2024 Captaincy election: Q&A thread

[MisspelledTree]

Hi to both of the candidates! Thanks for taking the time to answer questions, really interesting to hear your different ideas of how this might go.

I have two questions I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on:

1) I understand Team England often practice together in the run-up to tournaments. I don't know how structured that actually is so maybe this idea is unrealistic but I know for instance national sports teams tend to hold bigger training camps with lots of players then whittle down to the smaller group selected to compete. Could you envisage anything like this for Team England? I ask because I think there are lots of us who have an interest in getting better at Blood Bowl and who know that one of the best ways to do that is to play or practice with better coaches, which we don't always get the opportunities to do outside of tournaments themselves.

2) How do you stop Team England's selection from just being a popularity contest? Neither of you seem keen to tie too strongly to the rankings, which I understand, but what checks do you put in place - if any - to make sure you're not just picking your (or your vice-captain's) mates rather than selecting on merit?

[lunchmoney]

Why only one EurOpen team?

[KFoged]

1. Like others I’m keen to understand how you might both select a team for both Eurobowl and Europen that the country can truly get behind, support and cheer on as we should for our Country?

2. Unfortunately, I don’t personally feel I’ve had much investment in TE during the decade I’ve been playing and am keen for you to explore the idea of wider engagement. Therefore, following on from my first question how do you plan to generate a fan base and inspire new and old coaches to strive to be one of your 8+4 elite now, or for a TE pick in the future?

3. I’m interpreting that you are both still expecting self nominations and wondered why you don’t feel able to select players from the population based on the abundance of performance data available to us, but also your own familiarity with the tabletop competitive tournament scene and the strong coaches across the country?

4. I also presume as a Captain you are expecting to play? Have you considered a performance based selection principle for all 12 members of the Teams, meaning that you could have a non-playing role. I do recognise in both your circumstances you would both likely achieve selection on merit!

5. What do you hope your legacy as TE Captain will be?

1. It is a daunting task to select 8/12 players to truly represent a whole country and I think it is all about having faith in the system (which has been lacking) and the captain leading the process. I think the committee has taken the first step to gaining this trust back and the involvement of new names in this election process has to some degree shown that the engagement is growing. The next big step will be this team selection, taking a transparent, fair and engaged approach which is why I think my proposal for having a VC is a really positive step.

2. Using the online channels we have available, but also I would do my bit to drum up interest as best as I can when playing tournaments around the corner. Hopefully again having a “two headed” monster would help reaching more people on a personal level than I can do alone and of course the committee will have a role too, like with the newsletter that they have recently started which has helped to share TE news more widely and from a single source.

3. I have touched on this before in other answers. I don’t think a points/ranking/tournament/whatever qualification system actually is making this process better besides for transparency of how people can get selected and it opens up a heap of other issues and ways to question the selection instead. I think data is important, but so is context for that data.

4. As long as I (we) see myself as part of the 8 best coaches for this event in the country then yes I will pick myself, but personally I think TE should have a non playing/spare coach at EuroBowl. There is no way to play your own game at a top level and also keep on top of what is happening in the 7 other games, so having a 9th member of the team strengthens the team strategically too. They also have additional capacity on the weekend to do things like update the people at home. So yes I would consider taking a none playing role if needed and I think I can select eight better players, or as per my proposal as captain, select a VC who fills this role and is also capable stand in should something happen to another member of the 8.

5. I always play to win , so of course I would love to get England back to the winners circle as we have become soused to, but I think my personal feeling of success would be having the community following the event and supporting the team more explicitly.

1) I understand Team England often practice together in the run-up to tournaments. I don't know how structured that actually is so maybe this idea is unrealistic but I know for instance national sports teams tend to hold bigger training camps with lots of players then whittle down to the smaller group selected to compete. Could you envisage anything like this for Team England? I ask because I think there are lots of us who have an interest in getting better at Blood Bowl and who know that one of the best ways to do that is to play or practice with better coaches, which we don't always get the opportunities to do outside of tournaments themselves.

