2017
Season 4 Division 2 Value Added
Internacional get the biggest gain, but Everton clinching the title gets the overall award. Shaktar and Inter Milan the biggest disappointments.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Average | Finish | VA | Skew | ||
| 3 | Everton | 90.0 | 89.5 | 91.0 | 90.0 | 88.0 | 89.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2 |
| 19 | SC Internacional | 88.0 | 87.5 | 88.0 | 88.5 | 85.0 | 87.4 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 0.9 |
| 5 | AS Roma | 91.0 | 90.5 | 91.0 | 90.5 | 84.0 | 89.4 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.667 |
| 15 | ACF Fiorentina | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.5 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.1 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 0.667 |
| 12 | Genoa CFC | 89.0 | 88.5 | 89.0 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.3 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0.5 |
| 7 | Wolfsburg | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.5 | 92.0 | 86.0 | 89.1 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| 20 | Spartak Moskva | 88.0 | 86.5 | 88.5 | 87.5 | 85.0 | 87.1 | 16.0 | 4.0 | 0.25 |
| 18 | SL Benfica | 88.0 | 87.0 | 89.5 | 90.5 | 83.0 | 87.6 | 15.0 | 3.0 | 0.2 |
| 13 | Olympique Lyonnais | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.5 | 89.5 | 87.0 | 88.3 | 12.0 | 1.0 | 0.083 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 89.5 | 86.0 | 87.9 | 17.0 | -1.0 | -0.06 |
| 10 | Sevilla | 88.0 | 88.5 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 11.0 | -1.0 | -0.09 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.5 | 86.0 | 87.8 | 19.0 | -2.0 | -0.11 |
| 6 | Ajax | 90.0 | 90.0 | 89.5 | 89.5 | 87.0 | 89.2 | 7.0 | -1.0 | -0.14 |
| 11 | Leverkusen | 90.0 | 88.0 | 91.5 | 89.5 | 84.0 | 88.6 | 13.0 | -2.0 | -0.15 |
| 14 | CSKA Moskva | 90.0 | 89.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.2 | 20.0 | -6.0 | -0.3 |
| 4 | Southampton | 89.0 | 89.0 | 91.0 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.4 | 6.0 | -2.0 | -0.33 |
| 9 | Fenerbahçe SK | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.5 | 88.0 | 88.9 | 14.0 | -5.0 | -0.36 |
| 1 | Manchester United | 94.0 | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.0 | 87.0 | 91.1 | 2.0 | -1.0 | -0.5 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.0 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 90.3 | 4.0 | -2.0 | -0.5 |
| 8 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 18.0 | -10.0 | -0.56 |
Season 4 Value Added Division 1
AC Milan out perform the rest, Napoli put in a good turn.
PSG and Man City the worse performers
This year I will rate teams by raw and skewed value added, which divides value added by finishing position. This works particularly well for judging performance above the level expected but less well for -ve scores .
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Average | Finish | VA | skew | ||
| 20 | AC Milan | 89.0 | 90.0 | 90.5 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.7 | 6.0 | 14.0 | 2.333 |
| 11 | SSC Napoli | 90.0 | 90.0 | 91.5 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.9 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 1.2 |
| 16 | FC Porto | 90.0 | 89.5 | 90.5 | 89.5 | 87.0 | 89.3 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
| 12 | Dortmund | 89.0 | 90.5 | 92.0 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.9 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.333 |
| 17 | Monchengladbach | 90.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.2 | 14.0 | 3.0 | 0.214 |
| 14 | Valencia CF | 90.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 90.0 | 88.0 | 89.8 | 13.0 | 1.0 | 0.077 |
| 18 | Atlético Madrid | 91.0 | 90.0 | 89.5 | 89.5 | 86.0 | 89.2 | 17.0 | 1.0 | 0.059 |
| 19 | Zenit | 91.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 89.0 | 18.0 | 1.0 | 0.056 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 92.0 | 92.5 | 94.0 | 94.5 | 86.0 | 91.8 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 4 | Juventus | 94.0 | 92.5 | 91.5 | 92.5 | 88.0 | 91.7 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1 | Bayern | 92.0 | 93.0 | 94.0 | 98.0 | 90.0 | 93.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 96.0 | 93.0 | 93.5 | 97.5 | 85.0 | 93.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 92.0 | 90.5 | 92.0 | 90.5 | 87.0 | 90.4 | 8.0 | -1.0 | -0.13 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 90.0 | 92.0 | 90.0 | 92.5 | 86.0 | 90.1 | 11.0 | -2.0 | -0.18 |
| 15 | SS Lazio | 89.0 | 89.5 | 90.0 | 92.5 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 20.0 | -5.0 | -0.25 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 93.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 94.5 | 85.0 | 90.7 | 7.0 | -2.0 | -0.29 |
| 13 | Schalke | 89.0 | 90.5 | 91.0 | 92.5 | 86.0 | 89.8 | 19.0 | -6.0 | -0.32 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 89.0 | 90.0 | 91.5 | 91.5 | 88.0 | 90.0 | 15.0 | -5.0 | -0.33 |
| 6 | Paris Saint-Germain | 88.0 | 92.0 | 92.0 | 94.5 | 87.0 | 90.7 | 12.0 | -6.0 | -0.5 |
| 8 | Manchester City | 91.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 92.0 | 87.0 | 90.2 | 16.0 | -8.0 | -0.5 |
Managerial Stipulations- FINAL UPDATE
- Boca Juniors finish outside of promotional places in Division 3
Boca are currently flying in 2nd place in D3, with 48 points, In fact, they share the same number of wins, draw, losses, goals conceded and points; Sporting have scored 44 goals to Boca's 43. Tight! Just 10 points separate 1st from 10th, while Villarreal in 4th are just 2 points behind Boca. As such, a play-off spot at the minimum looks likely, but direct promotion could be anybody's game. On current form though, they look good for promotion and/or the title.
