Consulting for clueless managers

[Lizard]

All in all yes, possible. But not under 375k I guess. Maybe 390... then with that I dont make enough money to ride the Tour de France with Stockdale and Eickendreyer together.. I mean before the Giro I had 1.1mio on the bank, now all gone.. even though 4 stage wins etc, so since I won't make that necessary money anyways it's in the short and long run not useful keeping both ... so one for sure needs to leave.. just dont know which. By now a little into Stockdale to leave.. hmm

[Robyklebt]

Sell Pique

Easy decision. Stockdale-Eyckendreyer a good duo, but better for the TdF than the Giro anyway. Then don't ride the Vuelta of course that shitrace needs to be boycotted!!!!!!

390k then? Probably more. But you know what? Ride tours, Luxembourg, you'll make money. TdS, just show up with Stockdale, Van Amstel and one of Oysters and Stinson... the rest cheap. Money again. 14 of 30 days covered, NM, 15, WC, 16. basically you'll have that too expensive team only for half the month.

Then TdF: Here then you gamble: Stockdale-Eyckendreyer-Van Amstel-Peter. But then the next 4 can be, the 4 cheapest you have, even a new 21 year old 46-72. It's the tour, it's full of sprinters, hell, a old Grillboy finished the Tour last year. and if you lose one, no problem. Then the last rider, either the second 70-80, a 60-80 or the next cheapest... ok, in your team probably another 60-80 anyway. Stockdale with Eyckendreier can fight for the win at the tour. not easy, there the Hubers will be favorites, but with his TT Stockdale has chances, especially with his sidekick. If it works, good, doesn't matter if you lose money, if it doesn't, THEN you can sell one of the 2 to get the Giroleader 2012.

2 climbers with fairly good reg in the team makes no sense most of the time, agree, not only for you.... but so what..at worst you sell one after the tour. And don't let that Estonian there train more mountain, he has more than enough already... FLAT is the way to go, you don't need 100 guys with 70-80...

[Lizard]

Okay, just thought it over now again. Robypost very useful, helped a lot, had the idea to sell Pique anyways. Btw, the estonian going for flat 100% now, dont worry

Am going to sell Stockdale. Before the next month in case I find something worth buying today, will be a cheap rider... then Eickendreyer as only GC rider left, he's rather my type of rider than Stockdale... but maybe on the transfer list aswell somewhen, probably after the tour. Just not worth it I guess, short term plan would be Roby's suggestion, but that's what I do everytime, have money problems then sell the rider, do something stupid again. This time wanna have a foundation in the team. Thanks for the help, guys!

[Rockstar Inc]

Short poll

a)Almog Cohen 70/82/72 b)Pablo Sarabia 49/89 with 72 Sprint...which guy should go to the tour?

the other 8 memebers are fix..

Javier Cordero, 63 mountain, 93 Sprint
Cesc Carrasco 73/78 with 65 Sprint
Manuel Soldado 50/89
Fernando Copado 62/89/78
Jesus Gallego 62/86/73
Iker Rico 50/85
Adriaen Radewijns 50/78/76
Ramunas Navardauskas 48/74 - 64tt, 54 Reg..

a)would mean ca. 467K Salary
b)would mean ca. 447K Salary

[Robyklebt]

Neither


Sell
Arconada. If necessary sell Bakkerud. Then go to the transfer market and give in minimum 65 flat, sort by mountain, at nr 4 you will see mr themistokles, paris roubaix winner, 80-80, 2,9 something, 32 years old. with him cordero or callado or whatever his name is wins stage 1 too, or that dude himself. plus despite his slight weaknesses in the downhill, you'll have somebody in the gc too, top 10 anyway. if you don't have the money go for mr blanco, 1,7 29 years old 81-66-69, 59 reg, salary more expensive than themothingy, but again, with him your chances to win yellow on the first stage are fairly big too. gc he'll do well as well. it's only one stage difference for cordero callado copacabana, but every stage counts, no. nr 1 with a 73-78 you're just not strong enough to block 2 km, there you really need a 80-70, or of course 80-80 even better.. the other difficult stage should be possible with your 73 boy, lisieux or something, last km flat, but nr 1 i seriously doubt it... actually 75+ 80+ or 80+70+ seem the only thing that can hold it together... you have 20 riders, you need wins for copacabana, go for thermopipi!he'll be useful after the tour too, even at 77-77

[NoPikouze]

Neither of them is really useful. You have a sprinter and good blockers.

[Rockstar Inc]

hmm mr. singe...too bad and unfortunately this guy isn't availabe at the moment...hmm, have to check the TM regularly...maybe he's coming to the available guys till 21:00

[Robyklebt]

oh, ok... i went to all riders, instead of wanting to change, thought it went fast to be available.. but if he would be nice.. maybe sell urganov?

