In our second look at the managers who excel at writing about their team's fortunes as well as the management itself, we look at the first of two articles written by managers of the newly formed Symbiotic North American OCM Trade Relationship (SNAOTR). Both these articles focus on the transfer wheeling and dealing required to propel a team upwards through the divisions, as well as the massive movement of riders within SNAOTR.
  
  -----------------------------
  
  (written by Brian Place of lastplace1414)
  
  So lastplace1414 has been in the headlines for the last few weeks for buying up lots of talent. Now, we know that the team has a history of paying $40k-$50k transfer fees for young talents; after all, it was this method that was responsible for the most recent additions to the team of Gideon Sanford, David Wann and Kane Zaloga as the main support riders for Antonio Eller.
  
  However, in the last month or so the team has been buying riders who have already received extensive training. This appears to be indicative of a "win now" mentality that, frankly, was absent from the team for its first season and a half. There were rumors that lastplace1414 was considering pulling out as the major backer unless some major moves were made to bring excitement back to fans.
  
  The precedent for the recent transactions was the acquisition of Gregory Petrov, the 23-year-old Tajik from American team cavicchi42. He made an immediate impact

as he and Eller each won a race days after his arrival. In exchange, it meant trading American Nigel Lowenstein and cash.
  
  Then the real influx began. The first purchase was Danish sprinter Matthias Krogsgaard from Velo Club Bored Man in England. The transaction was valued at $90k, the biggest in the history of lastplace1414. Again, there was an immediate boost in fan interest and race and event attendance, so this was encouraging to management.
  
  Within the last week, the team has brought in five new riders. The first was 25-year-old Italian time-trialist Benedetto Nenza, who struggled at the D1 level for Gradient Levellers but has some talent to offer at the D4 level. This deal was valued at $60k.
  
  Next was Barakah Bilal, a 25-year-old Saudi climber who is believed to be far from peaking. Bilal is a former Gradient Leveller, but he was shipped away to The Killers in the Netherlands before Nenza's arrival in England. lastplace1414 spent $80k to bring in Bilal.
  
  The third arrival was Husam Adham, a 22-year-old climbing domestique from Muharraq Island in the archipelago of Bahrain. Adham is yet another veteran of Gradient Levellers who spent a day on cavicchi42 on paper but never reported to the team. Adham and Nenza were teammates in England just a week ago, and Nenza was incredibly passionate about lastplace1414 doing what it took to bring him in; unfortunately, this meant sending Kane Zaloga to cavicchi42. There were rumors of

disagreements and rivalry between Zaloga and Nenza following the Italian's arrival, and it is widely acknowledged that Zaloga and management did not part on good terms. Nevertheless, the team has tried to squash the dispute and focus on the positive news of Adham's arrival.
  
  The fourth arrival was Taymullah Burhan, a 22-year-old Saudi Arabian rider from American team trackstah07. Bilal's compatriot has been a much-talked-about prospect since his discovery by Team GER. The deal was estimated at $37k.
  
  The final arrival is breaking news, as Canada's Brian Walthall left Alberta today. The deal has been talked about as "finalized," but it was quick to develop and slow to complete. Finally, he received word that the funds had been exchanged and he was free to fly. And by "fly," we mean drive. The team is completely strapped for cash and could not afford a plane ticket, so Walthall is probably driving through Idaho or Oregon right now, depending on which way he decides to go. Someone within the lastplace1414 organization told a media member that the team was unable to pay the originally-talked-about $78k transfer fee and settled at something in the neighborhood of $77,300. This is certainly one possibility to explain to the delay, but this is not a great public relations move, and we might see the perpetrator's head roll in the near future.
  
  The team is excited about its new talent but is wary of its lack of cash. "We need to see an immediate ROI or else we're going to look silly."