Prediction: Stay (7/10)- STAY
- Juventus finish below 8th in Division 1
- Juventus do not make a cup final in any of the cup competitions
The Turin giants are in the middle of nowhere in 4th, 13 points off 3rd placed Madrid and 9 points ahead of 5th placed Napoli, while they are 11 points ahead of 8th/9th placed Milan and Chelsea. It looks pretty clear that they will finish above 8th. In such a case the second clause is deemed void, but Juve lost to Bayern in the Shield quarters and to Man City in the Cup semi-final, while they play Milan in the Youth Cup Ro16, Bayern in the WCC quarters and Palermo (again!) in the SMFA Cup Ro16. DP is set to enjoy another term in Turin.
Prediction: Stay (9/10)- STAY
- Standard Liege finish below 15th in Division 4
A very cautious stipulation by James, Standard are flying in 4th with 46 points, 3 behind 3rd placed ASSE and 11 behind leaders Hellas. 4 ahead of 8th placed Dnipro, they look strong for direct promotion/play-offs though they have drawn 13 games and lost just 4. Though academic, they are 15 ahead of 15th/16th placed Monaco and Zagreb; James will enjoy another season in Belgium regardless of the division.
Prediction: Stay (9.5/10)- STAY
- Malaga finish outside of promotional places in Division 5
A full 10 points behind 3rd/4th placed Santos and Dynamo Moscow, direct promotion looks a step too far for Greg to bridge. Which leaves them challenging for a play-off spot, but with just 2 points separating 6th to 10th, there are 5 teams challenging for 2 play-off spots realistically barring a collapse from the Top 5. Greg has his work cut out as he needs to secure a play-off spot under tough competition and then win the two play-off games to gain promotion and thus keep his job. He could do it, but the odds aren't high.
Prediction: Sack (3.5/10)- RESIGN
- Newcastle United finish below 12th position in Division 2.
Newcastle are dead bottom in 20th. 6 behind 16th placed CSKA who are safe right now, 3 behind 18th placed Villa where he would not lose his job normally. 9 behind 12th Spartak, his and the team's safety looks a very difficult proposition. Norman is set to lose his job this season, while his side could well go down too.
Prediction: Sack (2.5/10)- SACK/RESIGN
- Liverpool fall into the relegation zone 20-38 games or finish below 12th position at the end of the season in Division 1.
- Liverpool reaching any cup final will see the 13th-20th position finish requirement nulled.
Liverpool made the Cup final v Man City, which means Gordon will enjoy another season at Liverpool. While they haven't dropped into the relegation zone at any point since GW20 (I think), they are currently 10th with 38 points, while 13th placed Porto are just 2 behind them. If not for the final, Liverpool's season would have become interesting, but as it stands, Gino could deliver silverware this season. In addition, Pool also made the WCC quarters where they face Merseyside rivals Everton and the Youth Cup Ro16 where they face Hamburg. They did lose in the 2nd round of the Shield to ASSE. But Liverpool's season could be brightened up after 7th Feb.
Prediction: Stay (10/10)- STAY
- VFB Stuttgart finish below 8th or fail to make a domestic cup final.
Stuttgart are currently 19th with 25 points, a full 13 behind 9th placed Marseille. 8 behind 16th placed Palace, Stuttgart may well go down, while Pat could lose his job directly or through the stipulation, as he's 3 behind 18th Udinese. Pat couldnt get past the Youth Cup group stage either, while he lost the Shield 4th Round to Villareal and the Cup quarters to Liverpool. A tough season all round.
Prediction: Sack (2/10)- NULL
- Shakhtar Donetsk finish below 7th in Division 2.
Shakhtar are currently 19th with 26 points, very similar to Stuttgart. With 7th placed Wolfsburg a whopping 20 above them, his stipulation is not going to be met. It's a tight relegation battle with them 4 behind 16th CSKA, and a point behind 18th Villa, but as it stands, Feargal could lose his job directly and through the stipulation, while his side may well go down to D3.
Prediction: Sack (1.5/10)- RESIGN
- Arsenal finish below 12th in Division 1.
- Arsenal do not make a cup final in any of the cup competitions
Arsenal lost in the first rounds of both the Cup (Sampdoria) and Shield (Ajax), while they didn't make it out of the SMFA Shield either. They also lost out to Lazio in the WCC. No cup final for Arsenal, while they are struggling in the league too. Currently 15th, they are 9 behind 12th placed PSG. Though Michael has pulled out all the stops to keep his job, D1 is a tough place and it looks like he will take on another job in the next season.