2) How do you stop Team England's selection from just being a popularity contest? Neither of you seem keen to tie too strongly to the rankings, which I understand, but what checks do you put in place - if any - to make sure you're not just picking your (or your vice-captain's) mates rather than selecting on merit?

1. I very much like the idea of TE camps (not totally sure about the format exactly) if we can get support for it as it will end up competing against normal tournaments that are run in the same weekend. I love seeing and helping people improve, because that benefits everyone including the “veteran” players like myself. Even if I’m not elected as a captain then I would be more than happy to look at creating something that you and other players that love this game and want to get better can attend, so watch this space.

2. Let’s be honest there is no way of guaranteeing this as long as we have a captain who picks the team approach. We can only promise that it will not happen and if we break this promise it can get used against us should we run for captain again. It is quite a responsibility to pick the team and not one I will take lightly, but to be honest I would most likely judge my friends harder than others to avoid getting that tag on a team I have picked.

Why only one EurOpen team?

Good question and personally never thought about it that way! But how many if more than 1? Unlimited? I could for sure see 2 teams, but more than that would make logistics a lot harder and make it less of a special thing to reach for. I would put that challenge back to the community as well though, annually individuals who have volunteered for involvement with TE have been quite limited (for whatever reason), so I would urge people to make these decisions difficult for whoever the captain is by putting their name forward to be involved.

[PeteW]

Hi to both of the candidates! Thanks for taking the time to answer questions, really interesting to hear your different ideas of how this might go.

I have two questions I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on:

1) I understand Team England often practice together in the run-up to tournaments. I don't know how structured that actually is so maybe this idea is unrealistic but I know for instance national sports teams tend to hold bigger training camps with lots of players then whittle down to the smaller group selected to compete. Could you envisage anything like this for Team England? I ask because I think there are lots of us who have an interest in getting better at Blood Bowl and who know that one of the best ways to do that is to play or practice with better coaches, which we don't always get the opportunities to do outside of tournaments themselves.

2) How do you stop Team England's selection from just being a popularity contest? Neither of you seem keen to tie too strongly to the rankings, which I understand, but what checks do you put in place - if any - to make sure you're not just picking your (or your vice-captain's) mates rather than selecting on merit?

1. We held a training camp in the summer before the 2022 Eurobowl where we played open games and discussed tactics. I think it was useful, especially for the EurOpen guys, and the games I played against them were appreciated (happy if they want to chip in and disagree!!!) We could have opened it up to a wider audience, but for open training games, they can't be NAF ranked, and I'm not sure how many people would actually want to pay to travel and stay over (plus food, and maybe venue charge) for a training event that wasn't ranked. If captain, then I'd poll on this, however, I expect a more likely solution might be a NAF ranked summer event using EB rules, where priority for places would be given to Team England first, then people signed up to the EurOpen, then other coaches. I don't know if that would be allowed under NAF rules though. Those would be competitive practice games, and I would ask my Team England to give useful constructive feedback after each game.

Also happy to say that as the highest NAF ranked English Underworld coach, maybe you should be coaching us!

2. If I went by the NAF rankings, then the top 8 qualifying English coaches would be me and 7 friends! However, the NAF rankings are bolstered by a lot of old data. There must be newer coaches who are as good or better. Rankings are a single help, but cannot be everything (sorry - I realise that takes the shine off my comment above somewhat!) Some previous players for England have already told me they are not up to it and won't be putting themselves forward. Others have said they will, but wouldn't be surprised if they weren't picked. Others have sadly not played enough and won't be eligible. I think TE 2024 will have a number of new names in it. Which is great! So again, I encourage people to apply!

Why only one EurOpen team?

I think, although happy to be wrong, that at the point of registration, countries are only allowed to submit one 'official' national EurOpen team. Of course, there is nothing to stop nations from organising other unofficial national teams. Perhaps if there is sufficient interest this could be considered, but it would be a committee decision, not the captain's.

