2016
Achilles Cup - Match Day 5 Update
The penultimate game day in the Achilles Cup could have seen all matters resolved but as it turned out qualification is still on a knife edge for both Besiktas and Fenerbahce in what will be an exciting finish to the group on Match Day 6.
Olympiacos 5 v 2 Galatasaray
The Greeks went into this game knowing that a win would seal their place in the group final.
Olympiacos must have been confident of their unbeaten record standing up against the visitors winless one and so it turned out as the hosts put on a fine attacking display doubling their goal tally for the competition.
Soriano (5) and Fortounis (24) netted for the hosts before Yilmaz pulled one back for the Turks on 28 minutes. Then it became the Conca show with the Argentinian restoring the Greeks two goal advantage 12 minutes before the break and then extending it on 64 minutes. Osman looked to have restored some respectability to the score line for Gala with a strike on 82 minutes but a minute later Conca completed hi hat-trick.
Olympiacos chief McLean will be delighted to have qualified with a game to spare and will be more than pleased with the style in which it was done, seeing Conca finally find his scoring touch since his move from Shanghai will be a welcome bonus. Gala boss Prince must feel the sooner this Achilles Cup campaign finishes the better and concentration can be given fully to steering the club away from the drop zone in Division 2.
Fenerbahce 3 v 1 Besiktas
The hosts went into this game knowing anything short of a win would realistically end their ambitions of progressing in the tournament whilst the visitors were looking to book their place in the final with anything other than a defeat.
The crowd were determined to play their part with over eleven thousand roaring on their teams. If there were any nerves in either camp they didn’t show with both teams settling in well to an even first half that ended with the Fenerbahce ahead through a Schennikov goal on 13 minutes.
The hosts weren’t content to sit back and came out for the second 45 minutes with more purpose and intent. Toni doubled their lead on 53 minutes before Onazi pulled Besiktas back into the game on 62 minutes, then 10 minutes before the end Martinez sealed the win for the home side with a superb strike to the delight and relief of the Yellow Caries supporters.
Fenerbahce gaffer Brown knows that qualification isn’t in their own hands but must go into their last game against Galatasaray with confidence meanwhile opposite number Vogeleer knows his Besiktas side must match or better Fenerbahces result next week if they are to progress.
| Match Day 5 Table | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Olympiacos | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| Besiktas | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 9 |
| Fenerbahce | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Galatasaray | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 1 |
Match Day 6 Fixtures – Weds 13th April
Besiktas v Olympiacos
Fenerbahce v Galatasaray
FENERBAHCE VS BESIKTAS
Fenerbahce host Besiktas tonight in the Achilles cup. Broon needs all three points to have any hope of qualifying as Besiktas and Olympiakos have 9 and 8 points respectively, with Fenerbahce only having 4. But a win tonight could change things as this would put Gerrit’s Besiktas only 2 points off Broon’s side, and if results go their way in other fixtures, it puts him a point off the qualifying spots if Olympiakos lose to Galatasaray.
Churchill Cup & Von Trapp Cup Final Group Game Permutations
Tonight we head into the final group games to see who will head into the playoffs for the Top100 Club World Cup and with some groups pretty much done, there is still plenty to play for in other groups…
Churchill Cup Group A
Sunderland vs Celtic: A win for either side will mean they top the group and will have a home tie against Chelsea in the semi finals. A win for either side in the Man United v Newcastle game would spell elimination for Celtic, although a draw in that game would mean it’s as it was at the top with Sunderland as group leaders & Celtic as runners up.
Newcastle Utd v Manchester Utd: A win for either side would mean qualification, but either side would top the group with a win as long as there’s a draw in the Sunderland v Celtic game. Newcastle can also qualify with a draw as long as Celtic beat Sunderland.
Everton v Liverpool: Nothing to play for but PRIDE!
Churchill Cup Group B
Nothing can change, Spurs have won the group and Chelsea have finished 2nd thanks to Spurs 2-0 win over Chelsea they have a better head to head.
Von Trapp Cup Group A
Hamburger v Dortmund: With Dortmund already qualified, they only require a point to win the group and avoid Bayern (as long as Bayern take at least a point from Stuttgart). Hamburg on the other hand can win the group with a win, a draw would guarantee them 2nd place and even a loss (as long as Schalke get something at Wolfsburg) could be enough.
Wolfsburg v Schalke: Wolfsburg can finish 2nd in the group with a win but they have to hope that Dortmund can take all 3 points away from Hamburg. Schalke are out, even with a win their 3-2 loss to Hamburg means they cannot progress.
Von Trapp Cup Group B
VFB Stuttgart v Bayern Munich: Bayern will win the group with a draw or win. VFB can qualify with a win, but it might not be that simple, if Leverkusen win at Hoffenheim and VFB win then all 3 teams will be on 12 points meaning GD in those 3 games comes into play. If VFB draw and Leverkusen draw VFB will go out on H2H. Stuttgart can win the group with a win as long as Leverkusen don’t win.