Prediction: Sack (4/10)- RESIGN
- Hellas Verona fail to achieve promotion from Division 4.
André went for a bold stipulation and is living up to it so far: Hellas have topped D4 with 57 points, 6 ahead of 2nd placed Sassuolo, while there is a 11 point gap to 4th placed Liege. Furthermore, there is a 13 point gap to 7th placed city rivals Chievo and 15 to 8th Dnipro. Hellas look good for the title as well as promotion barring a collapse: André will enjoy D3 football in all likelihood.
Prediction: Stay (9/10)- STAY
- Wolfsburg finish below 7th in Division 2.
- Wolfsburg do not make a cup final in any of the cup competitions
After being knocked out of all knockout competitions at the earliest opportunity, Wolfsburg's season has become interesting. In a highly competitive D2, only 3 separate 2nd placed United and 7th Wolfsburg. They are 3 ahead of 8th Genoa. Anything could happen, but Wolfsburg should have the firepower to finish in a playoff spot at the very least. Greg could either end up in D1 or lose his job, that's how tight this season is.
Prediction: Stay (5.5/10)- STAY
- Olympiacos finish below 10th in Division 4.
The Greek club are currently 5th with 45 points, 4 behind 3rd ASSE and 3 ahead of 8th Dnipro. 11th Dynamo Kiev are nine behind Olympiakos, so Nathan's job looks more or less secure, which should allow him to focus on a direct promotion/play-off spot for the rest of the season.
Prediction: Stay (7/10)- STAY
- Athletic Bilbao do not achieve a playoff position or better in Division 3.
The Basque outfit are currently 6th in D3 with 42 points, 5 behind 3rd Swansea and 6 behind 1st/2nd Sporting and Boca. Of perhaps more importance, they are just 3 ahead of 8th Lokomotiv, so it's all to play for in Bilbao for the rest of the season. It's too close to call whether Gareth will be next season
Prediction: Stay (5/10)- STAY
- PSV finish below 10th in Division 3.
The D3 mid-table is clogged up: just 8 points separate 8th from 17th. PSV are currently 13th with 33 points (12th to 16th all have 33 points). 10th Hamburg have 38, 5 more than PSV, so with all the competition, Heath has a tough job ahead of him if he wants to keep his job. He has a capable yet misfiring squad, but it's too close to call if he'll keep his job or not.
Prediction: Sack (5/10)- RESIGN
- Manchester United finish below 10th in Division 2.
I gave myself a safety net for my stipulation as I didn't want to lose my job in case of a nightmare season after waiting for it for a bit more than 3 seasons. Currently 2nd with 49 points, only 8 points separate 2nd from 10th. But 11th placed Ajax are 14 behind us, which should ensure I keep my job at OT for another season. Everton are flying towards the title, 6 ahead of us, but who knows who else will directly promote this season?
Prediction: Stay (9/10)- STAY
- FC Basel finish below 10th in Division 3.
Basel are dead-last in 20th with 24 points. They're 14 behind 10th placed Hamburg- in all likeliness, Basel are likely to go down again, this time to D4. 4 behind 18th Udinese, 9 behind 16th Palace: Basel will likely go down, while Brian could lose his job in both ways.
Prediction: Sack (2/10)- RESIGN
- Borussia Dortmund finish below 10th in Division 1.
Dortmund are 11th with 38 points, but are just 3 behind Napoli in 5th. Given the tight D1 mid-table, Dortmund could find themselves on the right side of 10 in a few games, given they're unbeaten in the last 6 games. Lee has a good chance of finishing in the top 10 but it will likely come down to the last few games.
Prediction: Stay (5.5/10)- STAY
- Olympique Lyonnais finish below 16th in Division 2.
Lyon are currently 17th on 28 points, but are just 4 points behind Benfica in 13th. It's a tight battle down the D2 table and the situation could change; it's too close to call at the moment. Lyon certainly look up for the fight. However given Warren left mid-season and Niall came in, it is unlikely this stipulation will be followed through if it fails.
Prediction: Stay (5/10)- NULL
- SSC Napoli finish below 10th in Division 1.
- SSC Napoli do not make a cup final in any of the cup competitions.
Napoli are 5th in D1 with 41 points, heading the best of the rest in D1. But they are only 3 ahead of 11th placed Dortmund, which means Rob could find his side slip down the table with a loss of form. They did lose the Cup 1st round to Hamburg, the Shield 2nd round to Bayern and the WCC Ro16 to Bayern again, while they remain in the Youth Cup (Ro16 v Real Madrid) and the SMFA Shield Ro16 vs Guingamp. Their chances of making any final are slim though, which means Rob needs to stay in the top 10 of D1, a fairly plausible outcome.
Prediction: Stay (7/10)- STAY
- Levante UD fail to improve on Season 3 & finish below 15th in Division 5.
- Levante UD fail to improve upon their 40 points total from Season 3.