[Rockstar Inc]

hmm have to sell two riders...Arconada is a good one to sell...2nd one hm...bakkerud an option...Cortes and Leon are nice cheap guys but also on the list...

[Rockstar Inc]

soo...i listened to the old wise ape...let's see

[Chense]

So i need also help here:
How to go on the next months? At the moment my plan is to buy from the money won of the tour and the next months and the money falter (32 already will not stay longer then maximum end of semptember in my team) brings me the following riders:
1 youth classic like 56-74-60 65Sp 1 youth classic like 56-73-70 60Sp 1 Cheap youth Helpers (46-68-70). This would cost round 4,5 - 5 Million.

But when to buy whom? And is this really the right way to go on? And with so many classics wouldnt a mountain helper or 80-70 be nice? So many question I cant answer so heeeelp me please

Only thing thats sure: Want to stay a classics team with maybe one rider able going for any gc rank in greater tours like Exe (84-56) but no real GC Rider for sure

My actual team that will be surely there after buying new riders is:

Schadler Brothers: 22 - 60-78-79 and 60-76-79 with 55 and 59 sprint - My hopeful young classics
Valbuente: 25 51-87-70 47 Reg - Best flattier in the team
Litmanen (27) 50-81, and Steuble (21) 50-74-77 - The backhold of my flatteam
Batman (22) 48-70-81 and Foser (21) 47-67 The 2 cheap helpers

Potential:
Jallus: 27 - 49-83 67 Sprint - Expensive but my only one with 65+ sprint so far and quite nice flat skill
Exenberger: 30 - 84-56-78 - The mountain helper ... not really sure if i should keep him when falter leaves as he will be useless from around 32 to 34 as helper

Sure Leavers:
Fructose: 34 - 72-79 ... Will leave for sure ... we just dont know for sure when
Falter: 32 - 77-80 ... He will stay as long as its sensefull so maybe until 35 or 36 ... but if there is a real bummer on the youth market he may also leave with 33 or 34 already

[Equipe Risque]

hey.. ich brauch hilfe ;D

87-53-67-52-47 57 reg 24 jahre 4,2 mio soll ich mir den für 82-70-71-53-53 37 reg 27 jahre ( Marco Reul ) den holen ?

[Lizard]

hey.. ich brauch hilfe ;D

87-53-67-52-47 57 reg 24 jahre 4,2 mio soll ich mir den für 82-70-71-53-53 37 reg 27 jahre ( Marco Reul ) den holen ?

As I see you have sold him. Which division were you in and when is the rider ready for buying? Thanks for the information already.

[Equipe Risque]

schreib nie mit mir deutsch haha ;DDD
mein alter fahrer is aufm div 5 markt ;D

[Robyklebt]

The ape needs some advice again.

1 His team kind of sucks, he knows.
2 Despite that.. he has NO CLUE what he actually needs to buy .

a) nothing, wait for May to buy a climber for the Giro 2012 in June, then a classic, a sprinter, the whole team. for the Giro 2013 basically.
b) buy a classic now, not sure for what, but buy him. The 2 he has are kind of sucky and getting old too.
c) buy a better sprinter
d) buy another flat rider (just bought one for march)
e) buy another future 60-80
f) novel idea, buy a old rider? to strenghten the team now? But then... what rider is needed?

Actually can't buy a rider now, but by selling Uchi+Mori I could go for a cheapish "classic" already now... at the latest in early march I will be sitting on enough money to buy anyway. But WHAT?

[NoPikouze]

The Ape doesn't need anything, he's perfect! Ok there is one thing he might need, more true worshippers !

[team fl]

Petit Singe needs leaders!

[Quick]

The Ape wants bananas! Buy more bananas! Apes always want bananas!

[Lizard]

The ape needs some advice again.

1 His team kind of sucks, he knows.
2 Despite that.. he has NO CLUE what he actually needs to buy .

a) nothing, wait for May to buy a climber for the Giro 2012 in June, then a classic, a sprinter, the whole team. for the Giro 2013 basically.
b) buy a classic now, not sure for what, but buy him. The 2 he has are kind of sucky and getting old too.
c) buy a better sprinter
d) buy another flat rider (just bought one for march)
e) buy another future 60-80
f) novel idea, buy a old rider? to strenghten the team now? But then... what rider is needed?

Actually can't buy a rider now, but by selling Uchi+Mori I could go for a cheapish "classic" already now... at the latest in early march I will be sitting on enough money to buy anyway. But WHAT?

Shall I?

Okay, probably Roby loves the classics and the Giro more than anything. So you always had a good team for climbing at least. Last year even decent sprinting, good classics. Maybe one of your best years around here 2011. So what did change now? Obviously the team is totally imbalanced around its leaders. The support riders don't support anymore what they are supposed to support. That's what to change. So have a look at the leaders.

