2015
Manager of the Quarter
Click Read more to view the Manager of the Quarter Shortlist…
Joe Jordan (Manchester United)
| League | H | Inter Milan | 1-1 D |
| League | A | AC Milan | 3-1 W |
| League | H | Lyon | 3-1 W |
| League | A | Arsenal | 2-1 W |
| League | H | Man City | 3-4 L |
| Cup | A | Twente | 1-0 W |
| League | A | Atletico | 2-1 W |
| League | H | Valencia | 2-0 W |
| Cup | A | Schalke | 3-5 L |
| League | A | Dortmund | 2-0 W |
| League | H | Juventus | 1-0 W |
Noisy (Fenerbahce)
| League | H | Schalke | 2-5 L |
| League | A | Sporting CP | 2-0 W |
| League | A | Athletic Club | 2-0 W |
| League | H | Wolfsburg | 3-1 W |
| League | A | Porto | 0-1 L |
| Cup | H | Stoke | 1-1(P) W |
| League | H | Monchengladbach | 2-0 W |
| League | H | Benfica | 3-0 W |
| Cup | A | Dinamo Zagreb | 2-2(P) W |
| League | A | Napoli | 4-0 W |
| League | H | Everton | 4-1 W |
John Vinicombe (Boca Juniors)
| League | H | Hoffenheim | 3-0 W |
| League | A | Stoke | 3-1 W |
| League | A | Basel | 3-3 D |
| League | H | Aston Villa | 1-2 L |
| League | A | Leicester | 1-0 W |
| Cup | H | Aston Villa | 0-3 L |
| League | H | Dynamo Moscow | 3-2 W |
| League | A | Southampton | 3-1 W |
| League | H | Internacional | 4-2 W |
| League | A | Crystal Palace | 1-0 W |
Anders Dahlby (Bordeaux)
| League | H | Udinese | 1-3 L |
| League | A | Atalanta | 4-1 W |
| League | A | Feyenoord | 3-1 W |
| League | H | Celta Vigo | 4-1 W |
| League | A | Villarreal | 2-2 D |
| Cup | A | AC Milan | 5-3 W |
| League | H | Levante | 4-2 W |
| League | A | Malaga | 1-0 W |
| Cup | H | Dnipro | 1-2 L |
| League | H | Sassuolo | 1-1 D |
| League | A | Hamburg | 4-1 W |
Henry Prudden (Dinamo Zagreb)
| League | A | Werder Bremen | 2-0 W |
| League | H | Montpellier | 1-0 W |
| League | H | River Plate | 2-2 D |
| League | A | Anderlecht | 3-2 W |
| League | H | Standard Liege | 0-0 D |
| League | A | Augsburg | 2-1 W |
| League | H | Independiente | 2-1 W |
| Cup | H | Fenerbahce | 2-2(P) L |
| League | A | Dnipro | 2-1 W |
| League | H | Santos | 1-1 D |
Fenerbahce move 5 points clear
What a week it has been for the Istanbul giants firstly going over to Naples and bagging a 4-0 win in style against Napoli followed that by a 4-1 home win against Everton.
These two big results have come since Putin wannabe Stephen Beddows dismissed our chances as Title Contenders in a bizarre statement which has left him with considerate egg on the face as Fenerbahce now lead Zenit by 5 points after 9 games.
Zenit suffered a collapse over in Germany after leading the game 2-1 with 13 minutes left they ended up losing 4-2.
Fenerbahce now boast the most prolific attack in Division 2 and it has left some clubs fearing playing the Turkish Giants.
Next up : Wolfsburg (H) Cup , CSKA Moscow (A) League
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FENERBAHÇE SK S.KJAER 6 R.DIEGO 37, 53 V.GIULIANO 83 |
4 | - | 1 |
Everton L.RÉMY 22 |
Roy Keane's pre match press conference...
Roy Keane’s pre match press conference…
Roy Keane has been speaking before the Home match against Liverpool... " After the defeat against Juventus i kept the players in the dressing room for 3 hours. And one by one i give each player a f******.
Its not acceptable at the second biggest club in the world. I expect each player to go onto the pitch, and be willing to die for this club. Things had to change. I have banned cars from the training ground, and bus passes were issued. These players are no better than the average working man. Double training was booked, diets were changed, so no more of that f****** paella crap. From now on pie and chips and a few pints after training and before each game from now on. Like the good old days. It didnt do me, Robbo and Whiteside any harm did it. Fergie didnt have a clue, what does he know. I won him all them trophies.
