2016
Espanyol Fixing Up
What's Changed Already?
October 12th - With just one game left of the season and Espanyol set to remain in the bottom division Earle set about developing the squad. With the midfield in jeopardy Mathieu Flamini was brought in from Hellas Verona. The 32 year old Frenchman cost the Spaniard £3.6 million and was immediately put into the starting line up for the final game of the season. Later that day Francesco Margiotta signed a 3 season contract with the club. The Italian forward had been a free before joining Earles side. Michiel Kramer departed for Go Ahead Eagles for £2.4 million while Mahmut Tekdemir left for Napoli for a £4 million price tag. Sofiane Hanni joined Anderlecht for £5.8 million, which is more than double what Earle payed for the Algerian in March.
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| Jean-Victor Makengo |
October 14th - Alexandu Epureanu left Espanyol to rejoin Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir. The 30 year old played a key role in the impressive shield run but was no longer needed in the squad. Espanyol accepted the £3 million offer which saw the defender depart.
October 15th - Following several strong bids Earle finally allowed Onyinye Ndidi to depart the team. The Nigerian headed to Real Madrid for a fee of around £5 million plus Diogo Jota who Earle has praised on multiple occasions. The 19 year old made an immediate impact off the bench when he set up Espanyols goal in their first post season friendly. Another Portuguese star also signed for Earles side in the form of Iuri Medeiros. Signing from Sporting for a fee of £5.9 million, the 22 year old played in the first friendly of the post season. Also making appearances in the friendly were Gideon Jung and Raul Albentosa who signed from Hamburg and Deportivo respectively for a combined fee of £6.3 million.
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| Pedro Leon |
October 20th - With many rumours surrounding him, Edin Visca had an offer accepted for him. The 26 year old had an impressive time at Espanyol having joined from Tottenham last season. Having made 49 appearances he managed to net 7 goals and assist 13 more, many teams expressed interest. Udinese made the winning bid with Pedro Leon and Joel Pohjanpalo joining the Spanish side. Pedro Leon is expected to replace the Bosnian on the wing while the Finnish forward is expected to have to fight for a spot.
What's Been Agreed?
Seydou Keita has flown into Espanyol ahead of a medical with the Spanish side. Earle and Prince came to an agreement over the 36 year old with a bid of just below £1 million being accepted. Earle made it clear that Keita would be a clear starter in the squad, after helping Olympiacos to the Division 5 title the the veteran proved he still has a lot to offer. Another central midfielder set to join is Vincent Koziello. The 20 year old will join from Juventus on a season long loan and is likely to be selected in favour of Mathieu Flamini. Also coming in on loan is Guido Carrillo from Monaco. With Rodrigo Mora expected to depart and Earle looking to use two centre forwards this season, the Argentine is expected to be used ahead of Sandro Wagner on the bench but the two will partner in the cup.
What Are The Rumours?
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| Nathan Redmond |
The Playoffs...
The Playoffs...
Division Two
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - Zenit St Petersburg 3
Pre-Game Facts: Shakhtar finished in 5th place, 12 points of automatic promotion, Zenit finished in 7th place, 13 points off automatic promotion.
Ganso was the star of the show as Zenit earn't a hard fought victory. The Brazilian had two assists to his name as well as tucking an 87th minute freekick away to seal the victory for the Russian side.
Division Three
Southampton 2 - 1 Olympique Marseille
Pre-Game Facts: Southampton finished in 6th place, 6 points of automatic promotion, Marseille finished in 7th place, 9 points off automatic promotion.
Southampton's first half goals earned them promotion despite being outplayed for the majority of the match. They proved the more clinical of the two teams, converting 2 of their 3 shots on target.
Division Four
VFB Stuttgart 3 - 0 West Ham United
Pre-Game Facts: Stuttgart finished in 6th place, 4 points of automatic promotion, West Ham finished in 7th place, also 4 points off automatic promotion.
Stuttgart comfortably beat 10-man West Ham to secure promotion, the performance was topped off by a cheeky Jimmy Briand freekick.
Division Five
Club Brugge KV 0 - 1 Dinamo Zagreb
Pre-Game Facts: Brugge finished in 5th place, 4 points of automatic promotion, Zagreb finished in 7th place, 7 points off automatic promotion.
Super-sub Angelo Henriquez scraped a win for Zagreb in a game they were largely second best in. After securing a playoff spot on the last day of the season, it has been a remarkable finish for the Croatian club.
