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Next season

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Biscuitman
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Next season

Post by Biscuitman »

2009/10 was again blighted, in TFFO terms, by various issues which caused a steepening in the general decline in numbers playing the game. Despite apparent dwindling interest on this forum (maybe lots of managers with little left to play for now), I would wager that I am not the only person who thinks this is the best fantasy football game around, and who wants to see it thriving. I know we had a thread at the beginning of the season, highlighting various improvements/reinstatements that could be made to this end; as many of these were in fact implemented, I thought I might start a new thread as a sort of blank sheet of paper. My own suggestions for next season are as follows.

1. Assuming the various tweaks below are made, advertise the game clearly to as many potential players well in advance.
2. Test the website well in advance, and make provision for the likely heavy traffic around the start of the season as managers set up their teams.
3. Find some way to allow overseas managers to participate again.
4. Make some concession to those of us who can not sit in front of the computer before every flange. Give managers the option of selecting a reserve Captain in the event of the first choice Captain not playing for unforseen reasons (eg wife giving birth in Argentina; injury during the warm up; match snowed off). Over the course of a season this would not mean poor managers benefiting to any significant degree, but it would mean good, but personally busy managers who don't wish to get divorced, having a more level playing field with the hardcore players.
5. Make team selection for multiple flanges easier - ie don't return us to the front page after each selection. Ideally have one scrolling page (as in some seasons past) where a manager can make selections and review them easily without recourse to multiple mouse clicks.
6. Dispense with player photos if it facilitates 5. above.
7. Make Captain selection easier. The present small dot is unnecessarily fiddly, and removing or adding players to a team can result in Captain selections being changed or lost. It shouldn't be so difficult to check things like this. Team selection should be a pleasure, not a chore!
8. Make the shading in the team selection screen darker, so players can see more easily which players they have picked from their squad for any given flange. Again, I find this harder than it should be at present.
9. That's pretty much it really so far as I'm concerned. However, they are important changes, and I would love to see some sort of commitment to improving the interface well before next season is upon us.
10. After the World Cup, interest in football should be high, so please, Telegraph, take advantage of this and improve participation in TFFO in this way, as well as making our playing experience more rewarding.

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murf
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Re: Next season

Post by murf »

Can't disagree with any of the above.

Many of the problems have been associated with starting again from scratch each year with a new provider building a new website (for less and less money?). The one we have now is adequate but could do with some improvements (many as above) so use it as a base and we are already on a par with the end of last season and way ahead of the start!

It's a great game but could be so much better / more popular if properly promoted and supported.

Save TFFO! :D

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Chocs
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Re: Next season

Post by Chocs »

I agree with your thoughts too Biscuitman.

I put the odd team into other games (YTM, FPL, Dream Team, Sky) as part of friends/works leagues, but although these have been more profitable, I get far more enjoyment out of TFFO.

I am all for anything that keeps TFFO going and the key issues for me are marketing the game and having the website ready well before the season starts. Any other improvements would be a bonus.

Long live TFFO! :D

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reds363
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Re: Next season

Post by reds363 »

I have to say I think the website as it is now is pretty good. I think the team selection process this season is fine and relatively user-friendly, although perhaps a couple of the tweaks mentioned above by Biscuitman would be beneficial. As long as they stick with the same providers GFM for next season, they should be able to use this season's website structure with little extra work needed, as opposed to last summer when they had to build this interface basically from scratch.

I think they launched this season's game just 2 weeks or so before kickoff - perhaps a large factor in the relatively low entry numbers. With everything in place for next season (there aren't many changes needed to the current system/website/interface), there should be no reason why they can't launch earlier and hopefully attract more customers in 2010.

t.gridley
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Re: Next season

Post by t.gridley »

An increase in the place money. I am getting a bit disillusioned with the small money on offer for just failing to win.

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murf
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Re: Next season

Post by murf »

t.gridley wrote:An increase in the place money. I am getting a bit disillusioned with the small money on offer for just failing to win.
Not suprisingly, seconded by the man who came 4th last year!

(I don't suppose we can ask for too much as the entry was a bit low. But if the site had been sorted and the game promoted better in July / August......)

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reds363
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Re: Next season

Post by reds363 »

I wonder if 15k-5k-1.5k would be a better ("fairer"?) spread than the current 20k-1k-500? :?