The away win at Bayern Munich was what i expect every week whilst im in charge. The only thing i will say about that game, is Neymar and Bale got the full treatment after the game for not completing there hat trick's. "
Madrid welcome Liverpool to the Bernabeu on sunday, and we all know keano is not a lover of the scousers. So he rang a Liverpool radio station !!!
Roy keane rings up liverpool radio station.....Do not listen if easily offended...
Levante slowly turning the corner....?
Following the run of five straight defeats in league and cup competitions, Levante are unbeaten in open play in their last three fixtures. The reserve side lost a penalty shootout to Standard Liege in the first round of the shield, but this was after a hard fought 2-2 draw.
The league matches that sandwiched the Liege match saw the Spaniards impressively beat Olympiacos 2-0 at home and then draw 3 each with Torino in Turin. Parfitt was somewhat dissapointed with the point hpwever, as his side had a two goal advantage on two seperate occasions, before letting the home team back in for a draw. It wasnt until the 84th minute that Michael Hudson’s Torino equalised for the second time, just when it seemed as though Levante would escape with a draw.
Torino fans celebrating their sides late leveller
Levante have now moved off the bottom of the league at least, with German side Hertha Berlin sinking down. On Sunday Levante host Atalanta in what is already a massive game, with both sides tied on 7 points in 18th and 19th positions.
David Navarro picked up a small knock in the match, but Parfitt will delay any decision on his inclusion until the last possible moment. With the last couple of results, he is likely to be wary of changing things around too much.
Will David Navarro and Mate Simao make Sundays match....?
There may be a change in midfield however, with Mate Simao pushing hard to regain his spot. The Mozambique player lost his spot after an injury, but was playing very well before this, and has been looking sharp in training.
It wont be an easy decision though, as those that have come in to the side have also been putting some good performances in over the course of the last couple of matches, so again, any decision will not be made until the team sheets have to be handed in.
Genoa Announce New Signings
Genoa have made a decent start to life in the Top 100 currently sitting in 4th place in Division 4, but Hirst has convinced President Preziosi to get the cheque book out by spending 13.2m on 2 new recruits in the last few days…The first new signing arrived last weekend for 4.3m in Olivier Ntcham, the Manchester City graduate chose Genoa after turning down offers from Madrid, Benfica & Sevilla and Hirst believes this kid has a huge future at Genoa!
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| Ntcham is pleased to join the Rossoblu |
The second new deal was struck last night after the visit of Beddows' Zenit, where Ansaldi ended up staying behind to complete a move to Genoa for 8.9m.
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| Ansaldi stays behind in Genoa |
Reynolds Reflects on Sevilla Start
As I met manager Lee Reynolds in a Seville cafe over a beer I could sense a calming influence which he hopes can translate to his players. He is adapting to life in Spain and so much so he even turned up with a sombrero but all tongue in cheek.
“I love it here the people are great, the fans have been warming and the intensity in the stadium is great. It took a few weeks but I am settled and hoping I can be a success”, Reynolds said in a confident manner.
Sevilla are in with the big boys Real, Barcelona, Man Utd, Chelsea, PSG and more but the club is happy to be there with such players as Krychowiak, Gameiro, Vitolo, Konoplyanka and Miralles the star names. “The squad is good, we are not Real or Barca but with right dedication, spirit and quality who knows. We have players who can hurt teams in this league”, Reynolds said.
The club has found it hard to recruit new faces to the first team squad with only Vida and Miralles that only additions to that area with all others being added to the youth set up. I asked Lee in view of this has the club changed it’s focus to strengthening the youth set up, “Possible. We worked hard to get some more quality into the first team but a lot of things didn’t happen. We have switched focus a touch and hope some of these will be the stars of the future”
Domagoj Vida and Kevin Miralles the 2 new arrivals
The season so far has been a bit patchy but a 2-1 home win over struggling Roma was a welcome boost with goals from Banega and Gameiro despite Vida's early dismissal. Sevilla currently lie in 13th spot and asked Lee how he viewed their start. "A bit indifferent. We have played some good stuff at times but we have conceded too many soft goals for my liking". I asked Lee what to date his been the worst performance, "away to Valencia. We were flat lacking creative and poor in all areas. Since then we have improved and hope to take our better form forward".
Thanks for your time and all the best for the season.