PLAYER OF THE PLAYOFFS: GANSO (ZENIT)
FLOP OF THE PLAYOFFS: CHICO (WEST HAM)
GOAL OF THE PLAYOFFS: HULK (SOUTHAMPTON)
PLAYOFF FACT OF THE DAY: NOT A SINGLE 4TH PLACED TEAM REACHED A PLAYOFF FINAL!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS AND COMMISERATIONS TO THE LOSERS
The Real TOTY
Levante boss Tom Parfitt, and his beau Lana Del Rey have left sunny Spain to spend the off season in their luxurious love nest in the exotic surroundings of Merthyr Tydfil.
Whilst locked away with Lana, Parfitt learned of this season’s player and manager of the year nominations.
In typical style, Parfitt has given his thoughts on each and every nomination, and offered his own manager and team of the year candidates.
Firstly, the outspoken Levante boss took the opportunity to vent at the Top 100 hierarchy once again.
“This list is without question the most one sided, rigged poll I have ever seen. I’d even fancy Beddows old mate Putin to have a more fair minded ballot that this monstrosity. The US election when Bush won because he put some dimples on the ballot papers? Even that poll was fairer than this. It’s got the dirty paw prints of Frank, Beddows, and DP all over. It smells of corruption like a tramp smells of piss. I for one won’t be voting, and I’d urge every other manager unconnected with the people in authority no to also.
The players on this list aren’t even the best player in their own home. And the ones who have been left out is just criminal. I’ll tell you what, let’s have a look at some of them in a bit more detail shall we?
Div 1 POTY David ALABA (Barcelona) 37 games, 11 goals, 9 assists, 1MOM, 8 TOTW He’s reasonable, but being one of Austria’s best players is basically a case of being the tallest dwarf is it not?
Gary CAHILL (Schalke) 38 games, 6 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOM, 6 TOTW Don’t really need to comment do I? Gary Cahill. Just a joke.
Benedikt HÖWEDES (Dortmund) 37 games, 4 goals, 2 assists, 6 TOTW. Two assists and he’s in the player of the year nominations. My captain, Ivan Ramis had a similar record, and where is he?
Vincent KOMPANY (Bayern) 29 games, 8 goals, 9 TOTW. Honestly? I’d rather spend time in my own company
Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Chelsea) 36 games, 24 goals, 9 assists, 16 MOM, 8 TOTW. Clearly only nominated for money making purposes. How much does his name cost to put on the back of a shirt? Enough for them three shysters to cream off plenty for their own back burner I bet.
Claudio MARCHISIO (Juventus) 34 games, 6 goals, 4 assists, 6 MOM, 7 TOTW Of course he scored a hatful. DP would have had his family taken out if he hadn’t.
Lionel MESSI (Barcelona) 36 games, 31 goals, 16 assists, 26 MOM, 21 TOTW Well well, surprise surprise. All that tax evasion questioning, I heard most of the cash was “resting” in DP’s NatWest Saver account.
Luka MODRIĆ (Dortmund) 35 games, 9 goals, 8 assists, 8 MOM, 6 TOTW Well, he’s done ok. As well as can be expected given that Reynolds is his boss. I guess 5/10 and the only one close to deserving a nomination from this batch
Thomas MÜLLER (Real Madrid) 33 games, 28 goals, 7 assists, 13 MOM, 7 TOTWMuller Rice huh? Good at corners and all that? I wouldn’t pick his nose, let alone pick him for my team.
Sergio RAMOS (Real Madrid) 31 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 7 TOTW FFS, Keano gets Ramos on the list and then receives a tasty little back hander. That’s how this goes down.
Cristiano RONALDO (Bayern) 34 games, 23 goals, 16 assists, 16 MOM, 17 TOTW Yep, big G at Bayern is in on the scam as well. I call him Big G because that’s what he’s known as in Colombia.
Luis SUÁREZ (Bayern) 27 games, 20 goals, 9 assists, 11 MOM, 12 TOTW And the vampire gets in on the list as well. Anybody who’s more at home on the set of Salems Lot than a football field should be banned from these awards. Clearly a little bung in Beddows direction helped this one slip the net
Div 1YPOTY Kingsley COMAN (Juventus) 31 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 1 TOTW More Juventus players. Honestly, I cant be bothered with this sham. Lets pick out a couple more and see what we think.
Anthony MARTIAL (Man United) 28 games, 7 goals, 5 assists, 2 MOM, 1 TOTW Anthony Martial. Utd were gash this season. How any of their players can be picked, least of all Mr Martial. I heard he went around Rahul’s house and gave him a Bruce Lee style roundhouse kick in the solar plexus.