- Levante UD fail to improve on 33 goals scored from Season 3.
- Levante UD fail to improve on 46 goals conceded from Season 3.
- Levante UD fail to improve the goal difference of -13 from Season 3.
Tom has struggled with Levante for the past few seasons but his loyalty and commitment to the cause has kept him in the same job. In Season 4, he put forward an ambitious stipulation, which he is actually on course to fulfilling. Levante finished 16th in S3, but are currently 6th on 43 points, improving on their S3 total of 40. 16 points separate them from 16th which makes them likely to fulfil that part of the stipulation. Levante have scored 39 goals this season, improving on S3's total of 33, while they have conceded 33 this season. That means they cannot concede more than 13 goals in the last 10 games, a bit of a challenge. With a GD of +6, it is likely they will beat S3's GD of -13. They are on course to gaining a play-off spot (and maybe promotion?) but the stipulation of goals conceded will be the challenge in the last 10 games for Tom, if he wants to keep his job.
Prediction: Stay (5.5/10)- RESIGN (conceded 47 goals)
- Internazionale fail to improve on Season 3 & finish below 12th in Division 2.
- Internazionale fail to improve on 44 goals scored from Season 3.
- Internazionale fail to improve on 43 goals conceded from Season 3.
- Internazionale fail to improve the goal difference of +1 from Season 3.
Along with Tom, Alex may have taken the toughest challenge possible for which credit must be given. While Inter finished 13th last season with 50 points, they are currently 3rd with 48 points, which means one win will see them overtake last season's point tally. 17 ahead of 13th placed Benfica, the place finish will also be bettered. Inter scored 44 goals last season; they are currently on 41; 4 goals will see that be achieved too. While they did concede 43 goals last season, it's 28 goals this season, which means they have to avoid conceding 15 goals in the next 10 games. Lastly, the GD of last season was +1, while it's +13 this season- looking good on that front too. But given the nature of the stipulations, things can change at any time, so Alex faces a task ahead of him. Like with Tom, the conceding goals stipulation will be the challenge.
Prediction: Stay (5.5/10)- STAY
- Valencia finish below 16th in Division 1.
- Valencia fail to improve upon their Season 3 campaign.
Valencia are currently 6th with 40 points, a full 16 ahead of 17th placed Zenit. That makes it very likely that he will keep his job for the next season. In addition, Valencia finished 16th last season which means David is on course to bettering Season 3. He needs 11 more points to overtake last season's tally of 50; with 10 games to go, that should be easily attainable.
Prediction: Stay (8/10)- STAY (but finished 13th with 49 points- position considered?)
- Torino finish below 6th in Division 5.
Torino are 5th at the moment, with 48 points, 5 ahead of 7th placed Malaga. As such, Michael has some breathing room, but a loss of form could add the pressure on him to keep his job. But it looks likely that he will keep his job.
Prediction: Stay (7/10)- STAY
- Bayern finish below 8th in Division 1
- Bayern do not make a cup final in any of the cup competitions
Bayern are leading the game world at the moment, with 74 points, 4 ahead of 2nd placed Barca. A whopping 35 points ahead of 9th placed Chelsea, Gursimran has mathematically secured his job at Munich for the next season and looks good for the title if he can keep up his form. He faces a critical two games now versus Real and Barcelona, which could close or open up the title race. Bayern did lose in the Cup 1st round to CSKA, but are in the Shield final vs Zenit which fulfils both stipulations. They are also in the WCC quarters v Juve and the SMFA Cup Ro16 vs Hannover. Munich could be celebrating come the end of the season.
Prediction: Stay (10/10)- STAY
- Hertha Berlin finish below 11th in Division 5.
Hertha are currently 10th, with 41 points, but they are crucially 6 ahead of 11th placed Koln. That gives them breathing space, and with just a 2 point gap to 6th Levante, they could finish off in the play-off spots. Mark should be able to keep his job barring a collapse.
Prediction: Stay (6/10)- STAY
- Bordeaux finish below 15th in Division 4.
Bordeaux are currently 13th with 33 points, 2 ahead of 16th Zagreb. It's all tight to call at the moment whether Kes will survive his stipulation; only time will tell.
Prediction: Stay (5/10)- STAY
- Crystal Palace finish below 16th in Division 4.
Palace are currently on 16th on 33 points, the same point tally as the four teams above them. 2 ahead of 17th Besiktas, it is a tight end-of-season run for Palace. They could finish anywhere in the lower half; too tight to call now. With a newsfeed ban, The Linder will have to work his socks out to keep his job.
Prediction: Stay (5/10)- STAY
Few statistics regarding goals in the 4th regular season
Last night is finished the fourth regular season and I had a look regarding the goals.
The Division with most goals is Div.1 with 1.071 goal, followed by Div.5 with 966 and Div.3 for the podium with 972 goals.
Div.2 has done 938 goals, while Div.4 scored the last 881 goal for a total of 4.828 goals.
So we have:
Div.1 1071 22,18% (of the total goals in the season)
Div.2 938 19,42%
Div.3 972 20,13%
Div.4 881 18,24%
Div.5 966 20 %
tot. 4828 goals
We played 1900 games in the regular season (10 matches, 5 Divisions, 38 games) for an average of 2,54 goals each singolar game.
