Division 4 Round 5 Review

Division 4, Round 5 Review


Morning Guys, Well the World cup sprung back into life since the last review on here. Some great games/moments. England knocking Panama for 6 without getting out of 2nd gear, Panama forgetting how to defend. The end to Group B was mental, in space of a few minutes Spain went from going out to winning the group, we had the great Kroos winner for Germany against a Sweden side who bottled it big time. Last night we had Argentina fighting for their life against Nigeria, great goal from Messi and the unexpected winner from Rojo ensured they and Maradona can continue entertaining us for another couple of days at least. Uruguay V Portugal and France V Argentina already a great start to the next round of fixtures. 

Away to Division 4 now....

MARSEILLE 0 LEVANTE 3
Levante continued their fine start to the season with their 4th win on the bounce away to a crestfallen Marseille side who have now failed to score in 4 consecutive games. Marseille had already been given a scare when Gignac fired against the post before Levante took the lead just before the break, Gignac turning provider dropping the ball off to Milik who smashed a shot past Bono. Marseille briefly rallied after the break but Koubek twice saved well from Antonio and Rongier before Rafinha scored with an outrageous long range effort after Milik had headed the ball back to him. On 81 Sanchez wrapped up the points after Milik had provided his 2nd assist of the game, His low shot just out the reach of Bono. Top of the table Levante bubbling along quite nicely at the minute.

OLYMPIAKOS 0 TORINO 1
Torino kept their unbeaten start to the season going with a tidy 1-0 win away from home. The first half was an end to end affair, Tevez twice found himself in good positions for Olympiakos but after firing his first chance high and wide his second was saved by Zieler. Mandanda in the away goal was just as busy saving well from Zabaleta and Fuchs. The second half was only 25 seconds in when the only goal of the game arrived, Negredo drifted wide and curled in a fantastic ball into the box which Gomez strolled on to and curled the ball into the top corner. That's as good as it got in terms of any quality action as Torino shut up shop and were in no mood to surrender the points. 

ESPANYOL 1 FC BASEL 2
Fc Basel climbed to 3rd after inflicting Espanyol's 2nd successive defeat. The Swiss side bossed the opening period and found themselves 1 up after 16 minutes, Kalou caused problems for the Espanyol defence and flicked the ball out to Jorgensen who hit an early shot past Handanovic. Aspas created the 2nd after 38 minutes with a sweeping 40 yard pass over the static defense for Susaeta to drill a shot first time past the despairing Handanovic who despite getting a hand to it was helpless to stop it. Espanyol 2-0 behind at HT for 2nd game running. Alcacer had halved the deficit just after the break, Lima provided a fantastic ball which left Alcacer with just the keeper to beat and he did that confidently, Sirigu left with little chance. Despite the goal it was Basel who continued to threaten and Natcho allowed his frustrations get the better of him launching into a two footed lunge which took Lima clean off his feet. Red card and the end of Espanyol's chances. Aspas almost made it 3 late on after smashing a free kick against the post on 88 but it wasn't stopping Basel picking up a fine 3 points.

SWANSEA 2 COLOGNE 1
Swansea rise to 4th after coming from behind to register successive wins. Santini had the Germans ahead on 12 minutes, rising highest to meet Juardo's corner and heading past Marchesin. The lead lasted just 3 minutes though as Linetty met a delicious Pizarro free kick with a sweet half volley. The comeback was complete before HT, there seemed little danger when Seferovic knocked the ball up to Kashia who then hit a stunning long range shot from 30 yards which flew past Arrizabalaga in goal.Cologne suffered a further blow on 49 minutes when Grillitsch received a straight red after a shocking knee high challenge on Adriano. It however was Cologne who created the best efforts after the red card. Santini twice denied his second of the game after good saves from Marchesin and in the end Swansea held on for a nervy 3 points. 