Raheem STERLING (Arsenal) 22 games, 5 goals, 4 assists. He’s got more kids than goals. Waste of space.
Jonathan TAH (Juventus) 10 games, 1 goal, 1 TOTW Jonathan Tah of Juventus. Or Bayern Munich. Or Ac Milan. Or Genoa. Or whoever else wants him this week. Absolutely disgusting with the way this fella has been farmed out like a piece of meat. And what was done to the managers involved? I’ll tell you what happened, they went around Franky boys house for a wine, cheese, champagne, coke and hookers night.
D2POTY Player of the Season Nominations
Mario BALOTELLI (Milan) 35 games, 31 goals, 10 assists, 19 MOM, 12 TOTW You know what, I can’t even be bothered to look at the rest of division two. If Beddows chief love interest is nominated, you just know that the rest of them will be about as useful as a pork pie on Yon Kippur
In fact, I’m so angry I can’t even be arsed to look at division 3 and 4. I’m going to cut straight to the chase check out what’s what in division 5, the home of real football
Div 5 POTY & YPOTY Nominations
Player of the Season Nominations Ricky ÁLVAREZ (Espanyol) 37 games, 7 goals, 3 assists, 7 MOM, 7 TOTW Espanyol underachieved massively. As a result, any of their players being nominated smacks of Doug getting jiggy with DP and Frank.
Wissam BEN YEDDER (Hertha BSC) 35 games, 15 goals, 7 assists, 9 MOM, 6 TOTW 15 in 35? That’s all you need to get a nomination? I once bagged to girls in one night, surely that should get me not just nominated, but knighted using the rationale of those who accepted this nomination. Next….
Denys GARMASH (Dynamo Kiev) 32 games, 10 goals, 7 assists, 4 MOM, 6 TOTW Yep, Kiev were a shambles when we played them. Therefore, this nomination is in-valid
Klaas-Jan HUNTELAAR (Olympiacos) 33 games, 12 goals, 8 assists, 8 MOM, 7 TOTW To be fair, if a player of his stature was playing at the lever he should be, he wouldn’t be close. Had to step down a long old way to get himself a medal. S
Sven KUMS (Club Brugge) 31 games, 5 goals, 7 assists, 8 MOM, 8 TOTW. Sven Kums all right. All over Davy is what I heard.
Nivaldo JARDEL (Flamengo) 36 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 9 TOTW. The Flamengo king. Good at a bit of latin dancing doesn’t a footballer make.
Xabi PRIETO (Olympiacos) 35 games, 7 goals, 11 assists, 3 MOM, 10 TOTW. Another of the Olympiacos old boys who couldnt hack it. Stepped down, didn’t try very hard, got a nomination
Araújo RAFFAEL (Standard Liege) 14 games, 7 goals, 5 assists, 8 MOM, 6 TOTW Only played 14 games and he’s on the list. FFS, what kind of rules are there for this? Well aside from how big is the brown envelope you can hand over that is….
Young Player of the Season Nominations
Abdul Rahman BABA (Celta Vigo) 28 games, 3 goals, 6 assists, 2 MOM, 4 TOTW Vigo manager in the job for obvious reasons, Vigo player nominated for obvious reasons.
Anwar EL GHAZI (Espanyol/Werder Bremen) 14 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 2 TOTW Not good enough to play for his own club. Comes to a couple of clubs on loan like a mercenary, puts in a couple of reasonable minutes, gets on the list. Shocking scenes, and poor show from the clubs that loaned him in the first place.
Björn ENGELS (Club Brugge) 35 games, 2 assists, 1 TOTW Isn’t he the fella from Abba? Far too old to be on this list, and once again symptomatic of the issues the few of us who don’t assume the position are up against.
Gabriel JESUS (Santos) 22 games, 5 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 1 TOTW About the only one here who I would take a punt on. He’s ok, I’d probably have him on the bench for the youth cup. No more than that though
Youri TIELEMANS (Anderlecht) 28 games, 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 2 TOTW Good old Youri. He’s got a little bit of talent hidden away in there somewhere. Don’t worry though, my old mucca PMW will soon train the talent out of him
Now come on, seriously, is this some kind of sick joke? We’ve been consistently kicked in the gonads this season. Week in week out my boys have put in top notch performances. Week in week out they have been forgotten with the TOTW board. Truthfully, I think this place would be better run if Sepp Blatter was in charge. If these awards were done properly, there would be no arguments with this little lot.
