Well, there you have it – it’s done!

After a season that went down to the wire, characterised by a real neck-and-neck battle and with LR leading the table for much of the campaign, CP have finally clinched the title!

What makes a victory so sweet is the battle you had to fight to achieve it. And there was certainly no shortage of that. It makes this title all the more rewarding.
A huge well done to Misha for the IS Cup. Given how hopeless he is, it’s a real feat! And it makes for a fine double.

Thanks to the whole CP team, first and foremost for the laughs, for the sometimes intense banter, and more generally for everything that makes this club what it is.

Thanks also to Aloisio for joining us. There’s no doubt he’s played a major part in this title, both through his results and his invaluable advice during matches. And besides, he’s been one of my favourites for many, many years, so I’m particularly happy to be playing alongside him again.

On a more personal note, I’d like to say just how happy I am to be here today. So thank you to Adrimax for letting Magpie know my username a few seasons ago, just when I was seriously considering retiring, convinced I’d seen everything the game had to offer. This opportunity has reignited my desire to carry on and given me a new lease of life.

In short, congratulations to everyone on this thoroughly deserved title. Chocolat and chewing gum, I fucking love you lot.

Whether you’re a ‘chopist’ or a ‘romanist’, according to healthcare professionals, it’s recommended that you masturbate more often than once every 50 days… apparently it’s linked to the prostate and so on… just a quick medical aside, if it might save lives.

Well done, Chopists!
A truly outstanding performance, given the competition and the LR season!

Well done to CP – by far the best team in the game right now! Well done to LR – it was a great battle. And above all, well done to Nexus for their 19th top 10 finish in a row – incredible!!! 🤭

Lebaygue: Que ce soit pour les chopistes ou les romanos,d après les professionnels de la santé,il est recommandé de s auto carresser plus souvent qu une fois tous les 50 jours... rapport avec la prostate et cie a priori... petit intermède médical,si ça peut sauver des vies.

So, to clarify a little, the recommendation is closer to 56 days (give or take) because self-pleasuring on day 10 in some cycles wouldn’t make much sense. Stick to the recommended dosage!

Congratulations

Congratulations! It’s still going to be a tough job to give you a run for your money this season. But we’ll be back 😉

Well done to the class – that’s definitely worth a pint 🍻🍻🍻

Aloisio turned out to be a traitor lol,
Congratulations

When I saw the LR’s five-star recruitment drive over the last few seasons, followed by their crushing victory last season, I wouldn’t have thought it possible to be back fighting them so soon. Well done, Chopistes.

Well done to LR, a great contest.

To those complaining about the dominance of the two powerhouses over the game, it could be worse – there could be just one dominant team. From the inside, these clashes are thrilling to experience.

And LV, Cercle, etc. – great seasons too.

It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no longer any real spirit of competition or fairness.

Every season, it is the same teams that win the titles, whilst the others seem to be nothing more than mere bit-part players. When you see the same scenario repeating itself time and time again, it becomes hard to believe in a competition that is balanced and open to all.

Magikcats: Aloisio a fait le traître lol ,
Félicitations

A brilliant signing, and not just in terms of his understanding of the game. We’ve gone for a player who’s a good fit for us, and that’s important to us.

Congratulations to the winning team, to LR, and to the other teams.

Don’t pay any attention to what the other players say – they’re just “frustrated” that they can’t play up front with their team.

If you’ve managed it, it’s because you’ve earned it (recruitment, organisation).

Well done again!

A big thank you to LR for giving us a run for our money. It really is the most exciting competition in the VF. You don’t realise just how much commitment it takes to beat LR – or even to finish second behind them. It’s a real battle. I’ve really enjoyed this season, just as I have the last 20.

Ali_Cool: Il devient de plus en plus évident qu'il n'y a plus aucun véritable esprit de compétition entente

Chaque saison, ce sont les mêmes ententes qui remportent les titres, tandis que les autres ne semblent être que de simples figurants. À force de voir toujours le même scénario se répéter, il devient difficile de croire à une compétition équilibrée et ouverte à tous.

You’re starting to bore everyone to death with your cheap talk.

Well done, Year 1s! :)

Aguado: Tu commences à bourrer tout le monde avec tes discours à deux francs cinquante.

Bravo les CP! :)

It's just my opinion – take it easy, mate

Ali_Cool: Il devient de plus en plus évident qu'il n'y a plus aucun véritable esprit de compétition entente

Chaque saison, ce sont les mêmes ententes qui remportent les titres, tandis que les autres ne semblent être que de simples figurants. À force de voir toujours le même scénario se répéter, il devient difficile de croire à une compétition équilibrée et ouverte à tous.