- Fahrny: He's good, but getting old. Of course stays until unusable.
- Mattarozzi: Expensive, clearly only Giro. But decent aswell, keep him.
- Ramirez: Good perspective, but wait.. where's the 73-79-78 to save him cause of his downhill? Oh right, he's not there. So totally unusable. The mountain stages at Giro usually have 2 or three big climbs, and there's usually a sharp downhill part before the last. He has reg, but he can't use it to attack early since he doesn't survive downhills. He has not the 70-80 with downhill to support him. I'd say sell him or buy something to get him useful, else it's not worth it.
- That finnish sprinter with impossile to speak name: Sell that guy. What are you thinking? He will never win nothing. And don't you dare thinking of very special occasions where he might have a 5% chance. Get a decent sprinter or let it be. Anyway, he's not helping you at all.

Next, have a look at the very old ones.

- Uchigasaki: Sell him. Just sell. With 75 downhill he might have a little use, but like this no. Not worth it.
- Mori: Don't sell. He's okay. 79 is really enough still, plus he has reg. He can do some work in the beginning of stages. And if you're going for a new sprinter or for any one day race he's a keep-the-salary-down-rider.

Thwn, have a look now at the riders where I'm pending, not sure where they belong actually and if they're useful.

- Alighieri: Guess he can stay, good sprint and good for the upcoming classics. What I'm thinking is: After April, does he really have any use? He can't stay in the classic groups and if he can, there's hillsprinters and classic sprinters to stop him.
- Todea: A typical Roby rider, wait no! 49 downhill??? He obviously weakens the good climbers offering no support in downhill, 44 reg maybe also not the strongest. You will think: "64 TT is good for the TTT, and he's a good support till the last mountain". I say he can't save your TTT team, he saves around 10 secs in 15kms maybe, if at all, but is it worth it?

What you desperately need is a 70-80 with downhill more than anything else to support your climbers. So who to sell?
- Sell the sprinter, sell Uchigasaki. Then for the Giro you have still time, wait for the next good 74-80-75 or at least a 72-79-76 to crash the transfer market and instantly buy. You know you need him, you know he should have 45+ reg and hopefully no sprint and TT at all. Alighieri maybe good again for the Giro since he can at least offer some help in downhills, but after the Giro the latest sell him and get something useful for him. By that time Mori is gone aswell, so there's money to buy a) a new sprinter or b) another roby-classic with 55-73-76 or something around that.
- Then, if you can fix the downhill & classic rider problem, you can let Ramirez stay. Save. If not, I'd really think about selling him if he's not training to 88 or something like that. But for the short-span future it's very important to fix the downhill prob right away. If then until May there is a decent classic with downhill Ramirez will have him for Vuelta, Andes, Dec Tour or whatever he wants to ride during that time. Roby not interested in Vuelta this year, so think twice if you really want that guy with a decent leader like Mattarozzi.

Last but not least, finally change your attitude to leaders. How come you buy a 46 mountain and 66 sprint dude and make him train climbing+sprint??? If you want leaders, buy leaders. Those semi-somethings are fully-nothings, don't buy them anymore. You can do that if it comes to classics, since there a big team like the Robyists can just show up with 4 or 5 of them, plus good 60-80 support. But this is what has changed, you need the classic part the most. For Giro support, for Giro stages, for Tre Valli, for Lombardia, for anything in Italy you love to win. And mostly important: If you have few of a kind (like classics) it gets more necessary to go optimal-skills. If you have many, you can compensate. And Alighieri just a training loser, that has gone really unlucky...

Hope I was able to help.

[Robyklebt]

Thanks LIzard! Finally somebody with a serious answer!

But a) Ramirez won't be sold. He trains, good. He doesn't, nobody buys him, so he has to stay either way.
b) Not selling Yrjönpoika! He's too good. Well no, but cheap and is just waiting to start to win. Well no, but he is good for easy placements... he brings his money, no effort. Attacking every day for 20k to boring, rather win those 20k (or 10k) while doing nothing
c) Not selling anyone who hasn't retirement age..

Aware of my Giro downhill problem... mmh, buy a "sold" classic.. mmh, could think about that after all. Should. But actually my main goal is: Giro 2013. 2012 too of course, but there the team is mostly what it is. Except if I buy that sold classic. Which ok ok, I will think about. Then it's more about 13 already, the climber for 13 is supposed to come early. June/July. And all the rest too. Just wasn't sure what to do with money til then... ok, Pik told me in the chat, young classic, (for the after Giro and Giro 13 at 34) you say sold classic for Giro 12. Ok, classic anyway, will keep my eyes open.

[team fl]

I agree with Lizard, that you need a classic rider with downhill. Furthermore, your flat riders are getting old too any so far, I see only Yamada as a future back up.