AZ ALKMAAR 1 BOCA JUNIORS 0
AZ maintained their unbeaten start with a very drab 1-0 win over hapless Boca. The game saw very little in way of any real chances of note until late in the 2nd half when Haps received the ball from Aquino and lashed a unstoppable drive past Moya. Boca rallied after the goal but twice Burgstaller wasted golden opportunities to get Boca level, failing to test Romero in the Alkmaar goal after twice receiving fine lay off's from Mehmedi. In fact Romero didn't have a shot to save all game such was the wastefulness in front of goal from Boca. 

CELTA VIGO 2 CRYSTAL PALACE 3
In the game of the day Celta suffered their first defeat of the season despite having the greater possession of the ball. Arnautovic had Vigo off to the perfect start heading home from Sissoko's whipped corner. Albrighton on 21 had Palace level and what a free kick. 25 yards out he drilled a shot under the jumping wall which left Ulreich stranded, great imagination from Albrighton. Just 3 minutes after the break and Palace were ahead, Keane brought the ball out of defence and played a decent ball to Cork who noticed Ulreich off his line and struck a lovely lobbed effort past the keeper. The lead lasted just 8 minutes though, Arnautovic holding off 3 defenders to lay a ball back to Feghouli who slotted home. Vigo continued their policy of subbing their keeper but it proved fruitless this time as Cech was caught cold just 3 minutes after replacing Ulreich, a lovely free kick was whipped in wide from Albrighton and Soldado rose to head home after Cech was caught in no mans land. Palace taking a great 3 points. 

CRUZEIRO 0 DNIPRO 2
Back to back wins for Dnipro here as they recorded a comfortable win over Cruzeiro. There had been little between the teams before Dnipro took the lead on 30 minutes, Freuler went on a mazy run into the Cruzeiro box before unselfishly passing to Andre who slotted home from 6 yards out. The lead was doubled on 58 minutes after a bit pin ball in the box cabral stuck out a toe to divert the ball into Latza's path who drilled a great effort past Marinato in the home goal. Dnipro had chances to make the scoreline more convincing but will be delighted with their 3 points in the bag.

AS MONACO 1 DINAMO ZAGREB 0
Monaco picked up their 2nd win of the campaign but again will be wondering just how they didn't win by a more convincing margin. Zagreb had started the better side and Fofana had tested Reina before Eysseric and Alvarez struck efforts wide in the first 15 minutes. That was as good as it got for Zagreb as Monaco took full control over matters. Gundogan had chances to grab the opening goal in the first half but was denied by Bizot before flicking a chance wide when it seemed easier to score. Alvarez took one for the team just after the break as Higuain broke clear he cynically chopped him down from behind. No need for VAR here as the ref correctly showed him the red card. Gundogan made them pay just a few minutes later with a fine free kick which he despatched into the huge gap Bizot had left him, his 4th goal of the season. Bizot made great saves from Higuain and Palomino to prevent a more damaging defeat. 

PARTIZAN 0 STOKE 0
If you left early in this match, and plenty did, you missed all the action (lol) in the last 10 minutes as both teams finally realised they had a game to win. In a completely drab affair Partizan maintained their unbeaten run but were held to a 4th successive draw. The last 10 minutes saw all the action, Viviano saving well from both Femina and Guedes to preserve the unbeaten run, whilst at the other end Quagliarella and Rosales were denied by Zoet. A game neither side deserved to win and fans were just relieved to hear the FT whistle. 