Report brought to you by 4-3-3 magazine.
Levante 2 - 0 Olympiacos
Last night beleagured Levante took on Olympiacos in a difficult looking encounter. The Greek side had started well, and found themselves amongst the early season pace setters in division four, so will have been going into this encounter confident of getting something from the game.
They were instantly aware however, that it would not be as easy as they expected. A record crowd of 22,249 turned out, and were almost instantly awarded, N’Jie poking just wide in the opening minute. Botia was then booked for the visitors on 8 minutes for remenstrating with the referee.
Olympiacos' first effort of note came on 23 minutes, but Finnbogsan’s shot was weak & Ruddy took the ball calmly. Ten minutes later though, Levante took the lead. Casadesus played in N’Jie, who showed some quick feet before putting the ball undrneath Roberto and into the back of the net.
Levante fans celebrating N'Jie's strike
The half came to an entertaining end with both sides having a couple of chances in the final few minutes, but it was Levante that went in to the break ahead.
The second half started with a bang. Levante's Cristian going into the book almost immidiately for a foul on Finnbogason. Olympiacos seemed to be turning the screw, and had three or four good opportunities as the second half wore on.
They were soon made to regret those missed chances as Robert Snodgrass got beyond the last defender to open his account for the club, and put his side 2-0 on 69 minutes. A minute later, N'Jie almost had them 3 up, but a good save kept him out. As the game came to a finish, both sides had further opportunites, but a combination of good goalkeeping and poor aim ensured that the score remained 2 - 0.
Levante goalkeeper John Ruddy was voted man of the match for his performance, but Parfitt also felt that both goalscorers were outstanding, along with Kana-Biyik on his debut. Nobody had a bad game however, and the character we showed given recent results was outstanding.
Man of the match John Ruddy
Putin Power!
Beddows spoke to the press earlier before departing from East Midlands airport for tonight's away match for Zenit v Marseille when he spoke openly about a recent meeting that he'd been invited to by his now good friend, Mr Putin along with some of Mr Putin's special friends.
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| Beddows said it was a great honour to go out to dinner with Putin and his friends |
Beddows then departed as the Ryanair flight was making its last call and he gathered his things and pulled Hulk away from a argument with a baggage handler which was in all honesty about to turn slightly green and nasty... and off they went...
Here is what happened next...
Marseille (1) Zenit (2)
Zenit up to 2nd!
Parfitt Defiant
Levante manager Parfitt has today had a question mark placed over his future with the Spanish club. The same paper that saw Zenit manager Stephen Beddows back controversial Russian leader and all round nutcase Vladimir Putin also ran a front page headline suggesting that Parfitt should step aside.
When questioned, Parfitt held firm and said that although things were indeed tough, he has no intention of stepping aside for anybody else. The club are already three points adrift of the relegation zone after only six games, they are out of the Top 100 cup following a 1 - 0 defeat to fellow Spaniards Celta Vigo, and have the worst goal difference in the division (-12) by quite some distance.
Parfitt has attempted to address this by bringing in new defenders and a goal keeper, and another new defender, Jean Armel Kana-Biyik was in the stands last night following his move from Toulouse. The Cameroon defender is expected to line up alongside compatriot Sebastian Bassong on Sunday when the club travel to Greece for another difficult looking fixture against Olympiacos.
The Levante team leave for Greece
The manager doesn't expect to see many other changes of personnel in the first XI, but has hinted at a change of formation. Whether or not this will be enough, only time will tell, but for now there appears to be no chance of a managerial change.
SM Dinosaur Destroyed
Beddows touched down at St Petersburg airport this morning to the delight of the Russian public as Putin had issued a pardon forgiving Beddows of his verbal attacks on certain Russian citizens if in exchange Beddows agreed to speak out in favour of Russian expansion should any Western politicians publically accuse Putin of wanting to invade Russia.
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| Beddows arrived on a special laid-on flight this afternoon |
"There are no Russian soldiers in Ukraine. None. I have seen none."
Beddows then proceeded to depart from the mass media and leave for the stadium ahead of the visit of Mister Malcolm and his Fiorentina side...
Please read on to find out what happened...
Zenit 3 Fiorentina 0
SHAKY START
Shaky Start
Borussia Dortmund fans were excited at the start of the season before a ball was kicked, especially with all the signing’s being brought into the club, but after the black and yellow’s first two league games Dortmund found themselves off to the worst possible start.