If we had 2,54 goals in each game means that any singolar team “should have scored” an average of 1,27 goal/game and close the season with 48,26 goals. The difference between 4828 and 4826 is because of the decimals.
The teams that leaded the goals show in their respective divisions:
Div.1 Bayern 103 (9,6% of the Div.goals) 2,70 goal/game
Div.2 Wolfsburg 62 (6,6%) 1,63
Div.3 Leicester City 67 (6,9%) 1,76
Div.4 Hellas Verona 66 (7,5%) 1,73
Div.5 Santos 72 (7,5%) 1,89
and who less:
Div.1 Shalke and Zenith 31 (2,9% each one,of the Div.goals) 0,81 goal/game
Div.2 Shakhtar Donetsk 34 (3,6%) 0,89
Div.3 Cruzeiro 34 (3,5%) 0,89
Div.4 W.H.U. and Lille 23 (2,6% each one) 0,60
Div.5 RSC Anderlecht 24 (2,4%) 0,63
West Ham United, Lille and RSC Anderlecht scored less than an half of the average.
Regarding the goal difference:
Div.1 Bayern +74 Lazio -46
8 teams with a plus 12 team with a minus in the goals difference
Div.2 Manchester United +21 CSKA Moskva -19
11 teams with a plus 9 teams with a minus
Div.3 Sporting CP +22 Stuttgart -19
10 teams with a plus 10 teams with a minus
Div.4 Hellas Verona +36 Montpellier HSC -25
9 teams with a plus 11 teams with a minus
Div.5 Dynamo Moskva +23 West Bromwich Albion -41
11 teams with a plus 9 teams with a minus
No team has finished the regolar season in perfect balance between goal scored and got.
How much did effect each goal?
Div.1 Borussia Dortmund 40 goals 53 points 1,32 point/goal
Div.2 Everton 49 72 1,47
Div.3 Cruzeiro 34 47 1,38
Div.4 Lille 23 41 1,78 very “heavy” goal but too few to safe.
Div.5 Dynamo Moskva 54 71 1,31
A lot of goals for few points:
Div.1 Lazio 47 goals 22 points 2,13 goals for a point
Div.2 CSKA Moskva 39 34 1,14
Div.3 Stuttgart 36 30 1.20
Div.4 Az Alkmaar 56 52 1,07
Div.5 West Bromwich Albion 37 21 1,76
Best scorer in each division:
Messi 31 goals as much as Shalke and Zenith. 8 goals more (with 3 games less) than Lille and West Ham United.
Yilmaz 23
Ibarbo 19
Dzsudzsak 20
Damiao 21
Why all this? because if my team would have scored just a goal more two games to the end of the regular season, when we lost at home for 1-0, well, we would have been celebrating the promotion right now. One damn goal!
Sorry for any possible mistake.
Marco
Division 4 - Match Day 38 Preview
FENERBAHCE ARE SAFE
VS
After last night's 1-3 win over Aston Villa, The Fannybashers are now safe from relegation. Honda set up Yilmaz on 2 minutes who unleashed a rocket of a shot over the goalkeeper, bagging his 23rd goal of the season. Yilmaz is the leading scorer this year and its unlikely he will be caught. The closest anyone is to his tally of 23 is, Fredy Guarin with 14. Yilmaz is a real contender for Division 2's player of the season with not only his goal tally, but also he has the most MOTM, sitting on 12 with his nearest rival being, Perrin of, Genoa. But their is only one game left.
Honda added a second goal for the Yellow Canaries in the 29th minute with a low curling shot into the bottom Corner, and then he added a third to complete his own brace with a beautiful floated ball into the top corner this time.
Dzeko got the last of the goals but this time for Ben's Aston Villa as he blasted it past Cassilla on the 61st minute. The goal only proved as an early consolation for them as that was the final score and unfortunately relegated them back to division three.
Fenerbahce will be experimenting on Thursday's game to give some of the players that have not really featured a run out.
Ans that's all from MuFfSrEdRaW T.V tonight!
Milan - TREBLE CHAMPIONS
AC Milan fans, players and staff alike have vowed to party all the way to Rome (they face Lazio tomorrow) as their remarkable season continues - after Milan single handily won the World Cup at the beginning of Season 4, they have followed it up with DOUBLE success in the Milan Cup and now the Copa del Duomo - a trophy they won tonight convincingly destroying Inter for the 3rd time in a week to take the coveted trophy.
 |
| The Coppa del Duomo on display outside its home |
TREBLE CHAMPIONS
Balotelli now has a World Cup winners medal, Milan Cup medal and Copa del Duomo to bot. :)
Season 4 - Match Day 37 Preview
Season 4 - Match Day 36 preview
Season 4 - Match Day 35 Preview
FENERBAHCE REVIEW
This season will be one to forget for Bruin, as he was, at the very least expected to finish in the play-off places by his own targets set at the start of the season… Instead he and the fannybashers have had their own fanny’s bashed on several separate occasions, resulting in battling relegation for the second half of the season. Some fans were asking the question why he was even still at the club one month ago, with protests outside the ground every week, but that fell on deaf ears and it soon tailed off.
