Here's a question to start with. How much was the financial difference between finishing top of your first season qualifying league and bottom?
If you answered "£1.65m" go and stand in the dunce's corner. If you said "we can't be sure exactly, but it could be as high as £3.21m" then congratulations - have a gold star. Huh, says the dunce, that doesn't make sense. The top prize money for season 1 was £2.2m, the bottom was 550k, the difference is £1.65m. But the truth is that figure can be almost doubled by what I term the success gap - the difference that inflation has made to the squad values of someone who at the end of last season was able to put together a top rate squad, versus the person who couldn't.
Let me explain, using my data (read more about this sample here and feel free to disagree if you like). As Season 1 drew to a close, MVs were almost exactly equal to AFs. A quick off the mark manager at the bottom of a division could in theory have pulled together a team of 11 players with 12-14 in key attributes of their positions for a total of £373k. Today that squad would be worth £957k, an increase of 584k. Meanwhile, a quick off the mark manager who finished higher up their qualifying league could have in theory have nabbed a team of 11 players with 15+ on key attributes in their positions for a total of £1.48m. Today that squad would be worth £3.63m. An increase of £2.15m. This second manager has experienced a rise in their squad value by £1.56m more than the first manager, purely as a result of inflation.
The £1.65m extra prize money the league winner earned was exactly that - earned. We can argue on the forums until the cows come home about whether that is a fair amount. Personally I think it's fine, in line with "give us something to play for" it's awarded to those managers who managed to perform well in season 1. But they have not done anything to earn the extra £1.56m - all they've done is sat and watch the MV go up and up and up, sometimes every few hours.
This - in a nutshell - is why inflation is bad for a gameworld.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good post as ever m8, think it might be more than that!
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't get top tier in season 2 then you don't have chance to compete for even bigger prizes in seasons 3 and 4. It's not just prize money daily income rises as your rep does and you can look at stadiums.
It's a lot of cash!
I don't think it's too bad though focus on the league your in I say everyone there has the same amount as you.
You're right of course Jak, that's another big issue. Personally I think it's a bit unfair that if you didn't get in to the top tier for Season 2 you are doomed to the lower tiers for some time.
ReplyDeleteBut that is part of the debate around "give us something to play for" type issues - at least those benefits come from good performances on the pitch. Inflation just helps the richest get richer for no effort at all.
In theory the team that has become successful will pay for it in later seasons, so although we're seeing inflation now, surely this is a good thing. It separates out the successful, the shrewd and the wannabes :) Speaking from a lower-tier manager I'm happy with the system as it is with envisaged inflation :)
ReplyDelete