So count at least three. They have just about enough players to qualify entry to the ladder, but not everyone turns up to the practice and the games. We, who are in our second or third clan, are looking at ourselves back in time. And listening to an admin say 'You should make sure you have the players before you join the ladder' winds me almost as much now as it did back then. Because it's so much easier said than done.
Success breeds success and failure breeds failure in team sport.
If you have enough players and therefore get wins, you become more attractive to potential recruits. When you lose due to no-shows, the remaining players are less inclined to bother showing up, and eventually ditch. Sure, that shows a talented player, but not a reliable one. I believe that telling your team where enemies or sentries are stationed, who is incoming to the base via which entrance, and most impotantly where the flags are dropped, is the primary characteristic of a serious TFC player. Those who take time out to communicate instead of frag-chasing evidently care more about the overall score of the team than their own prowess.