a massive game for us this evening ended in a 1-0 loss to dynamo kyiv. its a great which pretty much told the tale of our season. we had more possession and more shots on target but yet again the players failed to put the ball in the back of the net.


its been a up and down season for us with many good points and bad points 2 seasons in the play off means we have consolidated our position in division 4 after a promotion under Alex.

this evening i spoke to the chairman and told him i would be leaving the club. arguably I've walked before being pushed as 2 chances in the play offs should of at least resulted in a play off final at the least.

 its now the right time to move on and hand over to someone new in the hope they can take the club one step further to division 3.

i move on to a new challenge and should be appointed within the next few hours.

Little explains his reason to leave SM

wow what a night it was on the final night of season 4 for us.with us 3 points clear of 8th and 3 goals clear of Bordeaux and and a further 7 goals in front of stoke city. i had a decision to make.

i felt with Bordeaux playing high scoring fc Basel that the 3 goal advantage would be enough.i expected to lose to stoke as they were in form.so looking ahead to the play offs i made 10 changes to the side.

the players were given a chance to prove to me they deserved to play in the play offs and that massively backfired as we got spanked 5-1 by stoke,thankfully for us Bordeaux did concede at Basel going down 2-1. and stoke coming within just 3 more goals of knocking us out of the play offs.


thankfully things payed of and we secured a second straight finish in the play offs since i took over at olympiacos. we now face a tricky game against dynamo kyiv in the play off semi final.



                                                             team news

i think with all things considered the whole first team will be replaced with my main players all coming back in. with us playing away in the first leg. more pressure is on dynamo kyiv with home advantage.with my players having extra rest i'm hoping that will be enough to take us through to the final. nothing is guaranteed in the play offs as we no.


reports have of course surfaced along with many others with the t100 merry go round of a possible move to manage elsewhere. my future as already been decided and will be made clear after the play offs. my focus is to get these bunch of guys promoted into the 3rd tier.

Manchester United tonight unveiled their new manager, Greg Owen, in a move which shocked the football world.

Owen, who was expected to continue in his successful tenure as manager of Wolfsburg after successfully taking the team into Division 1 for the first time, was unexpectedly announced at a press conference at Old Trafford earlier today.

 Greg Owen also posed for photos win the gaffer’s seat in the dugout, where he was asked about his plans for the team.

“I want to take United back to the top. Look, this is the biggest brand in football and we should be on top, or at least challenging for the top spot. I think we’ve got a good squad, but it probably needs a little tweaking”.

When asked about his former charges at Wolfsburg, he added, “You have to look seriously at somebody like Cesc Fabregas. The guy is a leader and for me he was the standout in the division. He carried that team on many occasions and if the opportunity came up to have him in my team again, well I’d jump at it”.

Owen was somewhat cagey about his goals for the upcoming season, but did say that he was a big fan of managerial stipulations and would be once again committing to some serious targets in Season 6.

Over recent days the FRANKBET odds on Beddows moving on from Milan have fallen faster than than Rahul's season at Man Utd - but where is the greatest manager in T100 destined to go - which of the big clubs is his preference?

Obviously as was completely expected Beddows has had call after call after call from Frank - 15 voicemail's asking for a decision as to which of the big clubs he fancies! So many emails that he has had to move Frank's email address to SPAM - even DP has championed his great rival in trying to convince him to take on the Bayern job!

It has been a decision which has completely torn at Beddows' heart and scenes across the city of Milan have resembled London during the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 - mass outbreak of grief, inconsolable grown men standing looking desolate in front of the Duomo - children asking their parents what will happen if Beddows left - would there be a future?

And that is not half of it - the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, has announced that if Beddows leaves a mass funeral will be held and the city will go into 26 days of mourning, businesses will close down, schools will shut and the city will remember the great work that Beddows has achieved.

But what of the great man himself.

Well this morning at 8am CET news broke from the official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of AC Milan!

Within only a few hours this has been retweeted 19,959 times and liked an incredible 79,590 but what has led to this decision Beddows explained that it was another T100 who helped him make the decision as the two met recently for an important business meeting which yielded a historic deal who was that manager?

Brugge boss Davy Vandendriessche in his match day clothes

In late July 2017 in "real life" Beddows and his daughter travelled to Holland to watch the women's Euros and as part of the trip Beddows arranged an important business meeting on a Dutch beach to discuss future transfer arrangements between Milan and Brugge.