ATALANTA 1 ASTON VILLA 2
Atalanta lost the battle at the bottom after a lackluster performance against a team reduced to 10 men just 47 seconds in to the game. Gnagnon receiving a straight red after elbowing debutant Zubeldia, a shocking act of violence. It was obvious to Villa's tactics as just 4 minutes in and they could of been down to 9!! Halstenberg going in strong on Guerrero which incensed the home dugout. The mood in the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia didn't improve as just 10 minutes in and Son tumbled over a leg and won a soft free kick, Teodorczyk stepped up and curled into the top corner leaving Subasic grasping thin air. Lascelles again tested the patience of the ref on 19 minutes with a fierce challenge on Merino, it was clear Villa were determined to get in the face of Atalanta. On 25 minutes more frustration as Giaccherini found himself in a great position after Merino had played him through but his effort smacked the crossbar. Only 3 minutes later and finally some relief for Atalanta as Eremenko got on the end of Rodriquez knock down to drill home. Surely the 11 men would take control?? Well no we didn't and Villa had themselves 2-1 up at HT after VAR awarded a penalty after some shirt pulling from a corner, Teodorczyk sending Subasic the wrong way for his 5th of the season. The 2nd half was played out with little action on the pitch, the only thing of not happened off the field as fans protested against manager Norman Little, 'LITTLE OUT' AND 'LITTLE SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT' were the only flags we can print in this family edition review. No win in 5 for Atalanta as Villa secure their first win of the season. 

 
 Levante hit top spot with Torino and Basel following. Villa move out the relegation zone after their first win of the season. Boca and Atalanta continue their poor start to the season. 





Gundogan and Kruse leading the way in MOTM awards.


Teodorczyk and Santini leading with 5 goals in 5 games. 
Gundogan just behind on 4 goals.









Atalanta got their T100 cup campaign off and running and it will be no surprise to anyone when I say we lost. A much changed side were given the run around in the first half away to fellow Division 4 side and were 3-0 at HT despite Ndiaye seeing red for the home side on 34. The 2nd half was a bit of an improvement against 10 men and goals from Matheusinho and Andone give some sort of hope but the 10 men of Vigo finished the game stronger despite their numerical disadvantage. 3-2 win for Vigo and Atalanta can look forward to increased pressure from their suffering fans.

Dnipro and Basel next in the league for Atalanta sandwiching a youth cup game against Vigo. It could get worse before it gets better. 

Gentle reminder to anyone reading to make sure if you are in the youth cup to fully set up your fixtures, if you are missing requests PM the manager to sort it. 

Thanks for reading. 

Norman

Season 8 Division 3 Stats and facts

Division 3 season 8 stats and facts. Current top 8 have 7/8 best attacking lines in D3 enough said or is there and alternative.

Well yes!. The top 5 are also 5 out of the 7 highest ranked teams and the top 8 only has only one side ranked lower than 9 and nothing less than 11th.

Andelecht sit a cut above the rest statistically. Strong at the back strong in defence , good midfield.

Southampton have a similar squad but with a little more depth and must look to make a long term challenge as injuries could hit home to Anderlecht. Liege have a powerful midfield and sit 3rd at the moment. CSKA also have a squad with few weaknesses at D3 level.  Hellas in 4th also use the midfield to strangle other teams . You will need 220 to survive in D2 so the current top 8 must be the favourites for promotion, others have work to , as if promoted they will surely get relegated the next season.

Last season the top 3 sides all had a rating above 220 so that seems to be the cut off. 

I haven't forgotten the current worthy leaders ST Etienne, shows what a potent attack can achieve, no other real strength , they are a one trick team, bnt if that trick works why not?

In addition Dynamo Kiev possible relegation bound have also got off to a good start.

As for relegation in general you are looking at 217 - 218.6 level , that means there are a broad range of teams at threat of the drop.  

At least at the moment it looks like a long season for Chievo, PSV and Lyon have the strength to pull themselves away,  this will also drop Fenerbarche and Shaktar into the lower reaches. 