As one door opens another closes, and that door shut behind a number of players, locking them out the team then eventually out the door for good due to poor performances. Brun was sad to see these players go but knew that for his own job security it had to happen.
A new Fenerbahce was born, brining in new players hoping that would turn Fenerbahce’s fortunes around. Nobody knows what has been put in the water at the Can Bartu Training Facilities but it seems to be working because the Istanbul based outfit’s record as is follow’s: DWLDWD.
Bruin was interviewed by FaNnYbAsHeR MuFfSrEdRaW T.V last night and was asked how he now feels since slowly steadying the ship at The Yellow Canaries. “Its a massive relief for me and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. May I point out please, I take full responsibility for our form in bad times as I’m the manager, and I’m not scared to admit that I made a mistake when our form was bad. The mistake I made was me not looking in the transfer market quicker than I did. The reason for that I think was due to being scared of failing to bring in the right players and bringing down the teams average rating for nothing. Anyway, its all worked out well so far, but a lot can change in a short amount of time in football, but hopefully we can stay up which is looking more and more likely every game. Its funny how our target was the play-off positions but now its staying up. Anyway thats now our target for next season.
Season 4 - Match Day 34 Preview
T100 D5 - Latest Betting from ruts365
After week 36 (Thursday 2nd March) - 2 matches to play
D5 Title
Evs - Santos, Dynamo Moscow
6/4 - Celta Vigo
7/4 - Celtic
Promotion to D4 (3 x auto, 1 x playoffs)
1/2 - Santos, Dynamo Moscow
4/5 - Celta Vigo
4/6 - Celtic
4/7 - Torino
Evs - Hertha Berlin, Malaga
5/4 - Rubin
6/4 - Levante, Brugge
4/1 - Independiente
10/1 - Espanyol
You're FIRED.
On Saturday morning 28th of January, the Fenerbahce manager issued an ultimatum to his players “if you don’t pull your weight you are out the door”. That seemed to do the job as they beat A.S Roma 1-0 on Sunday. After their next result it seemed the players didn’t think that Bruin would go ahead and keep his word about the ultimatum, because when Thursday night arrived, GAME NIGHT, playing Newcastle who were bottom of the league, the result was embarrassing to say the least (no disrespect to Norman) and they were beaten 4-1 at home.
Now as we sit on the 5th of February, just a week after Bruin issued his ultimatum, no less than 7 players have been shown the door. These include, Gonul, Arana, Perrin, Schennikov, Bernard, Coqulin and Praet.
With 7 players leaving, the Fenerbahce fans were nervous to say the least as they were all wondering who would be coming in. Bruin was surely going to bring players in, was he? Soon after Bruin appeased fans and issued a statement saying that “the chairman and I have been working tirelessly day and night to bring the right players in to do the job, players that actually want to play for the shirt and wear it with pride and therefore I can confirm that we have agreed deals for the following players… Ricardo Van Rhijn from Shakhtar, Oscar Duarte from Sunderland, Romain Thomas from Stoke. Bastian Oczipka from Sunderland and our most exciting one for our fans, Erik Lamela from Southampton.
We wish all our new players the very best of luck.
Bruin
Augsburg Announce Ivan Anić as the New Manager
Following the resign of Sherief Razzaque as Augsburg manager, the new man Ivan Anić was quickly appointed afterwards, with president Klaus Hofmann hoping that his new solution can finally prove fruitful for the club.
"I'm sure that Ivan Anić can deliver. The club's current state may be in disarray right now, and I understand that we are welcoming the new manager in slightly poor fashion, but we discussed about it and he is looking forward to the challenge ahead of him. We can't attract superstars and such high profile players, and it's exactly why we decided about expanding our youth network. Mr. Anić has said that he doesn't mind at all and that he is happy to work with younger players, and give them chance to prove themselves under his reign."
Ivan Anić responds to questions from the media about the club, players and the next season
"What are we looking to achieve from the remaining of this season? I'm hoping for the best. Sure I'd like us to win every match from now till the end, but that's nearly impossible. What I'm hoping for, is that we can salvage the situation right now, and move from 19th to somewhere around the 10th place. Play-offs are too far away, but we'll see. It all depends whether the players will cope with me and give their all in each and every match that is out there for us."
Youth Cup Update Ahead of Matchday 10
Groups:
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| Group Tables Prior to Matchday 10 |
Mini Round Up:
Group A: Chelsea have as good as won the group with Anderletcht and Villarreal joining them in the knock outs - but one of them will have to settle for an away tie in round 2 so all to play for on matchday 10.
Group B: A.Madrid have won the group and will be at home in Round 3. Sassuolo and Liverpool will join them with the Italians overwhelming favourites with the bookies as they dont play A.Madrid in the final group game.
Group C: Group won outright by Valencia and Napoli will finish second - both sides though have interesting final day showdowns with Genoa and Arsenal with Genoa currently two points ahead of Arsenal but Genoa without doubt have the more difficult final day fixture.