1. Jimenez Roberto Levante – Clearly the best keeper in div 5. In fact, the best in the league, and inspired by leaving AC Milan at the earliest available opportunity
2. Joel Ward AC Milan / Standard Liege – If he was still at AC, he’d be left rotting in the reserves, or maybe training Beddows chimps to peel potatoes. A top quality pro and inspirational leader who will lead to Liege to success next season
3. Andy Najar Anderlecht – The only player in div 5 that would get into my side. I’ve been tracking him for a while. Made a bid or two. I even sent Prince a message about him last week, and the Royal Joker had the nerve to say that I haven’t got anything that would tempt him. I’ll tell you something, if I popped round his gaff at 3am with a sock full of snooker balls, that’d tempt him I’ll tell you
4. Thomas Rincon Levante – An absolute colossus. I got him in from Boca when Sir Kev was having his big clearance sale. Picking him up for the price we paid was like being in Currys on black Friday and picking up an 80” widescreen for £75.
5. Steeve Yago Augsburg – He spells Steeve with two E’s, why wouldn’t you want somebody with two E’s on your side?
6. Ivan Ramis Levante – Joined us at a difficult time, byt came in and performed like Beckenbauer every time he crossed that white line. Is there a better centre half in the World right now? No
7. Isaac Success Levante – This young man is going to be the next African superstar. He’s better than Messi and Ronaldo were at that age, and doubtless he’ll be the best player in the World within the next 6 months. I just hope nobody goes putting any undue pressure on the lad
8. Frank Acheampong Sassuolo – Solid season for the big man in Italy. I’ll probably get him in at Levante in a few weeks.
9. Leandro Damiao Levante – 10 goals this season for Brazil’s best player. He’s seen more offside flags this season that Lewis Hamilton has chequered ones. Not his fault mind, the poor officiating we have encountered is exactly the sort of this Frank and the gang want to see
10. Wilfried Bony Ajax – Second best striker in the league after my boy Leandro. Plus Michael H promised me I could have a trip around the sights of Amsterday if I picked one of his lads
11. Robert Snodgrass Crystal Palace – Because he used to play for me, and his fine form for Palace is down to the time he spent in my company
I was thinking about Cirro Immobile and putting him in the side. Thing is, he’s going back to Genoa, and we all know why that is. Frank has apparently had a decent crop in his garden this season, and what I’ve heard is that some of the finest “Exotic tobacco” if you know what I mean, has helped sweeten the deal. I heard he’s opening up trade routes into Portugal, and then across the med to Northern Africa. He’ll be smuggling drugs, treasures, works of fine art, people, whatever it takes. I also heard that Beddows will be head sailor, and DP will be first mate.
Beddows and DP - The Early Days
As for managers, well there are only a few worthy of mention.
1. Me – Obviously the greatest there ever was. The greatest there currently is. The greatest there ever will be. I’d advise anybody not on my shortlist, and in fact the ones that are worthy to be considered in the same breath as me, to bask in my glory, and notice that yes, actually, the sun is indeed shining out of my perfectly formed posterior.
2. Nick Wheels Sao Paulo – Great work from the cutlery enthusiasts. Well average work anyway, but average is a big step up on most about at the moment.
3. Noisey Leverkusen – I’ve got to put in a word for the big fella for two reasons. Firstly, he flogged me Damiao at the start of the season. Secondly, he should have been sacked, but by winning a pot, he basically gave the gangsters in charge a great big up yours.
Arsenal End of Season Summary
Arsenal, Season 3
Season 3 has come to an end and Arsenal again have managed to secure a 3rd straight 8th place finish. With expectations at the start of the season to finish better than the previous season, it turn't out to be a successful season on the basis that they finished 2 points better than season 2 and if it wasn't for a poor performance on the final day against already relegated Fiorentina would had finished in a very respectful 7th place. With that in mind season 4 expectations will be to, as always, finish better postitionally or mathematically than the previous season.
Season 3 saw a few highly rated players leave for new challenges. The likesof Gareth Bale & Borges Willian were just 2 of the high class profiles which left leaving big holes in the attacking third and needing replacing. James Rodriguez was one of the names who came in and really set the ground running. Bowes looked towards more youthful players this season, players who he felt could have more resale value. Some top talents made the trip to north London, the likes of Raheem Sterling moved from Chelsea, Yannick Carrasco arrived from Spain before eventually moving to Portugal at the back end of the season. Emre Can, Saido Mane, Giannelli Imbula, Kelechi Iheanacho & Breel Embolo are just a few other who also made the trip to London.