 GK DEF MID ATT Top18 Ave
ETOT
RSC Anderlecht 89.0 89.3 90.5 91.5 86.0 89.3
224.28
Southampton 89.0 89.3 89.8 90.0 87.0 89.0
222.82
Standard Liège 89.0 87.8 90.0 90.5 87.0 88.9
222.15
CSKA Moskva 89.0 88.3 89.3 89.5 87.0 88.6
221.30
Hellas Verona 89.0 87.3 90.3 89.0 87.0 88.5
220.97
Hamburg 89.0 89.0 88.3 89.0 86.0 88.3
220.65
Sampdoria 88.0 88.8 88.5 89.0 85.0 87.9
220.41
Leicester City 88.0 88.3 88.3 89.0 86.0 87.9
219.93
PSV 88.0 87.8 88.8 89.0 86.0 87.9
219.93
Olympique Lyonnais 87.0 88.0 88.0 88.5 85.0 87.3
218.97
Sunderland 89.0 87.3 88.0 88.5 86.0 87.8
218.73
AS Saint-Etienne 87.0 87.0 87.3 90.0 86.0 87.5
218.66
São Paulo FC 88.0 87.8 87.3 89.0 85.0 87.4
218.61
Shakhtar Donetsk 89.0 87.8 87.8 88.0 86.0 87.7
218.60
Fenerbahçe SK 88.0 87.0 87.5 89.0 85.0 87.3
218.21
Lokomotiv Moskva 89.0 87.3 88.0 87.5 86.0 87.6
218.08
Dynamo Kyiv 87.0 88.0 88.0 86.5 86.0 87.1
217.79
Spartak Moskva 87.0 87.5 87.8 87.5 85.0 87.0
217.72
Athletic Club 87.0 87.0 87.8 87.5 85.0 86.9
217.32
Chievo Verona 87.0 86.0 88.5 87.5 85.0 86.8
217.12

Daily Hamburger: Winning De Ligt

Basking in the glow of a long overdue first league win of the season, The Daily Hamburger is back to shed new light on old news…


  • Sunday's win in Bilbao
  • Bayern Bother?
  • Old UI vs New UI
  • The Best Midfielder in Serie B

Three Points in the San Mames


Hamburg recorded their first win of the season, at the fifth time of asking, with a comfortable 2-1 victory against Athletic Club in Bilbao.


Abel Hernandez scored after two minutes, justifying his selection ahead of Mathieu Valbuena, and Man of the Match Artiz Aduriz made up for his 14th minute penalty miss with what proved to be the winner from substitute Valbuena's precision pass.


In truth, it could have been 5-0 after half an hour, such was der Dino's superiority.



De Ligt at the End of the Tunnel




Last week we proudly announced the loan signing of Bayern Munich starlet Enes Unal for our upcoming Youth Cup campaign. 

Young Enes responded so well to training with a proper manager that he was going to be on the bench for the Athletic match. 

But Bavarian spies reported back to Bayern boss ruts, who soon put a stop to that, claiming that he made a mistake and wanted Unal for his own Youth Cup challenge, after all.

'To be fair to ruts, he did offer Dominic Solanke in exchange, but with Vinicius Junior, joining Antonio Vutov and Richario Zivkovic in attack, I felt we needed a better balance for the side,' droned der Dino coach Marsden.

'I'm a bit worried about ruts.

He announced he would step down at the start of the season, and the players are playing like they know it.

He got drunk before the game on Saturday and forgot what team he picked.

Then, he's moaning this morning about only having ten of the world's best players, when last week he had ten of the world's best players!'

The week culminated with the stunning acquisition of teenage centre back Mattijs de Ligt from Arsenal.

Young de Ligt is likely to feature in League and Cup games with the first team squad, as well as the Youth Cup.


Out With the Old




Talking of teenagers, Manager Marsden made a schoolboy error last week.


Sick of the intrusive, stupid and unwanted attention of SM's new 'improved' page-swallowing privacy notice, and slow unresponsive new UI, he switched back to using the old UI.


Put a bid in like everyone else for Portuguese starlet Ramario Baro, went to make a cup of milky tea, and sat back flicking through some of his favourite magazines, waiting for his bid to be accepted, and the lottery of the actual signing to be completed.