Group D: This group has changed massively due to managers forgetting to change their teams and forfeting points meaning that Barcelona have won the group outright, but 2nd and 3rd spot are between Sporting, Athletic Club and Celta Vigo with the final game day seeing Celta travel to Athletic Club and Sporting facing already eliminated Club Brugge.
Group E: AC Milan now find themselves in 3rd after dropping points in narrow defeats. Hamburg lead the way, with Flamengo 2nd. For Milan to get any sort of home advantage in the knock outs they need one of the others to drop points which could happen if Inter do them a favour tomorrow night.
Group F: Dortmund are finally clear and have won the group. Levante and Wolfsburg will join them but who will finish 2nd will be decided tomorrow night with both sides having tough matches.
Group H: Real Madrid have won the group, West Ham are currently 2nd and will progress but face Real Madrid in their next match. PSV should be the other side to go through but Roma and Malaga still have outside chance if PSV lose.
Group G: Juventus have turned it around massively to lead the group ahead of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen with Feyenoord going to finish third.
IF I dont get chance to do a "live draw" ON SUNDAY which technologically and timewise is proving difficult in my household/life at the moment the draw will be as follows.
Round 2 - 28th January 2016
2nd in Group A v 3rd in Group B (match 1)
2nd in Group B v 3rd in Group C (match 2)
2nd in Group C v 3rd in Group D (match 3)
2nd in Group D v 3rd in Group E (match 4)
2nd in Group E v 3rd in Group F (match 5)
2nd in Group F v 3rd in Group G (match 6)
2nd in Group G v 3rd in Group H (match 7)
2nd in Group H v 3rd in Group A (match 8)
Round 3 - 4th February 2016
1st Group A v Winner Match 5
1st Group B v Winner Match 6
1st Group C v Winner Match 7
1st Group D v Winner Match 8
1st Group E v Winner Match 1
1st Group F v Winner Match 2
1st Group G v Winner Match 3
1st Group H v Winner Match 4
Inauguration Day
Following a week of sensational results, a 4 – 1 win against top of the league Santos, a 4 – 0 World Club Cup victory over Crystal Palace, and then last night’s 3 – 1 win over Torino, which saw the Spanish side move into the play off zone, manager Tom Parfitt, with the backing of the club’s board and president, has issued the following statement.
“Friends, Spaniards, Countryman, lend me your ears. Huddo, DP, Beddows, Hirst, Paulo Maldini, Silvio Berlusconi, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Machiavelli, Donatello, Splinter, April O’Neill, Pavarotti, your boys took one hell of a beating.
This season we’ve played Torino twice, won one and drawn one. We’ve played Juventus twice, won one and drawn one.
We’ve had other incredible results. We’ve beaten other teams from higher divisions, Crystal Palace and Lyon for example. The youth’s are smashing everybody in their competition.
Obviously though, this all comes down to one thing. Me. I have made some absolute masterstrokes in the transfer market this season. Bringing in Nilmar and Fernandez from Olympiacos was nothing short of genius. They got the job done in Greece last season, and they are doing it again now. I also got shot of Gerrard. I mean that right there is the most incredible piece of transfer dealing in the history of the beautiful game. We get shot, and five minutes later the boy has retired.
It’s not just that though. I made a few tactical adjustments, had a word in a few ears, and got players fulfilling their potential a bit more. Leandro Damiao couldn’t hot a cows arse with a banjo last season, this season he could hit on Scarlett Johanson and get a result. He’s been more deadly than kung fu.
Big Seb Prodl at the back. He came in at the back end of last season, but he got injured early doors after his arrival and barely kicked a ball until pre season. He’s been an absolute Colossus at the back. Honestly, he’s been bigger for us than Ron Jeremy pork sword.
Ivan Ramis. The fans love him. He’s Spanish, he’s the captain, he’s an inspiration to all of them in the crowd. If Ramis can play for the greatest club on this giant football we call Earth, then they can do. He’s mega.
All of this building my players up, buying the right ones, making the most amazing deals going, that’s why I’m being headhunted by clubs like Juventus, AC Milan and Genoa. I won’t be going though, I wouldn’t manage in Italy if my life depended on it. Don’t get me wrong, all three of those clubs have asked me this season, and all three have said to me that their current managers can be made to disappear if I was up for it. Not for me that though, I want to be able to trust the people at the club.
I’ve had Bayern Munich in touch, Barcelona, both Madrid sides, Dortmund, both Manchester clubs, Tottenham, Arsenal, you name them, I’ve had them calling. They have all been told the same though. Yes, I’ll manage at your club, but only when I bring Levante to town. We’ll be in div 1 fairly sharpish now, and if I was at any one of the other 99 clubs in the league, I’d be shitting myself knowing that.
As a direct result of the achievements this season, I will now only accept being referred to as “the most special one of all, the best there ever was, the best there is, the best there ever will be”.
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a bit long, and doesn’t really roll off the tongue, but I think you’ll find it is fitting, and also factual.