Players with years of experience under their belt also arrived or left the club. Petr Cech was one name everyone was surprised to see leave, regarded as a world class keeper, left for a relative small fee. It showed the Top 100 community the route Bowes was looking to transform his team, English prodigy Jonathan Leko being the main focal point of the deal along with German stopper Kevin Trapp. Xabi Alonso was also another to leave Arsenal, a fee believed to be for 2 players from new Inter Milan manager Alex McLean in Geoffrey Kondogbia & Federico Di Marco. Another message of what MB was looking to achieve with the team.
A new signing which has got everyone talking is the arrival of Spanish playmaker Alcantara Thiago from Bayern. Michael Bowes has been trying to bring the midfielder to England for many months before the deal was agreed and the continued pursuit shows how highly the young English manager rated his new signing.
"To bring Alcantara here is something I've tried for many months, he brings some much needed quality in to the team and someone who I feel will progress massively to become a world class player here. We will give him the support and coaching needed to let him showcase his talent on the highest stage. It's a message of content that we can bring these high standard of players to London and Alcantara will fit in with the likes of potential we have here in Ross Barkley, Luke Shaw, Raheem Sterling & Hector Bellerin"
Along with Thiago, Bowes has managed to bring in defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic. A player who is one of the best in his position will bring some quality to replace the departed Alonso. With previous experience in England with Chelsea it's expected Nemanja will slot straight in.
"It's great to be back! After spending a couple seasons in Germany with Schalke and Dortmund there's just nothing that compares to England. The fans here love there football and the passion is easily visible"
With transfers wrapped up its time to look to the results side of business. The season started quite poor and seen the side fluttering around the bottom few places for the first 8 games. Results steadily improved as the team full of new players and characters gelled. Mid season saw the team steadily climb the table before the gunners took their foot of the gas as the final few games dribbled in. Arsenal managed to get to the 3rd round of the cup before being knocked out by Lazio, a run which had hoped for bigger things. Lazio were again the opponents in the 4th round of the shield and gained their revenge by beating the Italians 2-0 away, the run ended in the Semi finals against Andre's Porto with the departure of Petr Cech a huge loss to the side.
With the team looking to take a youth step, Arsenal will be looking at the possibility of entering the Youth cup for the first time in season 4. With the youth setup at Arsenal being highly rated for many years is surprising that this will be their first appearance in the tournament. With season 4 in mind, the reserve side looks in a solid shape and a good cup run again is something we will be looking to achieve along with a improvement on our league position.
One thing is for sure, Michael Bowes is the right man to take us forward!
Welcome Home
Auba Arriva!
Juventus & English manager DP91 are delighted to announce that Juventus have agreed terms with Manchester City for the return of Pierre Emerick Aubamayang whom departed Juventus Stadium just over a season ago for Wolfsburg. The Gabonese forward has since spent a short period of time at Chelsea & Manchester City football clubs, struggling to find his feet & form that he showed during his time in Germany.
The African forward released the following statement upon the announcement of an agreed deal. "I'm delighted to have the opportunity to return to Juventus & under the guidance of DP hope to settle some unfinished business from my stint at the club before. The prospect of linking the forward line with Antoine Griezmann was too much to say no to as well as the opportunity to once again link with the likes of Paulo Dybala & Paul Pogba."
Despite the forwards record of 20 goals in 60 appearances from 3 different sides since departing Italy, DP believes the forward will make the difference for Juventus moving forward as they push to challenge the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona & Real Madrid & improve upon their consecutive 4th placed finishes in Division 1. "Pierre has incredible talent & blistering pace, a combination of attributes which should leave any opposing back lines not just worrying about their clean sheet bonus, but also fines on their weekly wages for shipping embarrassing quantities of goals. I've already stated prior that Antoine will play as the central striker next season moving forward from his AML position for the majority of Season 3 & you can guarantee that Auba will be there alongside him in what will be an impressive partnership."
"We've had to pay a heavy price to bring Auba back but the lad has a great mentality to return & show the Juve fans that he's the real deal. It's disappointing to see Cornet leaving just as the lad finds his feet along with Lucas Vazquez whom has not been at the club long however informed me of his wishes to play more first team football which he hopes to find in Manchester. Michy has been incredible this season, bagging plenty of goals & settling quickly, I'm sure we may see him again in the future & wish him all the best for the future. Most of all in seeing Cuadrado leave we see our first choice right full back depart but are happy in the knowledge that in Sime & Elseid we have fantastic replacements that could well go on to surpass the levels of Juan."
