Under Center: The NFL In The New Millennium

[Calcaterra]

March 10, 2017: The McMahon legal team re-interpret their case, claiming that Roczik’s actions are still enough to hold the NFL liable. They claim that, even without the direct intent of the NFL to leak and harm the FFL, the shield still severely limited business opportunities for the federal league and acted in a monopolistic, illegal fashion.

March 11, 2017: In a shocking move, New York Giants Head Coach Nick Saban retires after twelve seasons with the team. The four-time Super Bowl-winning coach hangs up the clipboard after a “heart episode”, at the age of 65. The Giants immediately move to replace him, naming offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy interim head coach, while hoping to strike gold with a hire late in the hunt for coaches. Rumored candidates include former Raiders and Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden, former Giants OC and current Texas head coach Sean Payton, and Packers DC Ron Rivera, with some even speculating that, for the season, Giants and Patriots legend and Hall of Famer Bill Parcells could come out of retirement and coach the team.

March 13, 2017: The NFL paints the narrative that they not only should not be held responsible for Roczik’s actions, but they did not cause the decline of the FFL. Using the precedent set by the USFL case, they say that the FFL was it’s own worst enemy, making decisions that could be expected to fair poorly. These include the rapid expansion, accruing of debts exceeding “startup costs”, and signing young players to multi-million dollar contracts with little proof of their ability. The NFL team further presses that the FFL’s chorus of billionaire owners, each of whom invested without a vetting process, only succeeded in dividing the young league up, making it uncontrollable.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[Calcaterra]

March 15, 2017: The NFL calls to the stand FFL owner Vince McMahon. He is questioned on his decision-making, and the financials of the operation, being noted as “too hostile” while still “stuttering”. At one point, McMahon makes the comment that “the FFL is made of a few teams and owners who want and expect success. The NFL is the same, although it’s a monopoly that the government protects at every turn, it’s a trust. This is a trust between sponsors, networks, and the league preventing any meaningful competition!”, drawing a call from the judge to settle down. The outburst spawns parody, becoming well known as the “trust bust testimony”.

March 17, 2017: Donald Trump is officially bought out from the Five Boroughs Group. After the transaction, he calls the group “a bunch of losers” on social media and says to the New York Post that he will “run all of them out of the sports business”. It is unknown how Trump plans to do such a thing, but he has hinted towards an intention to possibly buy an MLB team or another NBA team.

March 20, 2017: Ray Rice, the four-time Pro Bowler Dallas Cowboys running back, is arrested for domestic violence and battery, after a video of him beating his wife, Janay, is released. The video, from a hotel elevator in Philadelphia, shows Rice kicking the back of his wife’s left leg, and then giving her a sharp punch to the back of the head. The NFL, upon the arrest, immediately suspends Rice indefinitely, while forcing the Cowboys to pull all Rice-related memorabilia from their website and shops.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[Calcaterra]

March 21, 2017: Ray Rice is cut by the Dallas Cowboys, due to his domestic abuse-related arrest. Rice does not comment publicly on either his arrest or release.

March 23, 2017: Lamar Jackson, the quarterback for the Houston Roughnecks, calls the NFL’s legal defense a “joke”, and “totally outrageous” in a press conference.

March 25, 2017: Texas Head Coach Sean Payton is announced as the next head coach of the New York Giants. Payton retains Eric Bieniemy as his offensive coordinator, although he replaces incumbent DC Jeremy Pruitt with noted defensive expert Rex Ryan. Payton, the former Giants offensive coordinator who won two Super Bowls with the team and helped develop superstar quarterback Drew Brees, says that his hiring reaffirms the team’s commitment to excellence on both sides of the ball, as well as their partnership with the aging Brees. In addition to developing Brees, Payton made waves for his coaching of presumptive first overall pick Patrick Mahomes while at Texas, taking his raw skills and talents and turning him into a premier quarterback on the college stage.