On Breskens beach in South Holland the two great managers make a great deal

After an hour of discussions the Treaty of Breskens Beach was agreed: (1) the two clubs shall share scouting knowledge (2) Brugge will have the pick of all AC Milan loans (3) AC Milan shall have the pick of ALL Brugge players (4) Brugge will take part in the Milan Cup for Season 6 and Season 7

The deal was agreed with a friendly football match between England/Italy (v) Belgium/Holland (Beddows' daughter is half Italian) and (Davy's children were born in Holland but go to school in Belgium)

Beddows and Vandendriessche children enjoyed playing football on the beach

The two great managers then decided to travel to Belgium where Beddows has a surprise for Davy as he felt the historic agreement (see above) was a little to one sided and Beddows' generosity is one that knows no bounds as he surprised Davy with a present - a new club bus for Brugge for season 6.

Beddows arrives in Belgium

Beddows can be seen below presenting Club Brugge with a new club bus for the sum of €20 - a man who is always keen to help!


The business meeting then ended in a Belgian beach resort of Blankenberge eating waffels, drinking beer and paddling in the sea - basically being a very British tourist!

Beddows in Blankenberge

What of the new season for Milan - well there might actually be some movement in the transfer market nothing major but we will wait until after the SMFA Shield final on Tuesday. Do we want to go down - staying up AGAIN will be a great achievement but building a team minus Barzagli and a few others in Division Two would be a nice project - in Division One we can't afford to sell our highest rated players as the standard across the division is just too high - in Division two we might be able to do that and not have to worry about the threat of being "sacked".

We would also like to try and play two up front and give game time to Andrea Petagna - but all of this for next season - ideal scenario we go down and win the cup final! But dont worry I will try my very best to stay up as I would love to relegate Michael H ;)

Third placed Sampdoria face what you might think would be a tricky task in Moscow at the home of the champions. But with CSKA having nothing to play for, and with a relatively poor home record to boot, I fancy Samp and Gareth Crisp to grab the three points that will guarantee them automatic promotion.
In the remaining games, Josh McMillan's Saint Etienne are guaranteed a playoff place, but would need two or three of the four clubs currently above them to lose, for victory against Hamburg to give them automatic promotion. Do they go all out for victory on the off-chance of going up, or save their first team for the playoffs? At full strength, and with a strong home record, I fancy ASSE to hold on for a draw and crush Hamburg's hopes of sneaking into the final playoff place.

RJ Alston's Galatasaray, meanwhile, face local Istanbul rivals Besiktas. Even if Hamburg fail to win, Gala still need three points to guarantee the final playoff spot. While they have a great away record, I can't see anything other than a draw here, too!


That just leaves Bob 'Groucho' Sal's Sassuolo to beat Cruzeiro - the worst team in the division on current form - to snatch the final playoff spot right at the death! (I'd bet actual money on this result, which - unfortunately for Aston Villa - means even victory over Newcastle will not be enough for them.)

If results go as I predict (which is about as likely as Hamburg winning the league), the final table will look something like this:


One interesting scenario that could play out in this case, is a rerun of Thursday's big game between Athletic Club and Hellas Verona in the Playoff Final!

Best of luck to all involved.

Tonight was more than just a semi-final - it has the sense of a goodbye, an ending, the final words that a manager speaks to his staff before departing for pastures new - but it turned out to be nothing of the sort or was it????





After destroying Chelsea, the most in form team since Preston North End in the 1880's, 1-0 to progress to a MAJOR final the SMFA Shield next week Beddows took to the field to address his adoring public.

"We are here today to celebrate a great moment in Milan history - we have reached a major final for the first time ever!"

CHEERS FROM THE CROWD...



"But alas all great things do not last and it is with a heavy heart that I share this news with my beloved public that this morning at exactly 10am BOTH the Bayern and Manchester United boards sent me text messages asking me to become their new manager in Season 6!"

STUNNED SILENCE IN THE STADIUM REMINISCENT OF THE MOMENT OF CHARLES I EXECUTION IN 1649...

"I know that you all adore me so much and this decision will be the most difficult in all the history of T100 history!"

"I have to tell you now that no response of any kind has been sent to either Munich or Manchester - but at this time, consequently it is possible that these are my final moments in charge of AC Milan!"

GASPS AND TEARS FILL THE STADIUM

"You can imagine what a difficult decision now awaits me and yet I respect that the long struggle to win safety and victory awaits prior to any major decision. Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more that I could have done and that would have made me more successful that I have already achieved at Milan."

"Up until the very last it might be quite possible that I depart for Munich or Manchester - but I will dedicate my honorable position of dedication to Milan! Even if Frank will not have it even if Munich and Manchester demand my immediate loyalty I will not have it - to Milan I am yours!"