DP concluded the press release by stating that he didn't believe this would be the last of the business conducted by Juventus in this off season period & told the fans to "sit tight".
Nicola Sansone, another new arrival at Juventus Stadium.
A new beginning...well maybe...hopefully
The Rafalution part 2
It has been a strange gypsy like career of note in top100 for manager Norman Little where he was unable to find a home till he went home so to speak. On to his 5th team now after nomadic spells at West ham, Fenerbache, West brom, FC Twente which brought him home to Newcastle towards the end of last season after the departure of Oran Robson.
It was a 50/50 battle between Little and the maid marian of malaga Greg Bilbao to see who got the hotseat at St James and the board went for someone with balls of steel, unfortunately he wasn't available so I stepped in much to the disgust of pretty boy Bilbao who wasted no time in kicking up a fuss as caught on camera by the club photographer
as you can see the toys went straight out the pram...
Little had hoped to smooth things over by agreeing to send Ayoze Perez and Veron Anita to malaga in exchange for Sergi Darder but no Bilbao went all crazy in love and started stalking me! things come to a head one night when leaving the training ground when a quite clearly drunk Bilbao offered sexual services in return for Little removing himself from the Managers job but the police were duly called and dealt with the situation with quick ease
Anyway enough of this madcap behaviour and lets get back to the football...
The target for next season is to be better than last, quite simple really. We finished 11th and I will stand by my words IF WE FINISH 12TH OR LOWER I WILL STAND DOWN. I won't include cup performances as these can be misleading and i will keep it simple, 12th or lower and I'll be chased out of Newcastle quicker than Moussa Sissoko chasing Champions League football(as the bloke in the dime bar ad used to say 'that blokes a nutter').
I am happy enough with the squad, have a solid side with some decent youngsters waiting to step up, The likes of tiote and colback could be used to maybe freshen up the squad, Haidara has been listed for cash. Mitrovic has had a few disagreements with Little over his lack of game time under him but these were sorted out over a pint or 10 in the beehive in the bigg market last week and he looks to be staying. The only 'big' player with question marks over his future is Feghouli who has failed to settle up in Newcastle, Bids will be welcomed once his TB is over..
Anyway enough drivel from me tonight...Good luck for the new season
Norman Little
Espanyol: Was it Really that Bad?
"It's not his fault at all, its not been a great season but how do the club expect him to do without the correct funding? 50% of the teams money comes from his transfer profits on developing players, if they aren't giving him the resources needed then how will we ever move forward?"
This point of view was shared by many who felt the club needed to invest more in the success of the team than the success of the franchise. Despite the poor finish, Earle has remained adamant that the season wasn't actually that bad. A great shield run, some big transfers and talks of several new contracts should breath hope into the fans for next season. Following the game against Flamengo Earle spoke out in a press conference about the season and about his views and his future;
"Well I know that some will be disappointed with how the season has gone, but not me. I think its a tough league, it has some great teams, and when you look at it we were 3 points off playoffs. You know, that's how close it is. One more win and everyone would be saying it's a great season. What they're forgetting is this was our first full season together, me and the team. And it's made harder by being in a new league with very high, almost unrealistic, expectations. I said last season that it may take a season, or maybe even two, before we properly adapt and move up the leagues. But it's not all about the league. People seem to be forgetting our fantastic Shield run. For a small team like us to get to the Quarter Finals, and even then not lose until penalties, that's impressive. And that's before we mention who we were up against. I've said before I want to do as best I can for the team and so next season I'm looking to improve us. I'm not going anywhere, we have the players capable of doing well, we just need the right formula and a bit of consistency. The club is in talks with several players to get new contracts in place and we feel once that's done the players will be more relaxed and will be able to focus on their football a bit more and hopefully it will show".
Earle has signed a new 2 year contract himself since the press conference dismissing any rumours of a move away from the Spaniards. Fans were asked to complete a questionnaire of the seasons, the results are as follows.
Best Game of the Season?