March 27, 2017: A video put together by the sports website The Game shows clips of Brett Favre in the late 90s throwing in-game, interspersed with similar clips of Texas prospect Patrick Mahomes. The clip, which further includes a breakdown of the footage, goes viral and sends the hype around Mahomes into over-drive.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[Calcaterra]

March 29, 2017: A major advancement is made in the NFL v. McMahon case, as the McMahon lawyers begin to lay down their “last resort”, a final attack on the personal reputations of Commissioner Steve Young and Walter Roczik. They allege a vast conspiracy against the FFL, perpetrated by the NFL, and directed by Commissioner Young.

March 30, 2017: Kirk Cousins signs with the Kansas City Chiefs for a fully guaranteed contract worth $56 million over two years. Cousins, replacing Johnny Manziel as the team’s starting quarterback, comes fresh off of a stint with the Dallas Cowboys, where he earned the nickname “America’s Quarterback” from Jerry Jones. His reputation, while not one of consistency, shines due to its circumstantial brilliance, and it’s believed that, when surrounded by a good o-line and receiving talent, Cousins is an upper-tier quarterback. His contract is one of the richest in league history and is the first fully guaranteed contract ever signed.

April 1, 2017: The New York Giants make headlines for their announcement, over social media, that they would relocate over to Amsterdam and become the Amsterdam Giants. Done as an April Fools’ Joke, it made front pages on several local papers and was discussed by many sports talk hosts, both on television and radio, across the nation.

April 2, 2017: On MLB Opening Day 2017, the Chicago White Sox, fresh off a World Series appearance, defeat the Cleveland Indians, 5-0, as Johnny “Caveman” Cueto pitches a no-hitter, including an immaculate first inning.

The World Champion New York Mets defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-1, as Nolan Arenado, the Mets’ star player, mashes three home runs, and afterward, talks of the team’s intention to win another world title. The game marks the first time since 2004 that they’ve opened the season without long-time captain David Wright, who is still rehabbing from a neck injury suffered in spring training.

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2, as Clayton Kershaw pitches seven innings for the bums, giving up no runs and only two hits while striking out ten batters. Mike Trout of the Dodgers busted the game open in the fifth inning with a three-run blast going 456 feet, one of the longest home runs measured in the decade.

The Texas Rangers, starting Max Scherzer, managed to overcome the Boston Red Sox 8-6 in thirteen innings. Scherzer pitched well until the sixth when he gave up two runs and was pulled with the bases loaded. Scherzer was succeeded by Jeurys Familia, who proceeded to walk a batter before striking out the side. The Sox, meanwhile, had given up four runs between the third and fourth innings, behind a collapse from Masahiro Tanaka. The game ended up tied 5-5 in the ninth, with the score holding until the top of the eleventh, when the Rangers scored on a sacrifice fly, only for Boston slugger Yoenis Cespedes to hit a bomb on the first pitch of the bottom eleventh. Finally, after thirteen innings, Rangers’ outfielder Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer, before the Red Sox side was retired to finish off the game.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[Calcaterra]

April 4, 2017: The FFL announces that it will delay the 2017 season by two weeks. In the press release, no official reason is given for the delay, although organizational instability is blamed.

April 5, 2017: Former Cowboys RB Ray Rice is charged with domestic violence, assault, and battery. With the charges, and mounting public pressure, Commissioner Young announces that Rice is permanently banned from the NFL.

April 10, 2017: NFL v. McMahon is dismissed after it is determined that there is very little evidence that actually points to the accused acting in an illegal manner. An attempt to appeal, filed immediately afterward, is blocked by the upper court. The massive legal expenses are believed to be fatal for the FFL, a league swimming in debt and bad press. However, league owner Vince McMahon announces that the league will operate it’s season nonetheless, calling the idea of the league folding “laughable”.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[TheMatthew25]

Awesome work @Calcaterra, great the see the series back with a new chapter.

 

[Calcaterra]

Awesome work @Calcaterra, great the see the series back with a new chapter.

I can’t promise it’s going to pick back up at the pace it used to be. But I’m making an attempt to come back. It’s good that the FFL thing is coming to a close... relieves the stress of doing it.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Welcome back!