[sann0638]

How good would a player have to be before their ability outweighed any personality flaws? If Dulac was a massive idiot (he's not) would he make the team?

[Wulfyn]

Thank you both to 2 excellent coaches putting themselves forward for the captaincy - great to see players of such stature leading from the front!

A question for each of you please:

Pete - you mentioned that the team underperformed to expectation due to not being prepared with the new meta, but you didn't go into too much detail as to why that happened. What, in hindsight, were the top 3 reasons why that happened (other than being loyal to the original pick, which I think was a very fair thing to do)? And given that we have seen a lot of change in the meta over the past 12 months (the rise and fall of Sneaky Git being an example) and with more changes from GW likely on the way (Vampires) how do we ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated?


KFoged - as a prominent Dane I imagine that there may be some people that think you shouldn't be the England captain, and that should be reserved for someone that is English. You say that you have been involved in the English community / teams for some time; can you elaborate on this please?

[MisspelledTree]

Just wanted to pop back in to say thanks to both candidates for thoughtful replies to my questions (and everyone else's)!

I might well be in a minority (maybe even a minority of 1!), who knows, but I think the idea of TE camps sounds great so v excited to hear Kfoged say he might consider looking into this even if not elected. I only very recently found your one-turning content on YouTube - I realise I am probably the last person in all of Blood Bowl to do so! - and it's brilliantly helpful so thank you.

To PeteW's point about people not wanting to give up a weekend for an event that's not NAF ranked, I can also totally understand that. Personally, I'm not all that bothered about my NAF ranking (tbh I didn't really know it was a thing until I heard everyone talking about theirs at the World Cup), even if it was fun to learn about my underworld position! As my WC team-mate Shanba put it, definitely some 'most villainous villain vibes' on that one. But yes, def do take your point about people having limited hobby time/money and not necessarily wanting to spend it on an unranked BB weekend if that's a priority for them.

Might another option be to run camps on Fumbbl? Maybe that excludes too many people in a different way idk.

[PeteW]

How good would a player have to be before their ability outweighed any personality flaws? If Dulac was a massive idiot (he's not) would he make the team?

Even if they were the best player in England, if they were so obnoxious no-one wanted to around them, then I wouldn't pick them. The EB is relatively expensive long-weekend, and I wouldn't expect the other team members to put up with someone hugely unpleasant and toxic. Nor would I want to soil the English good name - I think we travel well, as a country, and our foreign friends are always happy to play us (as least, due to our pleasant natures). And thankfully, I can't remember ever having a toxic bloodbowl experience in 26 years of tabletop, which is a lovely reflection of our hobby. So, hopefully this would never be a relevant consideration.

A question for each of you please:

Pete - you mentioned that the team underperformed to expectation due to not being prepared with the new meta, but you didn't go into too much detail as to why that happened. What, in hindsight, were the top 3 reasons why that happened (other than being loyal to the original pick, which I think was a very fair thing to do)? And given that we have seen a lot of change in the meta over the past 12 months (the rise and fall of Sneaky Git being an example) and with more changes from GW likely on the way (Vampires) how do we ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated?

Perhaps I am being too harsh on myself and the team, or perhaps not. As I said above in a previous reply, the 2022 EuroBowl was only just over a year after lockdown finished. I honoured the team picks from 2020, and perhaps some of the coaches had not played that much blood bowl online during the lockdown, or been able to play that many tournaments in the first year back. This, coupled with a new ruleset, left some players underprepared. Also, as a team, I think we were behind the curve in understanding the metagame and the ruleset. In part, as a team, we relied too much on tried and tested rosters and thinking. Two years on, we are in a very different place, and all coaches will have experienced the new meta and appreciate the strengths of Underworld, Skaven, star players, fouling etc.

However, a number of the close losses of individual games could easily have been wins, which would have turned a team loss into a team win. I may be trying to take too much responsibility for our finishing position. Perhaps it was just dice!