He even went to the trouble of off-loading the best midfielder in Serie B, just in case.


Then, Bam! It hit him. The old UI free agent maximum transfer bug!











Gaston Brugman


It was with great sadness that Hamburg had to say goodbye to the Best Midfielder in Serie B at the weekend.

We wish Gaston all the best and hope that he can find a new club in Top 100, soon, as we are sure he has a great future, and potential to improve.




Division 2 Season 8 stats and facts

Division 2 season 8 stats and facts.

2 Italian teams lead the pack and 2 more are set to be relegated.

Official health warning.

This is a purely statistical analysis of the teams in division 2.  While I may add a comment or two to make a good read, this in no way reflects on the managerial or squad building ability of any manager.

AC Milan are a point and a half above any other team, they could easily finish mid table in division 1. They have a higher rating than any promoted D2 or relegated D1 team last season. Should be a walk in the park or would be if it were not for Genoa.

Genoa with Salah and Firmino a little weaker at the back than AC but much stronger up top.  These must be the top 2 . 

A rating of around 223 will be needed to survive D1 so any team from Valencia up could challenge for promotion , Ajax with their strong keeper could be favourites , while Moenchengladbach who lack depth could disappoint, with Benfica also needing to reinforce between the sticks.

Zenit could be a great cup side , with their keeper backing up the capable reserve team.

 With the exception of Southampton the relegated teams had a rating of 220 or less. The relegation scrap this year should be more intense with 6 or more teams at real risk of the drop.

Celtic currently well over performing must be the favourites. Little back up , weak keeper at the moment, most teams will fancy their chances,  although some could risk a weakened side which would be a mistake. 

Two of my old sides sit statistically in the lower 4 ,  both managers have a big job to do with Sporting looking especially vunerable, although they have got off to fair starts.


 GK DEF MID ATT Top18 Ave
ETOT Epr
AC Milan 89.0 91.5 91.8 92.5 87.0 90.4
227.85 1
Genoa CFC 89.0 89.0 92.0 93.0 87.0 90.0
226.37 2
Atlético Madrid 89.0 90.0 90.5 90.5 88.0 89.6
224.47 3
Ajax 90.0 89.8 90.5 90.5 87.0 89.6
224.27 4
Wolfsburg 89.0 90.3 90.5 90.0 87.0 89.4
224.22 5
Monchengladbach 90.0 89.5 90.5 90.5 86.0 89.3
223.95 6
SL Benfica 87.0 89.8 90.0 90.5 87.0 88.9
223.51 7
Valencia CF 89.0 89.8 89.3 90.5 87.0 89.1
223.15 8
Villarreal CF 88.0 89.5 90.0 88.5 86.0 88.4
222.01 9
H. Berlin 88.0 88.8 89.3 90.0 87.0 88.6
221.90 10
Sassuolo 88.0 89.3 88.5 90.0 87.0 88.6
221.70 11
Hoffenheim 88.0 88.5 90.0 88.0 86.0 88.1
220.88 12
Newcastle United 88.0 88.5 89.0 89.0 87.0 88.3
220.85 13
SS Lazio 89.0 87.8 88.8 89.0 86.0 88.1
220.05 14
Celtic 85.0 88.0 88.8 89.5 85.0 87.3
219.98 15
Zenit Saint Petersburg 91.0 88.5 88.3 88.0 87.0 88.6
219.96 16
ACF Fiorentina 88.0 87.3 89.3 88.5 85.0 87.6
219.49 17
Internazionale 89.0 87.3 88.5 89.0 86.0 88.0
219.45 18
Sporting CP 87.0 87.0 89.0 88.5 86.0 87.5
219.09 19
Galatasaray SK 88.0 87.3 88.3 88.0 86.0 87.5
218.48 20

Division 4, Round 4 Review

Division 4 Round 4 Review

Hey Guys, welcome to the latest rumblings of going on's in Division 4.