I’m going for dinner with the king tonight, Felipe VI, and the queen, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano. I’ve got her on the case, she’s going to knock us up a traditional Spanish dish of meat pit, mash and baked beans. While I’m there, the king is going to let me have a go on her because of the glory I’ve brought to the Country.
Lana is cool with it too. She says I deserve it, and she’ll let me have a go on her as soon as I get in.
With these achievements in mind, I want to close this official club statement by officially declaring this weekend, all next week, and the following weekend a public holiday.
I also want to let our Belgian friends know that due to the disappointment heaped upon their proud country by PMW and Davy, there will be a public holiday in Belgium too, whereby the two managers will be stripped, manacled, chained together and dragged through the streets by Ruts and Hewitt, who will be dressed as Cleopatra and Mark Anthony”
Hertha Berlin, The Season so far
Having failed to make the Division five play off’s in Season three, manager Mark Stewart set about planning for season four.
Stewart’s team planning involved risking the wrath of the fans, as the manager unveiled plans to let favourites Valentin Stocker and Balazs Dzsudzsak go.
Stewart called a fans and press meeting at the training ground to explain his decision stating that although Dzsudzsak had been a fantastic servant to the club time was not on his side, and a deal had been pre agreed to bring young Japanese attacking player Yoshinori Muto to the club in exchange.
The manager also unveiled plans to let Stocker go in exchange for Italian war horse Andrea Poli, He went on to explain that Poli would solve the right back problem and Muto although not at the level of Dzsudzsak would bring quality and potential to the side.
The only other major signings were Wes Morgan - who joined in exchange for Helder Costa and Luca Bergomi from Besiktas and Sergio Oliveira for £5.2m from Gil Vicente. Stewart was quick to point out that Oliveira was not expected to see much game time but he hoped that the Portuguese midfielder would improve and challenge for a place in the future.
The Season
Hopes were high at Olympiastadion after a decent pre season and Stewart publicly stating that the club would guarantee finish 10th or above. In true Berlin fashion they started just as they did in season three with two defeats.
Fortunately things turned around and Berlin managed to win their next four games setting a new club record. Things then went sour for the Germans as they started dropping points regularly. By match day 19 the club had dropped to eleventh in the table.
Desperate to change things Stewart moved in the transfer market to bring in Willy Caballero from RCD Espanyol for £4m. Since bringing in the Argentine stopper things have improved, Berlin recorded a good 0-0 draw away to promotion chasing Independiente, then followed that up with wins against Brugge and West Brom, and most recently an away draw to fellow play off hopeful’s Cologne.
With fifteen games to play the fans still have faith in the manager and will go all out to try and make the play off spots.
The Players
Stewart said about the players “overall I have been pretty happy with the squad and have compiled an update about our key performers which is listed below.
Wissam Ben Yedder - hasn’t yet repeated his form of last season but seven goals and three assists to date isn’t a bad return, and I have full confidence in the lad firing regularly before the end of the season. In real life Ben Yedder has been scintillating for Seville where he has scored 15 times in 20 games (cups included) after seeing the recent reviews I was disappointed he only got a plus one rise to 89, but I’m sure that 90 rating isn’t to far away”.
Luis Muriel - The mercurial Colombian has carried on improving on from last season and has seven goals and four man of the match awards, He offers us versatility being able to play attacking midfield or up front. I’m mystified as to why there was no ratings rise as he has been very good in real life amidst being the subject of much transfer speculation, hopefully he will rise to 89 at the end of the season.
John Terry - the club captain has continued to improve after a below average start to his career in Berlin and has really settled in well alongside Wes Morgan, His three team of the week awards have shown his value and he has said he will battle to the end to help get Berlin up.
Florian Thauvin - the flying French winger continues to wow the fans and has weighed in with four goals, seven assists and two man of the match awards already this season, He is the creative spark in the engine and is indispensible to the team at present. In real life he has been in fantastic form back in Marseille and if he can keep it up a ratings rise and call up to the French national side may well be a possibility.
Vladimir Darida - The lad disappointed overall in season three and halfway into season four he hadn’t lived up to expectations. I called a meeting with him and to instill confidence informed him I was making him set piece taker. That was seven games ago and in that period the Czech dynamo has scored four times, assisted once and made the team of the week. Like John Terry, Darida is respected and valued by his peers and now his confidence is back he will be key in driving the team on which I’m sure he will do.
Walter Gargano - the midfield powerhouse has carried on his good form from the end of last season and he is having the best season of his career statistically. The Uruguayan has so far weighed in with four goals, five assists, three man of the match and four team of the week awards. He adds steel in the centre of the park and has a bullet shot when he gets the chance to go forward, I hope he will stay with us until the end of his career, as an exemplary professional he sets a great example to the younger players.
Looking Forward
With fringe players like Sergio Oliveira, Scott Hogan and Charlie Taylor all looking to have great careers ahead of them the foundations have been laid. Obviously promotion is the clubs aim but the division is very tough this year with everyone capable of beating everyone. I dont envisage any transfer activity between now and the end of the season, and as usual I will review the squad then and make the necessary changes. I have taken the club to my heart since being appointed and as long as I’m able to I’ll continue putting in the hours and striving to get the club up the divisions and make the fans proud.