I suppose they were looking for as big as possible "headline" top prize - but I'm guessing place prizes are also important considerations when people decide how many teams to enter :?

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looneytoon77
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Re: Next season

Post by looneytoon77 »

I have been playing this game for around 8 seasons & like Chocs, even though I do play other FF games this is the one I always get the most enjoyment & interest from. If it stopped next season I doubt I would play the other TFF game as it's no where near the same level.
Think with the prize money it's a difficult call but agree a more fairer structure maybe implemented, if you miss out by say 10 points from winning it you have a £19K swing which is a little unfair I think.
Here's hoping for another season for the game to survive & another season of ups & down's for TFFO'ers! :wink:

Biscuitman
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Re: Next season

Post by Biscuitman »

Anyone in touch with Papa Giddy, by the way - know if he might be back next season? There are a few who it would be nice to see involved again - Pouzar, NFG etc - but maybe they have other interests now.

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AkNotSpur
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Re: Next season

Post by AkNotSpur »

Biscuitman wrote:Anyone in touch with Papa Giddy, by the way - know if he might be back next season? There are a few who it would be nice to see involved again - Pouzar, NFG etc - but maybe they have other interests now.
Think that all 3 played this year, but lost interest after poor starts.

I'll certainly play (yet) again next season, but will only enter one squad unless the Web Site improves. I find selecting teams for flanges a real chore and have rarely bothered checking them since the demise of the single review page.

The completely ridiculous ban on overseas entrants will continue, unless the Torygraph suddenly changes its legal team - but we've all found a way to circumvent that anyway.

Can't see many changes to the Prize Structure, although I wouldn't be too surprised to see the jackpot go down to 10 grand because of the ever declining number of entrants.

The only rule changes that I would to see are no MotM and a reduction in the 5 point penalty for missing a spot kick. As regards scope, I've never liked the inclusion of the FA Cup - but concede that's probably a minority view.

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marke192
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Re: Next season

Post by marke192 »

TFFO gets no mention in the telegraph. Surely advertising it in the paper at the same time as TFF will raise its profile and increase the number of players.(There shouldn't be any delay with building a new site this year!) In turn this will swell the Torygraphs coffers a little.

I did like the timed transfers they had last year, if they could reintroduce that it would make the game easier to play for the more casual entrant.

I agree that returning to the team selection page once a team has been set up (instead of the current team) would improve the site.

I enjoy playing TFFO more than any other game although this year............. :roll: .

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12345678
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Re: Next season

Post by 12345678 »

i think the prizemoney structure is right and fair personally. i think you need a headline 1st prize myself.

the telegraph games have obviously suffered from downtime this year, maybe this will get better, maybe it will get worse i wouldnt like to guess either way.

i've said this for the last 2 or 3 years (much as it took me about 2-3 years to get the recession right :lol: :( ) but i really do fear this was the last season of tffo.

i just can't see it adding up any more, although in its favour i was told by clever.tv it doesnt actually cost much more to run it once you are running tff in any case. maybe it will still run with a crash in prizemoney.

i've never got anywhere close to winning this game and this season was murdered by injuries (as in other games) after a good start then lost interest, missing deadlines etc. i'd like another crack at it and many years ago won a champions league game in a similar format but fear i won't get another go.

let's hope i am wrong again as the game offers a unique set of challenges!

andy

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Oddsman
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Re: Next season

Post by Oddsman »

12345678 wrote:i think the prizemoney structure is right and fair personally. i think you need a headline 1st prize myself.
I tend to agree with Andy on this but then perhaps I'm biased :D The Tele are only currently offering £5K for runner-up in TFF so they are not going to offer that in TFFO.

You dont buy a lottery ticket to win a tenner for 3 correct numbers or £60 for 4 correct numbers you enter to give yourself a chance of winning the first prize jackpot. Picking 4 correct numbers has odds of 1032 to 1 shot so £60 is a lousy return. It's the same when you miss out in the fantasy games. The key to these games is to get yourself in the mix and then one day with a bit of luck your time may come.

Hopefully we will be back next season. Wedsite issues had a major effect on the entries last season in both TFF and TFFO so as long as the Tele dont hit the GFM boys with a few late curve balls hopefully we will be in good shape come the start of next season :D

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