Espanyol 3-2 Bayern (92.7% of votes)
Having beaten Augsburg and Liverpool to get to Round 3 of the cup, players and fans alike expected reality to hit them when the Division one German giants came to visit. However, the Spaniards put up a fight and were 2-1 up by half time thanks to a Sandro Wagner brace. By the 80th minute it was back level at 2-2. With 4 minutes left, substitute Christian Kabasele shocked the away fans by putting the Spanish side 3-2 up. Espanyol proceeded to the quarters thanks to one of the clubs most historic victories.
Worst Game of the Season?
H Berlin 4-0 Espanyol (73.2% of votes)
A game which many say cost Espanyol their season. With Earle having returned home due to a family emergency, French assistant coach, Rami Tupmass, decided to play the youth squad, who had been defeated the night before. Berlin went on to win the game 4-0 and hand Espanyol their biggest defeat of the season. Following the game the assistant coach was fired and Richard Blower was brought in.
Best Player of the Season?
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| Benjamin Moukandjo |
Benjamin Moukandjo was signed on the 16th of June for £6.2 million making him Earles most expensive signing. Having missed the first 4 games due to Espanyols transfer ban, The Cameroon international got off to good start in his first 2 games. However, it was the third game of the season where fans got a taste of his ability when the forward netted 3 times in a 4-2 victory over Dynamo Moskva. In his next 31 starts this season he bagged 12 goals while setting up 11 more and picking up 8 man of the match awards in the process.
Biggest Let Down of the Season?
Rodrigo Mora (62.5% of votes)
Having signed from Dynamo Moskva on July 15th in exchange for £5 million and Jose Antonio Reyes, fans were expecting big performances. With Benjamin Moukandjo in good form, the Uruguayan was picked to play on the wing with the occasional game up front. However, the 28 year old failed to deliver and was soon dropped to the bench. Since signing he has made 13 appearances (6 off the bench) yet he has only contributed 1 goal and 1 assist. As a result Earle has told the forward to pack his bags as he is no longer needed at the club.
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| Willy Caballero |
Willy Caballero (6.7% of votes) (Benjamin Moukandjo 88.4% but excluded)
Having already highlighted Benjamin Moukandjo we decided to exclude the forward. In 2nd was veteran keeper Willy Caballero. Having joined from Chievo Verona for £5.5 million the 35 year old went straight into the first team replacing Volkan Demirel. The Argentine keeper has played 30 games this season and has been awarded man of the match on 3 occasions. Espanyol fans can blame many things on their poor season, but their keeper is not one of them.
Worst Signing of the Season?
Samuele Eto'o (34.2%) (Rodrigo Mora 68% of votes but excluded)
Once again the highest selected player has already been discussed and so has been excluded. In 2nd was Samuele Eto'o who had returned to Espanyol following a spell at Levante. Having joined for £1 million as cover up front the forward made only 5 appearances (all off the bench) in the league. In those games he scored no goals and also had no assists. He also started 5 Shield games where, again, he contributed no goals but assisted 2. He has now been sold to FC Twente for the same price he joined for.
Earle and Espanyol are now looking to strengthen the squad for next season as they look to mount a promotion challenge. Several players have already completed their moves to the Barcelona team with a number being cut as well. Earle has said the core of the team will remain the same but two or three changes will be made. Fans are intrigued to see who will be named captain with Ragnar Klavan, Mathieu Flamini, David Villa and Ricky Alvarez the 4 Earle has named as most likely candidates.
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - S3/S4 Review
Season 3 just finish and Benfica manager Nuno Bento was happy to avoid relegation again.
Lisbon side got a non honorable 14º place!
| 14 |  |
SL BENFICA |
On an interview to Benfica TV Bento answered some questions like:
What can you tell us about the future of Benfica after a poor season for the fans?!
"14º can look bad for a club with Benfica dimension, but lets be honest, when i arrived here the team was weak and old now we have some of the best talents in the World! President Vieira is doing everything to keep them so we can fight for better positions in the future!
Our tactic of bet in the youth is now starting to look the right option, our youth is becoming important in our first team! Benfica fans are now proud of the team, happy to see glories like Cancelo, Grimaldo, Semedo, Gomes coming back to Lisbon! Players like Carrasco and João Mário who were impossible to get before and now are here with us! Benfica will be more consistent in a near future i can assure that to everyone! I hope next season will be our last struggling like we did the past two!"
What can the fans expect for Season 4? The team will get new names?!
"On our Season 4 the team will be stronger! Ou Attack are now near to what i dream to Benfica! Our GK is now a World Class one so no problems in that position to! The main problem will be the same as ever! Our defense with amazing but to young and low rate players. I believe in them so they are the ones who will be in the start eleven! New names in Lisbon will be very difficult, the players i admire and i think can be a good option for our squad are very expensive, so cant see how he will manage to bring more players in! But im very happy with my team!"