By pure chance, do you happen to have a suggestion?

Damien2911: Par le plus grand des hasards, aurais-tu une proposition ?

We have already discussed this issue and many members have put forward their suggestions.
But as this happens every season without any response from the game’s owner,
there is no point in repeating the same thing every time

Ali_Cool: Il devient de plus en plus évident qu'il n'y a plus aucun véritable esprit de compétition entente

Chaque saison, ce sont les mêmes ententes qui remportent les titres, tandis que les autres ne semblent être que de simples figurants. À force de voir toujours le même scénario se répéter, il devient difficile de croire à une compétition équilibrée et ouverte à tous.

I suppose that if one day your star-studded team manages to win the D1 title, you won’t try to hold onto it and you’ll just go and break up the team?

Who doesn’t have a competitive spirit? I just don’t get it. The ones who’ve been pushing themselves to the limit for the past 10 years to keep or win back the title?

Well done to everyone and thank you for a great competition!

Ali_Cool: Cest juste un avis reste cool mec

There are threads where you can share your opinion – and you do so quite often – and others where you should just move on.
I’d suggest you take a look at the rankings to see that what you’re describing has always been the case.

Try a different game

Deck: J'imagine que si un jour, ton union étoilée parvient à remporter le titre en D1 tu chercheras pas à le conserver et tu iras dissoudre ton entente ?

Qui n'a pas l'esprit de compétition je comprends rien ? Ceux qui depuis 10ans se surpassent pour garder/récupérer le titre ?

Bravo à tous et merci pour cette belle compétition !

The problem is that there are two different levels of commitment in VF.
Players who play VF at full throttle / competitively, churning out endless spreadsheets to optimise their strategy, putting pressure on others to keep up with the IE, etc.
Those who play at full throttle represent a small minority and will therefore join alliances where they can find a like-minded crowd.
We’re going to lose two of our best players for this reason… It’s mainly our fault because we’re not as committed to the game as the top three alliances in the game.

However, whilst I can understand your point of view, it has to be said that raiding every alliance and destroying pretty much everything in your path is simply a fact. You leave your opponents with no hope at all.
That’s not the only reason, though, as the game is gradually losing its truly active members, which is why we now have alliances managing to stay in Division 1 with not even 80 IE played.

As for telling young, motivated clubs – who are doing their best – that they’d better do better if they want to make the top three… How can I put it… It’s rather disingenuous…
It’s as if Real Madrid were to tell FC Nantes that they just need to work harder if they want to sign Mbappé and win the Champions League, whilst behind the scenes they’re doing everything in their power to maintain the status quo at the top of the table…
It’s far more complicated than that, and you know it…

There’s not much left to do… Those who want to win the title absolutely must go to the Ligue 1 or the Coupe de France, even if it means spending several seasons in the second tier to prove themselves.
Those who like being underdogs should go to Le Cercle, hoping to win one season in ten.
As for the rest, they’ll always be mere bit-part players and clubs that pad out your tables, allowing you to maximise your chances of getting an easy draw.

Rull43: Y a des topics pour donner ton avis et tu le fais assez et d'autres pour passer ton chemin.
Je t'invite à regarder le classement des ententes pour constater que ce que tu décris a toujours existé.

Change de jeu

As your messages show, this duel must be a real thrill for you.
I’ve got nothing against it at all.
However, this is a community-driven game; you’re already omnipresent enough without also coming along to control what people say...

Unagi: Le problème c'est que y'a un VF à 2 vitesses dans l'investissement.
les joueurs qui joue à fond / compétitif à VF en te sortant des tableau à n'en plus finir pour optimiser, mettre la pression pour suivre les IE ,...
Ce qui joue à fond représente une petite minorité et donc iront dans les ententes dans lesquelles ils peuvent retrouver le même état d'esprit .
Nous on va perdre 2 de nos meilleurs éléments pour cette raison.. C'est notre faute principalement car on est pas aussi à fond sur le j...

Come to think of it, how is it that the Nexus project hasn’t managed to make it into the top three, let alone win the title? You have to admit, this project has been – and still is – impressive on paper. Cheers, mate!!!

Congratulations to the Chopes, by the way!
Special mention to AFU, who put in a creditable performance and were on the podium for quite some time.

King: D'ailleurs, comment se fait-il que le projet Nexus n'arrive pas à atteindre le top 3 voir à remporter le titre ? Il faut le reconnaître, ce projet a été et est toujours impressionnant sur le papier. La bise mon dud !!!

Félicitations aux Chopes au passage !
Mentions spéciales à AFU qui n'a pas démérité et fut pendant longtemps sur le podium.

It’s Arbeloa’s fault...