 

[Calcaterra]

April 11, 2017: FFL Commissioner Bill Rasmussen resigns, citing his failure to properly organize the league. Vince McMahon announces that there will be no interim commissioner, and Rasmussen’s replacement will be announced the following day.

April 12, 2017: The FFL names 35-year-old Charlie Ebersol as it’s new Commissioner. Ebersol, the son of notable television executive Dick Ebersol, was among the league’s first hires, holding the role of “Chief Media Officer”, in charge of negotiating and maintaining media deals, marketing, and sponsorships. His appointment is praised, although the hasty selection process, with little input from the players in the so-called “players’ league” attracts controversy.

April 14, 2017: The Jets release QB Josh Freeman. Freeman, the #2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, played for the Dolphins for six seasons before being signed from free agency by the Jets after Cam Newton’s career ending injury in 2015. He managed to make a Pro Bowl in New York in his first season there, although poor performances in the 2016 season led to his falling out with Head Coach Jay Gruden.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[King_Arthur]

I've binged this TL and I like it, there are a lot of interesting scenarios even if the Hawks suck pretty bad. However, I do have a couple of issues with it.

The biggest one is how Canada is handled. The Toronto Series didn't have great attendance (38,000 by the time it ended) and I don't see any NFL team in this era relocating without a new stadium in the works. I'd also say the Buffalo Bills are in a small number of unrelocatable small market teams along with the Steelers, Packers etc. I doubt the NFL would be able to gain a foothold there or even attempt to.

The second one is the London franchise's stadium situation. Wembley Stadium would struggle to hold 8 games a year because of the international breaks (first weekend of September, second weekend of October, second weekend of November and last weekend of March but that's irrelevant). This is in addition to any concerts that may happen and some Spurs games if that weird arrangement happens as OTL. The Spurs stadium wouldn't be complete at this point while Twickenham needs to host the Autumn Internationals leaving the Monarchs in a bit of a fix.

Second weekend of September-first weekend of October - Wembley
Second weekend of October-first weekend of November - States
Second weekend of November-first weekend of December - that second weekend of November is the week where they'll have nowhere to play
Second weekend of December-first weekend of January - States

Also they will have scheduling conflicts with the Premier League's Sunday fixtures (usually the best ones of the week because Sky) so I don't think they'll have massive success unless the NFL does something wacky like Thursday Afternoon Football

Edit: Another issue that is basically every NFL fan over here supports the Dolphins so if London are in the AFC East they will have no fans

 

[Calcaterra]

I've binged this TL and I like it, there are a lot of interesting scenarios even if the Hawks suck pretty bad. However, I do have a couple of issues with it.

The biggest one is how Canada is handled. The Toronto Series didn't have great attendance (38,000 by the time it ended) and I don't see any NFL team in this era relocating without a new stadium in the works. I'd also say the Buffalo Bills are in a small number of unrelocatable small market teams along with the Steelers, Packers etc. I doubt the NFL would be able to gain a foothold there or even attempt to.

The second one is the London franchise's stadium situation. Wembley Stadium would struggle to hold 8 games a year because of the international breaks (first weekend of September, second weekend of October, second weekend of November and last weekend of March but that's irrelevant). This is in addition to any concerts that may happen and some Spurs games if that weird arrangement happens as OTL. The Spurs stadium wouldn't be complete at this point while Twickenham needs to host the Autumn Internationals leaving the Monarchs in a bit of a fix.

Second weekend of September-first weekend of October - Wembley
Second weekend of October-first weekend of November - States
Second weekend of November-first weekend of December - that second weekend of November is the week where they'll have nowhere to play
Second weekend of December-first weekend of January - States

Also they will have scheduling conflicts with the Premier League's Sunday fixtures (usually the best ones of the week because Sky) so I don't think they'll have massive success unless the NFL does something wacky like Thursday Afternoon Football

Edit: Another issue that is basically every NFL fan over here supports the Dolphins so if London are in the AFC East they will have no fans

First: thank you for reading. It's good to see that it's not gone entirely dormant without my posting.

