
Personally I will never request CP's back when my team will be in this position.
I remember my match against Gretna in the quarter final of SESL cup last season. We won first game comfortably 3-0 and we were blown out in 2nd game with 6-1.
Area ratings were:
Team Area Totals
MIN TM T GP DEF OFF
-----------------------------
01 GRE L 57.50 130.50 186.25
01 PET L 44.40 083.00 172.40
07 PET L 44.40 083.00 182.90
21 PET L 44.40 081.50 181.40
22 PET L 44.40 083.00 182.90
46 PET L 44.40 083.00 209.90
59 GRE L 52.50 123.00 186.25

Certainly Gretna deserves win in this match, but certaninly not with 5 goals margin. We have had 31 SL GK and Gretna has 25 SL GK. We have had better shooters also in this match.
Did we deserve to loose 6-1? NO!
Did we request our CP's back? NO!

So I don't know why QQS manager should be a bad sportman if he disagree that CP's would be returned to GRE. I disagree with CP's returning, also. And not only in this case but in 95% of such cases.

C'mon, it's a game. Sometimes you have luck, sometimes you don't.

Well, I think that punishment should not come into question here. Gretna has probably already secured 1st place in division 3 but on the other hand they have very tough Cup group.
So, I think it is normal that they will concentrate on the cup now and play with their reserve players in league.

That is, if Mark will have courage to field a weak lineup again after last blowout against QQS

If a team fields a weak lineup in one match, in order to field a strong lineup elsewhere, that manager has made a conscious choice to risk violation of the blowout rule. Appeal denied.

Sounds painful, think I would have every right to cry if that happened!