Before I get cracking just a few comments on the World Cup, It's been a strange tournament so far. Goals in every game but I feel the last few days of action has been hard viewing. I enjoyed last nights Serbia/Switzerland game and The 2nd half of Argentina's calamitous game against Croatia but in general the 2nd round of games have been poor imo. VAR is proving to be controversial to say the least, some good decisions have been made, but the ones missed have left many people wondering about the uses of it. Last night Mitrovic was wrestled to the ground by 2 defenders yet VAR wasn't even considered, much the same as the ones in the England game. The old Ronaldo/Messi debate rearing it's head again,both are unbelievable players, Ronaldo clearly in this tournament has carried Portugal better than Messi's attempts at the same which mirrors the 2014 world cup when it was role reversal, Messi taking Argentina to the final whilst Portugal went out in the group stages. For me I still prefer Messi to Ronaldo in terms of individual ability. 
  


Anyway back to the reason for the post and Division 4's latest round of games.

DNIPRO 3 ESPANYOL 1
Defeat for the first time for Lee Reynolds at Espanyol as Dnipro secured a fine win. Falque was the star for the home side helping himself to a brace. The first coming on 10 minutes Latza swinging in a deep free kick which was hammered home by Falque giving Handanovic little chance. The two players again combined for Dnipro's second, Latza again putting an inch perfect ball on the money for Falque to drill home. 2-0 lead for Dnipro at HT and Espanyol were in trouble. Lee obviously got into his side a bit at HT as they came out firing and within 8 minutes of the restart they had one back, Alcacer played through by Pizzi and he rounded Ghore in goal to roll the ball into the empty net. However the task became a whole lot harder just a few minutes later when Ndombele lunged into Falque and was given a straight red. Lapadula almost got them level on 61 minutes but his snap shot clipped the outside of the post. That was as good as it got and on 89 Dnipro wrapped up the points when MOTM Latza got the goal of the game when he curled a delicious free kick around the wall and into the top corner. A great first win of the season for Son of Pluto.

LEVANTE 2 ATALANTA 0
Dario Saviano's Levante gained their 3rd win on the bounce at home to a dispirited Atalanta side. Just 8 minutes were on the clock when Fred whipped in a glorious free kick into the area and Milik found the top corner to give the Spanish side the lead. Atalanta briefly battled and twice before HT they had clipped the woodwork, first through Nani and then Guerrero. The second half was drifting away and devoid of any real action until Guarin swiped down Fred from behind, a cynical challenge and a straight red followed. Fred immediately made him pay as just a minute later he had scored the game settling 2nd goal, Milik laying a ball back for him to calmly side foot home past Subasic who despite getting a hand to it couldn't keep it out. 4 without a win for Atalanta now who are surely destined for another relegation battle. 

AZ ALKMAAR 1 CELTA VIGO 1
Celta Vigo dropped to 3rd after this point away to Alkmaar but maintain their fine unbeaten start to the season. Raul Navas scored a goal of the season contender to get Alkmaar up and running, receiving the ball from Acuna their seemed little danger to vigo's goal, however he strode forward and unleashed an absolute rocket from 35 yards straight into the net leaving Ulreich with no chance. A minute after the break and Vigo were level however, Feghouli crossing into the box and Arnautovic nonchalantly flicking the ball with the outside of his boot past Romero. Smolov was unlucky not to give Alkmaar all 3 points when attempting a carbon copy of Arnautovic's goal on 67 minutes,however his flick smacked the post and bounced clear. In the end a point shared.

TORINO 1 PARTIZAN 1
Another unbeaten side Torino were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Partizan. The home side started the game well and had already give notice of their intentions before Valeri had them ahead on 10 minutes, Valeri receiving a fine return ball from De Arrascaeta and drilling home from 12 yards into the bottom corner. It was one way traffic and Partizan were left with little option to try and break up play, picking up 3 yellows in a desperate attempt to stem the attacks. Mark Gardiner was happy to get to HT and give his side a chance to find their focus and second half was an improvement. Zieler saving well from Chiesa and Quagliarella. However with just 10 minutes left he was finally beaten, Rosales released Quagliarella and he thundered a shot past the despairing dive of Zieler. A definite tale of two halfs here. 