Unagi: Le problème c'est que y'a un VF à 2 vitesses dans l'investissement.
les joueurs qui joue à fond / compétitif à VF en te sortant des tableau à n'en plus finir pour optimiser, mettre la pression pour suivre les IE ,...
Ce qui joue à fond représente une petite minorité et donc iront dans les ententes dans lesquelles ils peuvent retrouver le même état d'esprit .
Nous on va perdre 2 de nos meilleurs éléments pour cette raison.. C'est notre faute principalement car on est pas aussi à fond sur le j...

You say it yourself, VF is a two-tiered community: those who are competitive and (too) invested in the game,
and those who don’t follow their matches and only log in every Sunday.
It stands to reason that the first group would get better results, doesn’t it?

As for looting… I understand, but what can you do?
I don’t see myself as someone who takes the easy way out; I joined the CP when it was competing for a top-10 spot.
We’ve worked our socks off over many long seasons.
Watching all the competitive managers sign for the top three alliances without ever giving us a second thought.

We eventually made it onto the podium and won the title. And even then, the big clubs were going to the competition.

Today, things have changed. But if only you knew the effort that goes into it.
If we ease off for 10 days, we easily end up outside the top 5.

Now, if this ranking system needs a major overhaul, it would do everyone good, and I don’t think the current winners would be against it.
But we need to find the right system… one that makes sense… that’s feasible… that everyone’s happy with… that a45 reads… that a45 implements… in short, it won’t happen overnight.

And after all that (fewer alliances, fewer clubs per alliance, scrapping sister alliances, etc.)
Do you think it’ll be the managers who log in once a week and don’t follow any matches who’ll top this new post-reform alliance ranking?

Unagi: Le problème c'est que y'a un VF à 2 vitesses dans l'investissement.
les joueurs qui joue à fond / compétitif à VF en te sortant des tableau à n'en plus finir pour optimiser, mettre la pression pour suivre les IE ,...
Ce qui joue à fond représente une petite minorité et donc iront dans les ententes dans lesquelles ils peuvent retrouver le même état d'esprit .
Nous on va perdre 2 de nos meilleurs éléments pour cette raison.. C'est notre faute principalement car on est pas aussi à fond sur le j...

Unagi, I’m going to respond with some facts.
I’d invite you to take a look at the Alliances rankings before Season 127 (our first title).
#ranking?type=entente&div=1&history
Not once did we make the CP. In fact, the CP was in the middle of the pack – 6th, 7th, even 10th. And you can clearly see the rise in form around seasons 124–125. A few seasons in 3rd place, and then – bang – our first title, and things have been going well for us ever since.
#entente?eid=384&history

Do you think it happened by chance? Do you think it’s that different from the NXS (since you mention it), which regularly finishes high up the table?
We simply put certain things in place. We refocused our approach, started talking about competition, analysed how the current best were performing, and so on.
And you know what? Today marks our 14th title as a team.
We didn’t have any more advantages than the others. We simply made a few choices and did a lot of analysis. Perhaps we also backed some good horses, yes, or others who were less competitive but who brought the team together, or others who lifted the mood, and so on.
In the end, it all worked out well.
Any team has the potential to do this.
So yes, it involves competing with the current big names, but as I’ve shown you, there was a time when the CP didn’t exist, and the title was shared between just two stables (well, well, so it’s nothing new, is it?).

Admittedly, we do recruit a bit when opportunities arise (and frankly, we don’t recruit much – let’s not exaggerate), but that’s also to make up for players leaving because they’ve grown tired of the game or the direction it’s taking. That’s just how it is. You have to keep things fresh.
But I don’t think there’s much headhunting going on; in any case, I’d be very surprised if you told me there was.

That said, it’s wrong to say that to win a title you absolutely have to sign for CP or LR. Every manager who joins us – at least here, speaking for ourselves – also becomes part of a fairly lively, very playful and very active group. And that’s perhaps the key ingredient too. I’m not saying you don’t have it, but we certainly do, I think.
That said, you’ve highlighted the real underlying problem: the number of active managers is dwindling. And the number of very active ones even more so. This puts the clubs in a stranglehold, caught between the suspensions and the big organisations that attract other active members.
But honestly, I’m still impressed by the spirit of certain clubs that have managed to endure, get things off the ground, survive and make their mark.
NXS is clearly one of them. Now, if certain managers with whom we share the same values, and with whom we clearly have certain affinities, suggest coming to try something different, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’re going to pass that up :/
That doesn’t mean we’re setting out to poach anyone. But I understand your point of view, even if I don’t share it.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your messages! And well done, lads!