"I give to you my heart and my complete commitment for the next 7 days at the very least.What will happen afterwards I do not know, I cannot foresee the future - but whatever will happen - whatever level of victory we shall achieve in the next 7 days we at Milan will strive to make you, our fans so proud! So grateful of the work of our players and your management team!"

MASS CHEERS AROUND THE SAN SIRO...

James Mckenzie was seen himself in tears!

Well, here we are. One more round of Top 100 in Season 5. So for those of you not directly involved – and therefore probably not following quite as closely as those of us in the thick of it – here’s a quick summary of the fixtures and implications in the final matches.

Top of the League

Barring an amazing turn of events, Villarreal look to have the division title sewn up. A great run through the second half of the season has seen them rise to the top and maintain that lead. Barring a loss to Zenit, and a big win by chasers Atletico Madrid to overcome a five goal difference, Villarreal will take the title and move up to Division 1 in Season 6.

Atletico Madrid will join them, but the race for 3rd place – and the final automatic promotion placing – is wide open. Two rounds ago, Inter Milan looked to have it sewn up, but a couple of poor results from Alex’s side opened the door to a late run from Wolfsburg – who defeated both Atletico Madrid and Villarreal to move back into 3rd with a 1 point lead over Inter. So winner takes all in the final round, with both teams facing sides battling relegation and desperate for the points to keep them in Division 2 – Wolfsburg at home to Swansea and Inter Milan hosting Sporting CP.

Prediction – Villarreal 1st, Atletico Madrid 2nd, Wolfsburg 3rd (What? You didn’t think I was going to back myself??)

Playoff Contention

Joining either Wolfsburg or Inter Milan in the playoffs will be Sunderland, and two out of Bayer Leverkusen, Genoa and Benfica. While Bayer Leverkusen and Genoa have the edge over Benfica (55 points vs 52 points), Genoa face a tough trip to Sunderland, while Benfica are away to bottom-placed Sevilla and already have a 1 goal advantage over Genoa which could prove crucial in a loss/win combination. Leverkusen meanwhile host 19th-placed Olympique Lyonnais who are already confirmed relegated, although they have caused a number of upsets during the season. So the pressure goes on Genoa manager Frank Hirst to make it into the playoffs, while Tom Parfitt may well back himself for a late charge into the top level of Top100.

Prediction – Inter Milan 4th, Sunderland 5th, Bayer Leverkusen 6th, Benfica 7th (with Frank Hirst’s team bottling it and coming 8th on goal difference in their current form slump with only 2 points in the last four games)

Bottom of the League

While three of the four relegation spots have been confirmed – Spartak Moskva, Olympique Lyonnais and Sevilla – the battle to stay up remains wide open with 17th-placed Schalke only 2 points behind four teams: Fiorentina, Fenerbache, Swansea and Sporting CP. Even Southampton, thinking they should be safe in 12th spot with 46 points, have a mathematical possibility of being dragged into relegation contention thanks to their very poor goal difference of -12!

But for any of that to be interesting, Schalke need a win as they host 9th-placed Lazio to bring the other permutations into play. The sides played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the season in a very even game, but if Schalke can create the number of chances that they did in that encounter they stand a chance of an upset and put real pressure on the five teams above them.

As already stated above, Swansea and Sporting CP face a tough battle against top four sides Wolfsburg and Inter Milan. In the event of a Schalke win against Lazio, it’s most likely that the fourth relegated side will come from these two, and Sporting are the most vulnerable with a -17 goal difference (vs -13 for Swansea), which might just be enough of a distinction to see them go down.

If the football gods are smiling on all of Schalke, Sporting and Swansea - and they all somehow win - then the match between Fenerbache and league leaders Villarreal becomes a survival struggle for the Turkish side. Fenerbache would need a win, with a draw most likely sending them down on goal difference with Schalke staying up.

In a similar vein of outside possibilities, Fiorentina and Southampton have an outside chance of being dragged into the relegation scrap, but only if all four of the sides below them win – with three of those matches being against top four sides in the division!

Prediction – Sporting CP 17th (sorry Mr Dinosaur!), Spartak Moskva 18th, Olympique Lyonnais 19th, Sevilla 20th with Schalke beating Lazio and staying up.

Conclusion

So some great games in the final round with a lot still riding on it for the managers involved. I have a “promotion or die” clause in his managerial stipulations, and that makes automatic promotion a real bonus for him; Alex McLean at Inter has been talking big all season and needs to back it up with a final round result or face the playoff scrap for the last promotion place. And at the other end of the spectrum Ian D is fighting for survival in Division 2 in a must-win for Schalke, whilst Mr Dinosaur and Lee Adams are looking over their shoulders to see what happens.