Thank you for the feedback, and I concur that I have gotten a multitude of things wrong. The Canada thing came due to my belief that it would preclude any other foreign expansion. In a way, I found it to be a necessity. Somewhat ASB, but a necessity. Either way, if there was a non-expansion team to move to Toronto, it would've been the Bills. The exact sentiment you are describing, that of the immovability of the Buffalo Bills, led to me writing that riots and Goodell anti-fan clubs were formed. Once again I'd like to reiterate that I understand this is no excuse for the implausibility of the Bills moving in the first place, but it was meant to add realism. (Read: I did see those numbers you wrote about the Toronto series before I wrote the whole thing, but I believed, and to some extent still do believe, that the numbers will be buffed up the moment that the city gets its own team.)

The London issue- I'd have to chalk that up to my own confusion and inability to properly do math. As it seems you happen to be from the UK, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not an uneducated American when it comes to the beautiful game, but rather I'm a keen fan. I used Wembley because of it's availability throughout much of the year, and I considered writing that the team made a deal with a London club (Chelsea or Arsenal, specifically) that allowed it to play games at either Stamford Bridge or Emirates Stadium, before realizing that would be a horrible decision for both parties. For that reason I'd hope to avoid the question, but I can only explain it with Tottenham improving White Hart Lane instead of moving to Wembley and building the new stadium in the meantime.

While none of this solves the scheduling of games, for which I have little remedy, I hope it sheds some light on what I was thinking.

Also, I didn't know that everyone liked the Dolphins over there, I always thought it was the Jaguars. Interesting.

 

[King_Arthur]

The London issue- I'd have to chalk that up to my own confusion and inability to properly do math. As it seems you happen to be from the UK, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not an uneducated American when it comes to the beautiful game, but rather I'm a keen fan. I used Wembley because of it's availability throughout much of the year, and I considered writing that the team made a deal with a London club (Chelsea or Arsenal, specifically) that allowed it to play games at either Stamford Bridge or Emirates Stadium, before realizing that would be a horrible decision for both parties. For that reason I'd hope to avoid the question, but I can only explain it with Tottenham improving White Hart Lane instead of moving to Wembley and building the new stadium in the meantime.

While none of this solves the scheduling of games, for which I have little remedy, I hope it sheds some light on what I was thinking.

Also, I didn't know that everyone liked the Dolphins over there, I always thought it was the Jaguars. Interesting.

I don't blame you for the stadium issues because I wouldn't expect anyone who didn't live here to know much about them. The main issue is that second weekend of November has international football in Wembley (as well as Hampden and Aviva) and international Rugby in Twickenham, the Principality and Murrayfield which means that the franchise will have to play at a club ground.

When its complete, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can fill this role and will host other games in the season but it won't be ready until the 2019 season. As for the other stadiums in London, the Olympic Stadium is barely suitable for normal football, Stamford Bridge hosted NFL Europe games but is small at only 45k, the Emirates isn't possible if Kroenke still owns the Rams and the rest are too small. As for the other large and available stadiums around the country Old Trafford won't happen if the Glazers own the Bucs, Anfield is too small at this point, which leaves the Etihad but from photos it looks like you'll be having 8 or 9 yard endzones and field goals going into the crowd. St James' Park is another option but I imagine the NFL thinks Tyne-Wear is too small of a market.

The NFL first became big here in the 80s which means the three biggest teams are the Dolphins, Washington and the Bears so you'd probably have to put the franchise in the AFC North to avoid any issues there.

 

[Calcaterra]

I don't blame you for the stadium issues because I wouldn't expect anyone who didn't live here to know much about them. The main issue is that second weekend of November has international football in Wembley (as well as Hampden and Aviva) and international Rugby in Twickenham, the Principality and Murrayfield which means that the franchise will have to play at a club ground.

When its complete, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can fill this role and will host other games in the season but it won't be ready until the 2019 season. As for the other stadiums in London, the Olympic Stadium is barely suitable for normal football, Stamford Bridge hosted NFL Europe games but is small at only 45k, the Emirates isn't possible if Kroenke still owns the Rams and the rest are too small. As for the other large and available stadiums around the country Old Trafford won't happen if the Glazers own the Bucs, Anfield is too small at this point, which leaves the Etihad but from photos it looks like you'll be having 8 or 9 yard endzones and field goals going into the crowd. St James' Park is another option but I imagine the NFL thinks Tyne-Wear is too small of a market.