To answer the final part of your question, I think that the English community is already in a better place than it was 2 years ago in terms of experience and understanding. Coaches will certainly be trying vampires to see how they perform, and there will be a lot of practice with the EB rules when they are finalised. Personally, there was one voice encouraging me to think a bit more creatively in 2022, and I didn't give him a large enough voice, which I regret, as much of what he was saying was good. So, if re-elected, I will try to encourage positive group conversations within the team.

Might another option be to run camps on Fumbbl? Maybe that excludes too many people in a different way idk.

That is a good idea. Joemanji has run 1-to-1 training sessions using a combination of Fumbbl and live-calling to coach players in the past. I have also enjoyed NAF games on Fumbbl when Whatsapp calling my opponents. A training group on Fumbbl is an excellent idea, as Team England members (and potentially others) can fit games in around their personal schedules at zero cost. I would certainly be very happy to have a friendly game with any coach who would like one. It's nice to be able to discuss plays, risk decisions, etc.

[speedingbullet]

If voted in as Captain you will be thinking seriously about team selection before too long and much of the data you might use to guide you is already available. Including data from the World Cup where English coaches have competed against international rivals. Can you name a couple of coaches who haven’t played for TE to date that you would be thinking about.

[PeteW]

If voted in as Captain you will be thinking seriously about team selection before too long and much of the data you might use to guide you is already available. Including data from the World Cup where English coaches have competed against international rivals. Can you name a couple of coaches who haven’t played for TE to date that you would be thinking about.

Hi Jim

I'm not sure it is helpful for me to specifically give names of people that I may or may not have my eye on, as it may give them false encouragement, and put others off if they are not mentioned! However, as you say, the WC data is in. One measuring tool (although I think the logic may be a bit weird) is the Danish system: https://www.bloodbowl.dk/coach-rating/

This is the page of English coaches, ranked by "year high" which may be more relevant now than all-time high. However, I would be cautious of people who haven't played that many games. And some of these coaches sadly won't make the qualifying criteria.

Sorry that doesn't answer your question, but I hope this is useful.

[KFoged]

How good would a player have to be before their ability outweighed any personality flaws? If Dulac was a massive idiot (he's not) would he make the team?

The sum of the team is bigger than its individual parts. I would not select a player if it would compromise the team and its spirit. Playing for Team England is bigger than that and you have to work as a unit and be ready to do what is best for the team.for example you might be asked to play for a draw instead of a win even if the win is not that unlikely, but comes with a risk of losing.

KFoged - as a prominent Dane I imagine that there may be some people that think you shouldn't be the England captain, and that should be reserved for someone that is English. You say that you have been involved in the English community / teams for some time; can you elaborate on this please?

I touched on this in my opening statement. Besides the fact that I have lived in England since late 2016 and have switched my NAF nationality to English, I have also been a regular coach on the English tournament scene since 2010 and have played close to 80 tournaments and just over 400 NAF ranked games. I’m also part of the admin group running the Waterbowl league and tournament here in Manchester, and one of my most memorable moments was being part of the first English squad to win the UKTC and I have been representing English teams in both Italy and Spain (runner up to ALFEA). So I very strongly feel like my Blood Bowl soul belongs in the English community and that is why I was proud to wear my Team England shirt in Malta and now hope to be leading us in Greece.

Might another option be to run camps on Fumbbl? Maybe that excludes too many people in a different way idk.

I would personally prefer tabletop over online any day of the week, it allows for much better discussion about the game and the flexibility to play through scenarios, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use fumbbl. When talking about fumbbl I would like to use this opportunity to recommend any coaches with an interest in resurrection leagues to join Super League on fumbbl: https://fumbbl.com/p/group?op=view&group=15615 This league is a really strong resurrection style tournament with many of the best coaches in the world involved.

If voted in as Captain you will be thinking seriously about team selection before too long and much of the data you might use to guide you is already available. Including data from the World Cup where English coaches have competed against international rivals. Can you name a couple of coaches who haven’t played for TE to date that you would be thinking about.