Hoffenheim v Leverkusen: Leverkusen will probably need to win by 5 clear goals to guarantee promotion if VFB beat Bayern, so they will be hoping that Bayern can do them a favour by beating VFB. A draw or a loss would be good enough if VFB also draw or lose.
Monchengladbach v Basel: Wooden spoon game.
Disgraceful Scenes Across Spain
Spain is a country that has seen its fair share of violence over recent days, following on from the Easter effigy burnings across Madrid and Barcelona tonight chaos has flared up in another Spanish city.
WATCH THE VIDEO BEFORE READING
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch
Vigo is a city described in many guidebooks as “a vast city, but clean and in parts very striking. It is also a location that is attracting an increasing number of tourists with its mix of history, beautiful beaches and a modern cosmopolitan outlook.”
But it has been nothing of the sort over recent weeks with the discontent towards manager Ryan Chisholm or GNEV2 as the Spanish media have come to label him has led to the mass protests seen above.
It all came to ahead this evening (Tuesday) when Ryan Chisholm and his side left the ground bound for the airport and a trip ironically to one of the men who appointed Chisholm, the Godfather and Master of Corruption himself, Frank Hirst and Genoa.
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| Ryan Chisholm and Celta's Home Ground |
Why Protest?
Chisholm was never the fans choice for the Celta hotseat, but it had been a more outraging when it was announced how Chisholm got the job.
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| Gameworld Co-owners Frank Hirst and Stephen Beddows |
But surely Chisholm has not been that bad?
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| Ryan Chisholm or GNEV2 has struggled in Spain |
It is clear that all is not going well in Spain and Chisholm having taken the side from the play-offs to just above the relegation zone will surely be sacked soon.
Copa Del Burro
The group stages reached a conclusion last Wednesday, and the knock out stage kicks off this Wednesday.
The draw has been made, and the fixtures are….
Weds 6th April Real Madrid v Porto
Weds 6th April Athletic Club v Malaga
Weds 13th April Porto v Real Madrid
Weds 13th April Malaga v Athletic Club
Please can all managers ensure that they send & accept invitations for their fixtures.
Good luck to all involved, and congratulations on reaching the knock out stage.
Remember,one of the clubs in the draw will get their grubby little mits on the first ever Copa Del Burro Trophy…..
Youth Cup 2nd Round and Quarter Final Draw
Please click read more to watch the video of the draw for the Youth Cup 2nd Round and Quarter-Final
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch
2nd Round Played on 9th April
Quater-Finals played on 16th April
Please organise your 2nd Round Fixtures ASAP
Good Luck
Putin Cup - Match Day 6 Update
CSKA Moscow had the night off in the Putin Cup and Manager Smith will no doubt have been a happy man watching the results come in as his team remain top of the pile with the chasing pack concertinaing up behind.
Lokomotiv Moscow 0 v 0 Dynamo Moscow
Both clubs had the opportunity to jump into top spot going into this fixture and it proved to weigh heavy on the players in a nervy Moscow derby.
Dynamo had the better of the first half with CSKA keeper Guilherme pulling off saves from Adam, Ari, Ionov and Wesley whilst a sole effort from Soldado was the only real action Victor saw in the Lokomotiv goal.
The hosts faired better in the second half with Zurtuza and couple of efforts from Mamaev keeping Victor on his toes whilst Loko failed to register a single effort on target.
Both Owen and Razzaque will be disappointed not to be heading the table but will accept that a draw was a fair result on the overall balance of play which keeps both teams firmly in with a chance of progressing.
Zenit St Petersburg 2 v 3 Spartak Moscow
Zenit went into this game playing for pride whilst Spartak were hoping to regain ground at the top of the table that they had lost in recent weeks, in the end both Managers will believe they achieved their objectives.
Zenit took the lead on 12 minutes when Danny latched onto a through ball from Perez and placed his shot just beyond the despairing dive of Alvarado.
Lodygin in the Zenit goal made fine stops from Berg and twice from Costa before Alvarado was called into action again to prevent Danny from doubling his tally.
It looked like Zenit would make it to the break with their lead in tact but on 38 minutes Perez squared the ball to Shirikov who unleashed an unstoppable effort from outside the box which Lodygin could nothing but admire as the ball sailed past him into the net and sent the teams in at half time all square.
Spartak started the second half on the front foot and nearly stole the lead in 52 minutes when Promes whipped in a free kick which Soudani met on the full only to see Lodygin tip past the post.
The same pair combined again 4 minutes later to put Spartak into the lead, this time Soudani feeding Promes whose strong diagonal run into the right hand side of the area ended with a well placed effort that Lodgyin this time could do nothing about.
