Ok, I'd like to speak, as someone who has captained a team that struggled to get 3 articles in every week, and as someone who hasn't missed a club game for 3 seasons.
Each year teams come and go, and a lot of the players go to the new teams, or existing ones. Each year someone's team struggles. For a long time I chanted the same call as that in the OP.
But now I believe that if your team is struggling to get articles in, then just maybe your players aren't as interested in the concept as they say, or the captain hasn't been approaching the right players.
Speaking from experience, I did nothing but sook and complain that the Sharks in 2005 had f**k all players, not once did I stop to think that maybe I should've tried harder to recruit players.
F7's teams, just like all other teams, can only be as good as their leader allows them to be. If the leader posts every week but does bugger all recruiting, then it's to be expected that the team will be a one man band, which will never end good.
Also, some captains are a little bit too proud to merge with another struggling team.
Furthermore, in regards to the comments about articles all starting to sound the same, I take great offence at that. I and many others work hard to bring new and original concepts every game. The fact that our scores have improved across the board since the games inception is proof that if anything, things aren't getting stale.
Willow has written over 100 articles now. If he was getting stale and writing the same thing over and over, how do you explain the high scores he regularly gets. You'd think after a while the refs would be bored and mark him down if it were the case.
But it's not.
I've always got several ideas on the go all the time, I never struggle to come up with articles, and I'm sure that there are people out there who would agree that I am not someone who sticks with a routine, or has a set style. That alone is proof in itself that articles aren't all becoming the same.
I think the F7's game is bloody magnificent, and each years it improves. Sure we have all have our fair share of misery and ecstacy, but what game doesn't.
A lot of the Titans players have rarely missed games and they are still dominant.
Jesbass still scores highly, as does Azkatro and Willow, and they've played more games than anyone else.
I'm sorry griffo, but I just think that there are too many arguments against your sentiments, and you sound like nothing more than sour grapes (not having a go at you, feel free to go back through the threads and you'll see a thread by me back in 2005 which is practically identical to this, and my teams situation was the same as yours.)
The Panthers and Titans prove you don't need a huge squad to be successful, just need a great leader and very passionate writers.
If your team has been struggling, I suggest that maybe you consider merging, or spending a few hours looking at certain posts by some non-F7-playing members and try and find that diamond in the rough.
All you can do is try and not give up. The Sharks failed because by seasons end, I gave up.
The game will always survive.
Also, I don't think there's any need to change the concept so that we can write about any sport whatsoever.
Thats like saying Sportsmen can go onto the field and play whatever sport they want. It'd be a pain in the arse to referee and it would go against the very nature of a rugby league forum.
There are plenty of players out there now who have played near or more than 50 games. They prove that there's still plenty to write about.
Read some books, old newspapers, do some research, watch some videos on youtube etc, they will all provide you with some inspiration.
I'm passionate about this game and don't think it needs any further tweaking of major proportions. teams come and go, as do players, but the game always remain.
One team will always come last, and someone in that team will always get pissed off and start one of these threads and crying victim, it's a cycle.