It is not easy to answer this without feeling that you should have mentioned more names as I think the tournament scene is thriving around the country, but it would be easy to mention Thulean and BreakMonker that won best Amazon and Skaven at the World Cup.

[spleggy]

Hello both of you. Thanks for nominating and agreeing to a community grilling.

Much of what I would wish to ask had been covered already but I do have a couple of questions. (perhaps a subtly different angle than prior)

1) I feel that being a member of Team England Euro/Europen team is a great honour but it's also a big responsibility. All coaches represent their countries but there is a particular spotlight on the selected 12. To say you're a diplomat is perhaps a little too grand but you're certainly a representative. What standards of sportsmanship and personal attributes to you think are most important?

2) For the last Eurobowl I had the impression that some coaches were unaware of the process. They didn't know who else had put themselves forward and were unaware of the thread of this very forum. Is TFF still the best way to engage with the playerbase? If not, do you have any suggestions how it might be done better?

[nazgob]

Great to see some lovely discourse. I have many thoughts and questions, but first:

How much of a priority are you going to place on community? I had a conversation with many coaches in Alicante who are very good, but actively did not want to be part of Team England due to a culture, real or percieved.

If a Team England coach were accused of serious misconduct prior to the event, e.g. racist remarks, how would you handle this? Would you expect to get involved?

What if this accusation were levelled at the event?

How are you going to make Team England accessible to all? As a Southerner, it often feels that because I can't get to certain tournaments, I can't get visibility. If I am being measured on competitiveness, do I have to get to the Uktc, the nafc or water bowl?

Kfoged, can you announce your vice captain now? It would be interesting to know your running mate...

Also, Kfoged, you said that you wouldn't pick necessarily pick the strongest team. Can you elabourate on that? Why wouldn't you necessarily pick the strongest team? Can you articulate the potential benefits of this strategy, and are you thinking about the long term improving the talent pool for 2025 and beyond?

Pete, you wrote that:

My mandate was to unite the fractured English community and pick a competitive team with members from both the north and south of the country, and also to extend Team England to include the EurOpen team and fully involve them.

Ignoring the competetiveness, which you've already acknowledged was below our usual standard, how would you rate your success at unifying the fractured English community.

Speaking from personal experience, I can think of several English coaches with links to other countries (some quite tenuous), who have actively chosen to involve themselves in other nations, e.g. Scotland, Wales, Ireland (and in one case, a speculative non-european country). Why do you think this is, and is it a cause for concern?

[glowworm]

Following the recent showing at Eurobowl would either of you consider moving to the “French model” of coach selection where the coach with the highest rating with a race over the previous years gets offered a slot? Surely that would stop the allegations and it has to be said appearance of an “old boys club”?

[Purplegoo]

Two questions related to these comments that we sometimes see re: 'picking mates', 'closed shop' or 'old boys club' (which, as someone who has been involved for a while, triggers me a wee bit. Not for this thread, but I would be delighted to pick up the 'perception' point in the AOB thread or at a tournament anon). Do you:

a) Think there is any genuine weight to any of this, or, more interestingly (perhaps)
b) Think that the time will come where we need to take a fundamental look at our aims when picking the team?

Re: b), you've both said that you anticipate turnover from the last team that was selected. This makes sense, because it's been a wee while since the last full selection cycle; coaches are going to drift out of the game for various reasons and others will join the community. 'Who is good' is going to change when the time axis is a few years. When it's (12) months, the best 8 in year X is going to be very close to the best 8 in year X+1 - 'boosting the perception that it's a closed shop' (although, I think I'm right in saying there has been at least one new cap at every EB?).

We've always tried to pick the best team to win the tournament; comprised of representative coaches who are ticking the most boxes of playing well. Should we keep doing that forever, or is there more value to the community in, at some stage, pursing one of the other selection criteria, over and above gaming skill?

/Unfair questions.