Deck: Tu le dis toi même, VF a deux vitesses, ceux qui sont compétiteurs et (trop) investi dans le jeu.
Et ceux qui ne suivent pas leur match et se connecte tous les dimanches.
C'est logique que le premier groupe aient de meilleurs résultats non ?

Pour ce qui est du pillage... je comprends mais que faire.
Je me reconnais pas dans le fait de chercher la facilité, j'ai rejoins la CP quand elle jouait le top10.
On a cravaché de longues saisons.
A regarder tous les managers compétiteurs signer chez...

As far as I’m concerned, there’s no realistic solution.
Personally, I told the two mates who are joining you that it was a good idea for them, because it’s the only way for them to keep enjoying the game after all these years with us.
LR and CP, you’re the most committed and you deserve this dominance…
There’s no criticism in what I’m saying…
You’re at the top and you’ll do whatever it takes to stay there – that’s only logical, even if it means no one else has any room to manoeuvre.

🤔🤔🤔

To add to what Unagi said – and I agree with him regarding the overwhelmingly dominant alliances in this game – you’ve earned your place where you are; no complaints there. Your position attracts managers looking to win titles; no complaints there.

However, from that position, coming along with ‘suggestions for improvement’ along the lines of ‘blimey, we’re bored to bits, you need to do something for us because we’re really bored right now’, you must also realise that this is unbearable for the alliances below you, who see their committed members taking the easy way out by signing up with you one after the other.

Unagi: En témoigne vos messages , ça doit être un vrai kiff pour vous ce duel.
J'ai rien contre ça du tout .
Cependant, on est sur un jeu communautaire , vous êtes déjà suffisamment omniprésent pour ne pas en plus venir contrôler ce que disent les gens ..

Unagi, just so you know, I’m one of the SV members who pushed for the merger with the NXS, and I threw myself into it wholeheartedly; I genuinely believed we could take the world by storm, and I think the former members of the merger committee will bear witness to the fact that I perhaps went a bit too far.
Personally, I genuinely thought we had what it took to make a huge impact, and that we needed to make the most of the momentum we had to make a huge impact and recruit new members. I reckon I could have persuaded 10, 15, 20 people to join us in this project. I clearly ran into obstacles and stepped down from the committee because I could sense that this wasn’t the strategy, the wishes or the expectations of the more senior members, and I understood that… and I accepted it.
But I realised very quickly that we weren’t going to make it.

So it’s ENTIRELY possible to shake up VF and go and rile up the LR or the CP, but you’ve got to really want it. And there’s no need to dismantle what others have built; you’ve got to want it within the alliance itself and be willing to shake up what we’ve got.

That’s my VERY PERSONAL opinion.

If I replied like that to Ali – sorry if it shocks you – it’s because this is his 10th or 20th attack in less than three weeks; sorry for losing my patience. His attacks are counterproductive. I would never side with anyone who attacks others to weaken them instead of focusing on strengthening their own forces.

And it’s not going to spoil my enjoyment of seeing those CP teams triumph – the ones that have lost, like Magik, Rom, Luango, etc., who are set to lose Manum and others in less than three seasons! So no, nothing’s easy.

Rull43: Unagi, pour ton information, je suis un des membres SV qui a poussé pour la fusion avec les NXS, et je me suis investi à fond, et j'ai vraiment cru qu'on pouvait tout casser, et je pense que les anciens membres du conseil de la fusion pourront témoigner que j'ai peut-être un peu trop à fond.
Moi, je pensais vraiment qu'on avait les clés pour tout casser, et qu'il fallait profiter maintenant qu'on avaient dans le vent dans le dos pour tout casser et recruter, je pense que j'aurai pu convaincr...

😅😅😅 I’ve counted the posts I’ve written about alliances, and there are no more than three.

Where are the rest, hhh 10 or 20, mate? Do you think I’m obsessed with these two alliances, LR and CP?
I simply said that the game’s current system favours powerful alliances, whilst we’re stuck with this outdated and absurd system.
The problem lies in your understanding, not in what I said

Go to the CP page > History > and you’ll see that we’ve just come from 18th place. Believe me, back then there was a huge gap between us and LV at the top of the table, and players were leaving. And the game was already in a slump, just like today. We’re building ourselves up day by day. And the latest arrival (Aloisio) was already part of the squad back in 2007. We’ve been around since Season 5 and we won our first title in Season 125!