Brown first two league games were lost, one at the hands of Real Madrid, which there is clearly no shame in as they have a great squad, and the other defeat away to Liverpool. Brown was not hanging about dwelling on the bad start and instead, he done something about it by changing the system.
Since a change in system, Borussia Dortmund have went on a 5 match unbeaten run, winning 4 and drawing 1 which is pleasing for Der BVB fans and the manager of course.
When asked by the German media what brown has in store for A.C. Milan, he responded by saying “I can see it being a tough match on Thursday but I am confident we can get a positive result, Milan have a great manager and a very good squad but im hoping the guys will be up for it and put on a show for our 80 odd thousand fans in attendance”.
Brown went on to say that he thinks the score will end 2-1 to Die Borussen, but all will be revealed on Thurday.
Leicester City sent crashing back down to earth
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| 'Leicester have now lost two on the bounce following a dream start.' |
However, 2 straight defeats have followed, after going 2-1 down to Basel, and 1-0 to Boca Juniors, both at home. Horn recently called a press conference as the critics came down hard on Leicester, criticising their style of play, describing them as lethargic, boring and ultimately, one dimensional. The press conference was held yesterday evening at the King Power stadium:
'So Mr. Horn, what do you make of the clubs results over the last few days compared to your first 3 games here at Leicester.'
'No manager likes to see his team lose 2 in a row at home. Despite this, in both games we can consider ourselves rather unlucky as the games against Basel and Boca were relatively close, could've gone either way. At the same time, if we want to have a successful season, we need to make sure we can take control of our home matches- behind every championship winning team is a fortress of a home stadium- and quite frankly, we haven't been able to do that just yet.'
'You say your team was unlucky... in both matches you conceded goals within the first 10 minutes. Is there perhaps a pattern developing?'
Obviously yes, I am aware in both circumstances we were somewhat caught cold by the opposition which is something we will definitely be looking to fix before it becomes a real issue. In both games, we eventually got back into it but weren't able to do enough to get anything out of the game on both occasions, and the game against Boca was decided in the first 2 minutes. Despite our losses, we still remain in the top half of the table, and although many say otherwise, I am confident we will stay there.
'You have been very busy in the transfer market of late, with 6 new faces coming in and 10 leaving. Are you happy with your current crop of players or are you planning to strengthen further?'
Yes, that we have. We have brought in some great young talent in Josh murphy, Solly March, Tony Watt and Alex Davey and some experience and class in Stewart Downing, Jean Babin, Micahel Bradley and Michail Antonio, who will all play a vital part in our season I am sure. As for my squad, we are always looking to add new faces however if we are not able to, then I have full confidence that the current team will do me proud.
'One name on that list turned a lot of heads when his arrival was announced one day ago- Michael Bradley-.'
Yes, he is an incredible player, with bags of experience and class about him. he also has a great attitude and will be an integral part of our squad for the season that he is here for. I'm hoping he can teach the young lads we have here a thing or two, and he really will make a difference to our midfield.
'Last question of the day, what is your response to the pundits describing your team as 'one dimensional, lethargic and boring'?'
Utter bulls**t. That's al I have to say about it.
'Would you care to elaborate on that?'
Not really.
'Ok, That's all for today, thank you Mr. Horn.'
Thank you.
Levante
Levante
Levante manager Tom Parfitt came to the club after the season’s opening league fixture had seen the Spanish club lose 2 – 1 to Hellas Verona in Italy. The defeat came after a mixed pre season which saw the club win twice, draw once and lose four times. The board felt that this kind of form was not something that they could live with, and made a very early managerial change.
In the four games that Parfitt has overseen, results have continued to be disappointing so far. Things started off encouragingly with a 3 – 1 win at home to Turkish side Besiktas, but three defeats followed, going down 4-2 at home to another Italian side, Hellas’ rivals Chievo Verona, a massive 9 – 1 defeat away to Espanyol in an all Spanish affair, and then most recently a 1 – 0 home loss to German side FC Koln have left the club at the foot of the table.
After that huge defeat to Espanyol, the travelling supporters were massively disappointed. That said, they didn’t give up on the players, and have gotten behind the team and embraced the philosophy that the manager is trying to bring to the club.
Levante fans in surprisingly great voice against Epanyol
With the side conceding 15 goals in the four games Tom has been in charge, it’s not hard to see where the problems lie. The nadir was obviously the massive defeat to Espanyol, and although it was disappointing to follow that up with another defeat, the team did at least show a little bit of character against Koln.