Let's have a look on your Team

Climbers:
- Fahrny, 33, maybe ride with him until the Giro, then sell him and buy a back for the Giro 2013 in June
- Mattarozzi, 26, good for the Giro 2012 and the autumn classics, sell in October to buy a back up for Giro 2013
- Ramirez, 23, good for the Giro 2012 and the autumn classics. Can easily ride the December tour too.

-> Buy a climber after the Giro 2012 for 2013 and a back up for Mattarozzi after the autumn classics.

Classics:
- Leonardo Aligheri, 30, good for the spring classics and the Giro 2012
- Caius Todea, 30, good for the spring classics and the Giro 2012

-> sell both afterwards and look for decent classics for the spring and the Giro 2013

-> try to find a classic like Lizard said. Either get a young rider for March or buy one on the Transfer Market shortly before the Giro.

Flat riders:
- Montandon, 33, either sell him in March or keep him until after PR
- Leibundgut, 32, needed for the spring classics, sell him before the Giro. If you want to take him to Italy, sell him after the Giro
- Wei, 31, same like Leibundgut
- Yamada, 22, good flattie for the future, needs playfellow

-> You need more flat riders, Wei can still ride the Giro, but be sure you buy at least one more in April and perhaps one after the Giro

Sprinter:
- Yrjönpoika, 25

-> I like Markku, keep him. So far, no building site. Think about a new sprinter when Markku gets old.

Helpers:
- Haryono, 35, sell him, you have Bang and Titus
- Uchigaksi, 38, sell him
- Mori, 37, keep him, Reg is good, sell him, when he's unusable or you need the money, Otherwise, let him retire on his own
- Olteanu, 28, sell him after the autum classics, or when you need the money before
- Gong, 24, good for the rest of the year, replace him when needed after the December tour or January 2013

-> One cheap helper with Reg would be nice to replace Mori

[Robyklebt]

Now I get too many answers....

Was only looking on how to spend the short term money I will have end of this month, beginning of march, not the whole approach to the Giro 13... there I need everything, I know, I know. Can already tell you what as well, 2 climbers with downhill and reg, 2 70-80 with downhill, 2 60-80 one at least with reg, 1 sprinter, 2 flat riders. Same as this year except I did a few compromises, like 52 down is almost 70... ok, the sprinter, bit fucked with that one this year since 12 a 90 would have been good.. now 80, but well. Definetly not selling Mattarozzi in october before the Andes and with age 33 And I don't need 7 millions now, don't need to sell Haryono... why would I he's nice and friendly. Just will have around 2 mio in early march, late february... wasn't sure how to invest them..

Flatriders: Thaddäus is coming! 72 flat, nothing else.

Giro 12

The plan is:

Climbers
Mattorozzi
Ramirez

Classics
Todea (TT!)
Alighieri

60-80 or similar
Olteanu
Gong

Sprinter
Yrjönpoika

2 open spots, in the fight for these spots are:

Wei: TT, will be 34
Fahrny: 3rd climber. Ok, 2nd and half. Ok, second since Ramirez seems intent on counting as half too. Will be 36...
Yamada: Flat
New rider: ?

Basically was asking about candidate 4... Which indeed probably should be the older classic that has downhill. But we'll see, my problem is that as soon as I have enough money I tend to spend it... See a nice 46-69 with reg, can't resist.. stuff like that. Even if I don't need them.

[NoPikouze]

That's all basically what I said, but with only 2 sentences. Cut the obvious!


Ok now the real question... Mirjaqip trained to 88 berg!! Should I adapt my team ? What am I supposed to do ? Currently my best helper is 71 81 74...
(500k in the bank)

[Robyklebt]

Adapt! But with 500 k in the bank you can't really:)

Then how to adapt depends on your goals... What is he supposed to win?
Giro? Then too late for a young second climber anyway. Then an older one has to do it.
Tour? Buy the nr 2 for April, a bit late, but he'll be 24, meaning 81-86? when the Tour starts.
Vuelta? He doesn't need a second climber
Andes? You have some time.
Dec Tour: Want be as good as 2012

Or no second climber at all, just hope that Otemisuly (no downhill, how can you buy a classic with no downhill????) or Olivier get to be 73+ in mountain. There you already have good support. Downhill, pah, who cares, bring Zavarov to bring back Otemisuly as well... Depends on what you like, the Ape-way, 2 climbers, or the Aix way, 1 climber and good classics in support.

Anyway: The Apehelp: Save money. Buy a young climber for April, OR wait for a ok climber on the market. Or do nothing and hope for Otemisuly/Olivier. Depending on your climbing preferences.

[flockmastoR]

88 with 26? You damn lucker! It could be that he still goes up to 90 or 89 till the Tour. Question is what are you going to ride with him? Going for the GTs?