The NFL first became big here in the 80s which means the three biggest teams are the Dolphins, Washington and the Bears so you'd probably have to put the franchise in the AFC North to avoid any issues there.

One thing to remember is that the team is the London Monarchs. That would likely mean that Old Trafford, Anfield, St.James' and Etihad (the unmentioned Goodison, too) are all out no matter what. That being said, I can't deny that I completely forgot about the massive conflict of interest that may spring up from Kroenke's ownership of Arsenal. So, I suppose Stamford Bridge (home of my beloved, although IRL beleaguered, Chelsea) would need to work.

What club do you support? I support the Blues because they were the first Premier League side I watched on TV circa 2016.

 

[King_Arthur]

One thing to remember is that the team is the London Monarchs. That would likely mean that Old Trafford, Anfield, St.James' and Etihad (the unmentioned Goodison, too) are all out no matter what. That being said, I can't deny that I completely forgot about the massive conflict of interest that may spring up from Kroenke's ownership of Arsenal. So, I suppose Stamford Bridge (home of my beloved, although IRL beleaguered, Chelsea) would need to work.

What club do you support? I support the Blues because they were the first Premier League side I watched on TV circa 2016.

I mean the San Francisco 49ers either play outside the city or in Arizona. There aren't any other teams on the continent so I imagine a game a year in the Etihad for a few years should be fine. I imagine Stamford Bridge is too small for the NFL but then again it's only 7k smaller than the Rogers Centre.

Chelsea don't have it to bad, they scraped a good win against the rock solid Fulham defence. I support Sheffield Wednesday who have more points in 2021 than Sheffield United have all season and that's what's important.

 

[Calcaterra]

April 15, 2017: London Monarchs WR Antonio Brown is accused of sexual misconduct by a team trainer. Brown, whom the Monarchs traded for from the San Fransisco 49ers at the trade deadline, is a controversial yet spectacular receiver. The team announces that Brown will be suspended by the organization for the duration of an internal investigation, possibly facing a long-term suspension and team-imposed fines of up to $250,000, not including league mandated punishments.

April 19, 2017: The Jets trade for Case Keenum, giving up a fourth-round pick to the Chiefs for the former starter.

April 20, 2017: When asked, FFL Commissioner Charlie Ebersol confirms that the league will attempt to survive by using all options, including possibly folding league administrated franchises at the end of the season. Ebersol later comments that his job is to ensure the season is conducted in a way that leaves the league financially able to hold another, a statement construed as being in conflict with those of Vince McMahon.

April 23, 2017: Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard announces that the team will, in fact, select Texas QB and Heisman runner-up Patrick Mahomes II with the first overall pick.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[Calcaterra]

I mean the San Francisco 49ers either play outside the city or in Arizona. There aren't any other teams on the continent so I imagine a game a year in the Etihad for a few years should be fine. I imagine Stamford Bridge is too small for the NFL but then again it's only 7k smaller than the Rogers Centre.

Chelsea don't have it to bad, they scraped a good win against the rock solid Fulham defence. I support Sheffield Wednesday who have more points in 2021 than Sheffield United have all season and that's what's important.

I still think that we should be doing much better considering the level of investment. It's not all on the players and their trouble adapting; Lampard has likely outlived his relevance as a manager. He got us in the top four with a transfer ban, and that is impressive. But if he was anyone else bar Drogba or Terry, he would've been sacked by Abramovich weeks ago.

 

[Calcaterra]

April 24, 2017: Antonio Brown, after a prolonged silence, releases a statement in response to the allegations of sexual misconduct by a Monarchs team trainer. In the statement, Brown maintains his innocence and alleges that the accusations are completely false.

April 26, 2017: Vince McMahon, speaking to sports website The Game, walks back Ebersol’s comments, saying that the league is “financially secure” and “viable in both the long and short terms.” Subsequently, cable tv and the sports media begin to whisper about the controversy bubbling within the FFL corporate offices.