Can we expect more youth players to enter the main Squad?
"Off course you can, look at our youth, you can find players like Thiago Maia and Olimpic Champion, Oyarzabal already team A cap for a NT like spain, Lafont and Diop shining in France for Toulouse, Mbappe that is worldwide known, Ikone that despite is young age is getting minutes in a team like PSG! Lets be patient, but i believe we will get more players to our main squad to our team this season!
Can we expect a better place next season?
"Yes yes, im sure we can! Cant see this team fighting to promotion but at least getting a top 10 place! Lets hope we can manage it! But like i said before we are not making a squad to win one year, We are building a squad to win and be competitive many years! We want to be a top club!"
On a final note Bento informed that Pré-Season of Benfica will be made in Benfica Academy Seixal during this and the next week! Training sessions will be open for supporters and press on Tuesday and Friday mornings! Friendly scheudle is be out during this week,
Exclusive Benfica TV (17-10-2016)
Quick Season Overview - Standard Liege
It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post so I thought I’d take a quick look at Liege’s performance this season. Nothing too in-depth or lengthy, just a quick overview.
FrankBet odds placed me with a 12/1 shot of the title. That would have meant 7th place and probably a fight to gain that last playoff spot. Early to mid-season we confounded critics with a meteoric rise to the top of the table, alongside the other Belgian sides, but as the games kept on coming, Brugge and Anderlecht dropped off, leaving me to fly the Drapeau de la Belgique. In the end, the sides of Alex Mclean (Olympiacos) and Grant Cameron (Dynamo Kyiv) proved too strong, both featuring players that wouldn’t look amiss in division 3. The confirmation of automatic promotion didn’t come until the 37th game, but then again, Belgium has always been late to the party.
Malcolm provided some excellent analysis of the teams at the start of the season allowing me to evaluate any improvement on player ratings provided during the season, either by ratings increases or transfers.
The original ratings for Liege at the start of season 3 are as follows;
GK 88
Def 87
Mid 87
Att 87
Top15 86
Top21 85
Ave 86.67
Whilst the first eleven were of a reasonable standard, it’s clear that any back up players in the squad weren’t really up to scratch. What isn’t reflected in the analysis is age. I took over an ageing team of players, so my initial transfer dealings valued age over rating. Many of the players that left were replaced with younger, but lower rated players. I reviewed each players season statistics of the previous season and current season IRL and made a judgement as to whether the players would have value in bundling together for higher rated transfers in Top100.
After a season of begging, borrowing and scraping to drag my team into better shape, I’ve now got a side with an average age of 26, and a value roughly £40 million higher than when I took over.
The current patented Malcolm rating is as follows;
GK 88
Def 87.75
Mid 87
Att 88.5
Top15 87.46
Top21 87.14
Ave 87.64
As you can see the overall squad average has improved by +1. This may not seem much, but it’s more than you think. Also as previously mentioned, a good proportion of those are also a few years younger. However the analysis shows where I should be working on for my next transfer deals, the midfield is obviously the weakest area based on purely ratings so expect to receive a few bids in the pre-season.
The analysis also gives a potential indication as to the expected performance next season in Division 4. Granted, the statistics are now a full season out of date and Division 4 was notoriously close, but based on a Season 3 starting point, only 2 teams have a higher overall average, Chievo Verona (87.67) and Torino (88), and one of those has been relegated to Division 5.
Again, I’m not saying I’m going to finish second, every club will have made transfers with the aim of improving their sides, it’s just analysis based on statistical evidence. And if science and maths have taught me anything, it’s that they know what they know, and know what they don’t know. Manager tactics, transfers, injuries, Christ even a day where you forget to set your team can disrupt your entire season, none of those things can be measured. But I’ve not done too badly so far...
Manager stats wise, I’ve got an average of 2.4 points per game, not too shoddy. In order of Ave points per game, the top 10 managers are;
Scott McKenzie 2.66
Gursimran Brar 2.57
Jess Jobe 2.50
James Foster 2.40
Roy Keane 2.36
Feargal Hickey 2.30
Nick Wheels 2.23
Heath Brown 2.17
Joe Jordan 2.16
Mike Scallotti 2.15
Obviously some of those listed have played literally a hundred or so more games than me but it’s a nice little confidence boost going into the new season.
Good luck with Season 4 all!