But Zenit weren’t prepared to lay down and their fighting spirit was rewarded on 69 minutes when Dzyuba met a cross from Kiyotake and planted his header passed Alvarado for the equaliser.
The home crowd had hardly finished celebrating when 2 minutes later Promes hammered a free kick through the jumping defensive wall and passed a despairing Lodygin.
This time Zenit had no response and Spartak comfortably saw out the remainder of the game with Alvarado not being called into action again.
Zenit boss Hassan will be pleased with the heart and at times enterprise shown by his players but knows the result now ends any faint hopes that may have lingered of progressing, his opposite number Houston will be buoyed by the steel his side showed in the face of determined opponents to grind out a win that puts them level on points but in second place to CSKA on goal difference who they meet next week.
| Match Day 6 | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| CSKA Moscow | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Spartak Moscow | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Zenit St Petersburg | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 0 |
Match Day 7 Fixtures – Weds 6th April
Spartak Moscow v CSKA Moscow
Dynamo Moscow v Zenit
Italian Manager Mid Season Review (Season 2)
Impartial and honest Top Italian Journalist, Gino Kinnearo (Cousin of Liverpool Boss Gordon) sat down with Top 100 Sports News to give a 'frank' and honest assessment of each ITALIAN club thus far this season.
Juventus (DP 91) 3/10 –
Gino has been devastated and feels destroyed by the Ice Mans quiet manipulative approach to management in Top 100 which has been ignored by the authorities. His vindictive messages and perceived persona of Mr Nice Guy has led to an uptake in the number of managers cashing in their SM credits for stays at the Top 100 Rehab Mental Hospital. Sure his Juventus side might be in 3rd place but DP’s hand gestures of why and his sad faces have drawn the referees sympathy to his side and all of a sudden the number of red cards for opposing sides, the number of opposition goals ruled out for offside or fouls has increased by 523%. Mark my words if DP wins any silverware this season he will have gotten blood on his hands somewhere along the way.
ACF Fiorentina (Mister Malcolm) 4/10 –
It pains me to say this but the self-proclaimed winner of the Italian Team of the Year Awards Season 2 is doing ok with Fiorentina this season. However I think it is imperative to point out that there is no chance in his dinosaur approach, many managers have complained about his lack of ambition outside of his defensive third and I agree it is about as boring to watch as an Andrew Griffiths speech.
Inter Milan (Brian Clough) 1/10 –
After Doctor Fox failed to inspire and impress after PMW had quit before he was sacked the appointment of Brain Clough pleased many Inter fans but Clough soon fell foul of the rules and found himself under transfer ban which has meant he has been unable to add to his side. His early form at the San Siro was so shocking that the situation soon became as messier as the scene at OJ Simpsons house back in the day. Clough clearly wasn’t walking on water, he was in fact struggling to tread water as the Division One sharks circled below. He will go down!
Lazio (Fred Dodger) 2/10 –
Kinnearo feels that it was a bit of a dodgy and mysterious choice in appointing Scobby-doo’s best friend Fred as manager of Lazio. Fred came to Lazio after a questionable performance in charge of Galatasaray where the fans regularly rioted at his inability to turn them into Champions of the World. With Lazio struggling and Dodger seemingly unable to stop their slide to Division Two Kinnearo is calling for action from the Lazio board to ensure that Dodging decisions are not made again.
AC Milan (Stephen Beddows) 9.5/10 –
“A tremendous talent who suffers due to the corruption across the Division” these were the choice words of Kinnearo which he says still hold true. “If Beddows was God then the World would be a peaceful place. He manages an odd collection of egos in his side and gets a tune out of them.” Kinnearo is confident that Beddows and his side will emerge victorious in their battle to stay up, but has admitted that a change in levels of corruption will be necessary to make this happen.
Napoli (Rob Ryan) 6/10 -
It is a good job that the HSE have no influence in Campagna as Rob Ryan’s training methods are more dangerous Raqqa. Rob is proving himself as a competent manager, yet he is also incapable of managing the players and the fans expectations who have demanded “Champions” as a minimum expectation this season. The fact that he has nicknamed himself RR – Roger Rabbit has not amused Kinnearo who has compared him to more like Peter Rabbitt, a small, spoilt child who is interested in only stealing from the gardens of those clubs and managers more glamorous than him.
Roma (Neil Frankland) 5/10 –
Having taking over Rome only last season it could be argued that Neil Frankland has done a good job but Gino Kinnearo was quick to pick out the indiscrepancies in Neil’s rule… “Frankland goes on with excuses and more excuses of how Rome wasn’t build in a day… but this it utter bull and the man has more excuses than a corrupt politician!” Kinnearo was also anxious to make it publically known that Neil Frankland does in fact have a caffeine addiction and is regularly seen snorting powered coffee before matches and training sessions. He concluded stating that there is more chance of DP and Juventus winning the league that Neil Frankland and Rome playing alongside the big boys next season!