I see a parallel with my own league: I’ve just won my 21st title in 29 seasons. And there’s a bloke who’s got nothing better to do than use every interview to spout his massive grudge and tell me to get lost. Except that over 29 seasons, he’s had three generations of players trying to beat me. His club is older than mine. He’s got more money, but as he’s less involved in the game than I am, he hasn’t managed it yet. But does that mean I’m the problem? Very soon, someone better than me will come along and beat me in the top flight – I don’t think I’ll be asking for the system to change. 🫪

Ali_Cool: 😅😅😅 Jai compté les sujets que j'ai écrits sur les entente, et ils ne dépassent pas les trois.

Où est le reste, hhh 10 ou 20 mec ? Tu penses que je suis obsédé par ces deux entente , LR et CP ?
J'ai simplement dit que le système actuel du jeu favorise les entente puissantes, alors que nous, nous subissons ce système obsolète et absurde.
Le problème vient de ta compréhension, pas de mes paroles

There are the threads you’ve started and your posts in other threads.

Rull43: 3? En combien de temps? Il y a les sujets ouverts par tes soins et les interventions sur les autres sujets.
mais change rien. tu es libre de t'exprimer et je suis libre de te répondre.

Well, that’s put it nicely 😅
I’m free to speak my mind 👍

Ali_Cool: Alor voila bien dit 😅
Je suis libres de m'exprimer 👍

Thank you for doing that again in our congratulations thread. Well done.

The problem with your discussions is that nobody is putting themselves in the other person’s shoes; everyone is defending their own interests, which is perfectly understandable. As a result, it remains impossible to listen to one another, and dialogue is difficult.

That said, please do stick to the purpose of this original thread. Starting a new thread would be the appropriate way to continue your discussions.

A little memento for La Chope!! Season 58! Proof that you’ve come a long way – and it’s well deserved. In the Noisier Cup, only my old Ultimate Team Football line-up was your nemesis 😘😁😁

Steril president...
Blimey, I wasn’t prepared for that 😂

Magpie: Steril president...
Mince j'étais pas prêt à lire ça 😂

I don’t know if it was the police car that had been on the road for a while or if he’d just driven straight into the ravine…

To think I’d never had any respect for that bloke. A thousand apologies.

Deck: Je sais pas si c'est la CP qui a fait de la route ou lui qui a fait un tout droit dans le ravin...

Dire que j'avais jamais respecté cet individu. Milles excuses

It was a very good decision on your part to strip him of the presidency 💪

I don’t understand why you decided to reinstate him, though 🙂

Well done to CP! I’m really looking forward to joining you next season as part of your ‘All Star’ project!

steril: Bravo à la CP! Très heureux de vous rejoindre la saison prochaine dans votre projet « All Star »!

Thanks to you, we’ll be able to revise our expectations downwards!

Both points of view are perfectly understandable, but it’s just like in real life: the big teams poach the best players from smaller clubs. That’s just how it is. But I completely understand.

Anyway, that’s not the original topic.

Congratulations to the CP – we believed they could do it, but it’s tough to win back-to-back titles.

Don’t worry, Clam, with Steril back, you’ll have a clear run for at least the next seven seasons; Steril’s like a broken mirror...

Congratulations ,-)

Congratulations to you all! You’ve had another absolutely brilliant season.
As for us, we tried everything: tactics, incantations, complex calculations… but clearly we were still missing a few extra things.
Make the most of this title. The next season starts in our minds today and on the pitch tomorrow 💪😁👍

Congratulations on your double victory.
From tomorrow, a new battle begins.
May the best man win.

What a performance! 250+ points is impressive! 😁
At this rate, you’ll need a record-breaking points total next season to be champion!
You’re going to force us to get out the Excel spreadsheet too, just to keep up 🔍

Congratulations

Well done – what a battle 💪
For next season, let’s hope that Le Cercle and Les Vikings strengthen their squads so we can have a proper ‘Big 4’ (for those who are on the fence, I reckon it’s full CP and LR – go and support the others) , that the RTG come back stronger, that the merger of La Menace and La Gaulle leads to a strong alliance, that the FYM – back with their confidence boosted by their D2 success – make a huge impact, and that the elected representatives who are recruiting... Recruit – and I’m sure I’m forgetting some – but in short, let’s have a league full of suspense at every level.

zejl: Félicitations quel combat 💪
Pour la saison prochaine espérons que le cercle et les vikings se renforceront pour avoir un vrai big 4 (pour ceux qui hésitent je pense que c'est full cp et lr allez aider les autres) , que les Rtg reviennent plus forts, que la fusion de la menace et de la Gaulle permettent une grosse entente que les fym revenus avec le plein de confiance de D2 fassent un carton , que les élu qui recrutent ... Recrutent et j'en oublie mais bref qu on ait un championnat avec du su...

The LFL are also having an excellent season and are steadily climbing the league table. A few more top signings and they’ll be giving us a run for our money in the league table.