A new goalkeeper, defender and a holding midfielder have all been brought in, and the club will now be looking to tighten up defensively, then move out of and away from the relegation zone.
The previous management team had spent most of the transfer budget before Tom arrived, with the vast bulk of it going to Eintracht Frankfurt in exchange for £10m record signing Vaclav Kadlec. The young Czech has played both on the wing and in attack already for Levante, although Parfitt now looks set to leave him up top in the number 9 shirt, alongside loan signing Clinton N’Jie.
£10m club record Vaclav Kadlec
As the funds were rather depleted when he came to the club, Parfitt has had to be creative in the transfer market. He has been able to bring in one loan player so far, along with seven permanent signings. John Ruddy, Robert Snodgrass, Sebastian Bassong and Baroni Christian bring bagfuls of experience with them, whilst young Portuguese starlet Leandro Da Silva Lopes, Marcus Maddison, and Paraguayan striker Angel Romero all offer a lot of promise for the future.
Angel Romero in action for Paraguay
Young winger Marcus Maddison talks to PUTV about his move away from Peterborough United to Spain
The club may well dip into the transfer market again, for both permanent and loan signings, but for now Parfitt is now keen to give the new boys an opportunity to bed in and try to put a run of results together with a settled side.
The club were linked with Nikica Jelavic of Hull, although this is now thought unlikely to happen. Certainly a striker is not the manager’s main priority at the moment. The club are also thought to be keen on a couple of South American midfielders, but the names remain under wraps for now as the club wouldn’t like to alert any potential rivals to the players. Although again, any potential deals are not thought to be imminent.
Time will tell what the future holds, and how the season will pan out for Levante, but the long term ambition of the manager, board, and most of all the fans, is to see the club competing in the top division alongside the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich every week. It’s a bold aim, but one which, in time, Parfitt feels is not unrealistic.
He stated that although he has only been at the club for a couple of weeks, he feels that the squad is already stronger than the one he inherited, and that although the results are still poor, he is confident they will pick up sooner rather than later.
Results
A – Boca Juniors L 1 – 3 (Friendly)
A – Spartak Moscow W 2 – 1 (Friendly)
H – Rubin Kazan D 1 – 1 (Friendly)
A - Hoffenheim L 0 – 1 (Friendly)
A - Manchester Utd L 0 – 3 (Friendly)
H – Sao Paulo – L 1 – 2 (Friendly)
H – Spartak Moscow W 1 – 0 (Friendly)
A – Hellas Verona L 1 - 2
H – Besiktas W 3 – 1
H – Chievo Verona L 2 – 4
A – Espanyol L 1 – 9
H – Koln – L 0 – 1
Transfers in | ||
Player | Club from | Fee |
Sebastian Bassong | Norwich | Nikos Karabelas & Acosta Deyverson |
Baroni Cristian | Corinthians | £320k, Aranda Tono & Jose Mari |
Marcus Maddison | Peterborough | £530k |
Angel Romero | Corinthians | £400k & Rafael Martins |
John Ruddy | Norwich | £300k, Martinez Ruben & Marti Roger |
Robert Snodgrass | Hull | £300k, Javi Jiminaz & Jesus Fernandez |
Leandro Da Silva Lopes | Peterborough | £10k |
Clinton N’Jie | Real Madrid | Season long loan |
Transfers out | ||
Player |
Club to
|
Fee
|
Ander Artabe | UCAM Murcia | £447k |
Fenerbahce win for a third straight game
Fenerbahçe SK beat VfL Wolfsburg 3 - 1 in their Division 2 fixture.
Kjaer scored a goal and was later voted Man of the Match for his performance.
Meireles and Van Persie were also amongst the goalscorers.
Thats 3 wins on the spin and 9 points from a possible 12.
Next Up: FC Porto (A)
Can Fenerbahce make it 3 wins in a row?
Fenerbahce welcome Wolfsburg to Istanbul tonight and are hoping to make it 3 wins in a row.
Sunday night saw Fenerbahce overcome Bilbao 2-0 in a game where both Nani and RVP were again the stars of the show, something that seems to be coming the normality in Turkey.
Wolfsburg will be a tough challenge as they also sit on 6 points alongside us.
Noisy is hoping the crowd once again plays there part tonight.