Sampdoria (Gav Harmer) 1/10 –
Gav Harmer’s managerial approach is more odd a sight than a Pink Ferrari at a Moscow Skoda Rally, Kinnearo made mention in his report of Gav pre-season boisterous optimism… “It’s Our Year” which was strewn across all of the Italian media yet it has not transpired to be the case. In fact Gav’s job is in more peril than Frank’s wallet in the Liverpool Megastore, with Harmer's harmful influence threatening the entire existence of Sampdoria as a Top 100 club.
Sassuolo (Bob Groucho Sal) 1/10 –
The Canadian struck up quite a stir when he turned up to the first training session of the new season in his ice skates and armed with some puks and he continues to show no knowledge of the beautiful game with his insistence still in press conferences that his full backs are quarter backs who pump the ball long all the time. With Maple Syrup now a staple for all fans and players on match days and the players waist lines getting more out of control than the EU refugee crisis it appears that down and out is the only way Bob is going with not even a bottle of Viagra likely to keep them up.
Genoa (Frank Hirst) 5/10 -
A solid 5 out of 10 from Kinnearo. Frank or Franco as he has became known for his brutal regime in the Port City has done well, shrewd in the transfer market and doing ok in the league… yet there are concerns that in narrow alleys of the Old City that SM Credits are changing hands faster than confetti with rumours that match fixing is a serious issue in Division Four, most often in Frank’s favour. Kinnearo has uncovered concrete evidence that this is the case and as such cannot give Frank higher than a 5/10
Torino (Michael Hudson) 4/10 –
Huddo continues to bounce up and down about how good he is as a manager, yet in truth he fears that he will fail again to bring promotion to the 2nd club in Turin. Despite a sponsorship deal with Fiat which has seen all of the players get new cars which are filled with pictures of Kanagroo’s on the bodywork this has not endeared them to the Turin public with many of the mostly migrant Albanian and North African population of the city choosing to follow the cheating wink wink master that is Mr DP. However Gino has been impressed that Torino do have a slight chance of promotion hence the generous award of 4/10.
Atalanta (Sean Cass) 3/10 –
In his last managerial review of Italian managers Gino gave Sean a 6/10 yet he has halved his assessment claiming that Cass has moved the side backwards and not forwards and that even snail pace advancing would not have been good enough. He claims the football at Bergamo is both stale and over hyped and that most fans cannot wait to get to the airport post match to get back home. Gino was also highly critical of Sean’s unwillingness to sell some of his players to Milan for £££££££ which would be after all for the good of Italian football in the long run.
Chievo Verona (Paddy D) 3/10
Since his appointment Gino has had his reservations about Paddy, anyone with a name like Paddy is bound to be a failure and it appears his lack of ambition, contentness with mid-table mediocrity will be his downfall and deserves nothing more than 3/10. Kinnearo is highly critical of Chievo Verona’s player’s reliability on alcohol since Paddy’s arrival, with the black stuff being the chosen poison to cope with their impending doom. It is little wonder that many players are demanding transfers!
Udinese (Attila Olah) 2/10
Attila or Father as it means in native speak is nothing but a fraud. He claims to lead the hoarding masses into pastures new in pursuit of glory yet he himself seems happy in Udine! What a dump! His perseverance with the oldest warrior of them all, Di Natale, is frankly laughable and Attila is about as much of a Hun as Justin Bieber is a warrior.
MANAGER OF THE HALF-SEASON SO FAR FROM ELSEWHERE IN SMTOP100:
Dynamo Moscow (Sherief Razzaque) 10.5/10
Sherief Razzaque has really impressed Gino, not only as he adapted to the Moscow winter well he has also became fluent in the language very quickly (which is in no way credited to his Putin appointed Mistresses’). Prior to Razzaque’s appointment the football at the Arena Khimki was stony, emotionless, cold and frigid but Razzaque’s unique approach to man management and using images and pictures to describe to his players how he wants the game to be played have been a breath of fresh air in a Frank Hirst corruption dominated Division Four. One Moscow native described Razzaque and his style of football in 3 simple words, mesmerising, magnificent and modern…
Hell Breaks Loose
There is no Easter Goodwill in SM Top 100 as with Frank away from his work desk and unable to commit his life to SM war has broken out with Real Madrid manager reacting angrily to ‘some’ managers in SM Top 100.
Scenes across Madrid were shocking this Easter as Roy Keane ordered effigies of his enemies to be burnt in a show of defiance at Madrid’s superiority…
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| Roy Keane ordered the burning of effigies across Madrid |
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| Roy Keane called on all of Madrid to declare war on Barcelona |
The response in Barcelona was no less measured.
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| Scenes from Barcelona that followed the Madrid protests |
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Mr DP Enjoying an Easter Ice Tea |