April 27-29, 2017: With the #1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select QB Patrick Mahomes II of Texas. With the #2 overall pick, the Houston Texans select DE Myles Garrett of Texas. With the #3 overall pick, the Cincinnati Bengals select DE Solomon Thomas out of Stanford. With the #5 overall pick, the Las Vegas Express select QB Dak Prescott, announced as being “of the Salt Lake Legion”. With the #6 overall pick, the Kansas City Chiefs select WR/RB/CB Tyreek Hill, announced as being “of the New York Knights”. With the #7 overall pick, the Cleveland Browns select RB Christian McCaffrey out of Stanford. With the #10 overall pick, the Mexico City Aztecs select QB Deshaun Watson from Oklahoma. With the #23 overall pick, the London Monarchs select S Jamal Adams out of Tennessee. With the #25 overall pick, the Denver Broncos (from New Orleans via Dallas) select QB Mitch Trubisky, announced as being “of the St. Louis Stars”. With the #28 overall pick, the Atlanta Falcons select LB TJ Watt of Wisconsin. With the #32 overall pick, the Houston Texans (from New York Giants) select QB Carson Wentz from Michigan State. With the #34 overall pick, the Green Bay Packers select RB Dalvin Cook from Florida State. With the #36 overall pick, the New York Giants (from Houston) select CB Marshon Lattimore out of Ohio State. With the #37 overall pick the Tennessee Titans (from Cincinnati), select S Jabrill Peppers, announced as being “of the Salt Lake Legion”. With the #44 overall pick, the Mexico City Aztecs select WR Chris Godwin out of Ohio State. With the #57 overall pick, the San Fransisco 49ers (from London) select WR JuJu Smith-Schuster from USC. With the #108 overall pick, the Indianapolis Colts select TE George Kittle from Wisconsin. With the #146 overall pick, the Miami Dolphins (from Houston) select S Budda Baker, announced as being “of the New York Knights”. With the #191 overall pick, the Denver Broncos select RB Kareem Hunt from Toledo.

As always, please comment your thoughts on the latest events, and feel free to DM me about your thoughts, ideas, or random musings. Be sure to like this, and thanks for reading.

 

[AdmiralMB]

With the #5 overall pick, the Las Vegas Express select QB Dak Prescott, announced as being “of the Salt Lake Legion”. With the #6 overall pick, the Kansas City Chiefs select WR/RB/CB Tyreek Hill, announced as being “of the New York Knights”.

Are former FFL players declaring for the NFL Draft now? If so the NFL wouldn't be able to use the names of the FFL teams in Draft Night announcements as I imagine the FFL still holds the trademark on the names.

 

[Calcaterra]

Are former FFL players declaring for the NFL Draft now? If so the NFL wouldn't be able to use the names of the FFL teams in Draft Night announcements as I imagine the FFL still holds the trademark on the names.

FFL players have been declaring for the draft since the league's first season ended. The FFL wasn't litigious previously; chalk this up to an oversight when I wrote the draft update about five/six months ago. I'd assume the FFL wouldn't have as much of an issue with ABC and ESPN (both broadcasting partners of the FFL) using the names in their marquee NFL Draft coverage, coincidentally the only live American broadcast outside of the NFL Network.

Edit: I also just realized your tagline was the McNutt quote about Trump. Killer find, its frighteningly naive (and funny) with perspective.

 

[King_Arthur]

I still think that we should be doing much better considering the level of investment. It's not all on the players and their trouble adapting; Lampard has likely outlived his relevance as a manager. He got us in the top four with a transfer ban, and that is impressive. But if he was anyone else bar Drogba or Terry, he would've been sacked by Abramovich weeks ago.

Without wanting to derail the thread too much I think the problems with your signings are too fold. Firstly, this is the first time Werner and Havertz are living outside Germany and the pandemic means it would be harder for them to settle in and their family can't come and visit them etc. Thiago Silva is more accustomed to living abroad and he's doing fine. Secondly, you brought all these players without working out how they are going to fit into your team so now you have too many attackers and not enough space on the teamsheet.