ASTON VILLA 0 CRUZEIRO 1
Cruzeiro continue to defy pre season predictions, and their promising start continued at Villa Park. A stereotypical smash and grab away performance here. It was unlucky 13 for villa as Masuaku give away a needless penalty, sticking out a leg for Silva to topple over. Silva picked himself up and smashed the pen straight down the middle and into the roof of the net. Villa looked stunned and struggled to impose themselves against the well drilled Brazilians. A half time gee up from Nick Justice provided an improved performance and it was a backs to the wall effort for Cruzeiro. The problem for the home side is all their best chances fell to the wrong men, Lascelles(x2), Gnagnon, Semedo and Pepe all had good chances which they failed to put away. A worrying start for Villa who remain without a win. 

BASEL 2 OLYMPIAKOS 0
Basel got their first win since the opening day with a comfortable win against Olympiakos, Goals in either half sealed the win. Olympiakos goalkeeper Mandanda twice in the first 4 minutes saved well from Jorgensen and Enrich as Basel set their sites on a fast start. Aspas finally got the goal they deserved in the 34th minute, Arbilla dinked a ball over the greek defence and Aspas hit a sweet left foot volley giving Mandanda no chance this time. Carlos Tevez did his best to get Olympiakos back into the game but was left frustrated, 3 times in 20 second half minutes he found himself in good positions to level the scores but couldn't find the right connection to beat Sirigu. The one time he did the post came to the rescue of Basel. Kalou wrapped up the win with 6 minutes left, Subotic sending a 60 yard crossfield ball which kalou controlled and beat his man before firing past the keeper from a good 20 yards. 

DINAMO ZAGREB 1 MARSEILLE 0
Marseille were left frustrated again and are now 274 minutes without a goal after firing another blank in Croatia. In a match they enjoyed the better possession they found Bizot in fine form in the home goal. Zagreb grabbed the only goal of the game just before the break. Maxi Gomez had seen a couple of efforts fly wide before he finally found the back of the net, Mandi played a great defense splitting ball which left Gomez free one on one with the keeper, he took a touch to compose himself before slotting past Fernandez. Second half was a end to end affair with both sides missing clear cut chances. Zagreb up to 7th after this win. 

CRYSTAL PALACE 1 SWANSEA 2
Swansea are up to 8th after a fantastic come from behind win against Palace. The first half was drab affair until the 38th minute when Soldado got on the end of a teasing Andros Townsend cross, a quality ball despatched with a quality finish. Cresswell and Soldado had further chances to extend Palace's lead before the break and they were ultimately left to rue those misses. Just 3 minutes into the second half and Swansea were level, Adriano linking up with Seferovic and slotting home past Pope. Linetty then tested Pope as Swansea fancied their chances. Seferovic then grabbed the winner on 74, Jimenez played a lovely ball through to him and he finished well off the post for the winner. 2nd home defeat of the season for Mark Deadman as Joe Jordan's side pick up their first away win. 

BOCA JUNIORS 0 STOKE 1
Stoke piled on the pressure for Golden Bear in Argentina with a narrow 1-0 win. Bou got the only goal of the game mid way through the first half, picking up a great pass off Guedes to beat Moya in the home goal. It was an entertaining first half with both sides creating chances. The second half was a different game entirely, Boca just never created a chance of note and Stoke missing 3 golden opportunities to seal the game, or Castillejo missing 3 chances to be precise. However Stoke were never in danger of giving up the points and return to England with their first win of the season. Big test of character for Boca now, firmly rooted to the bottom of the table. 

COLOGNE 2 AS MONACO 4
It has been coming and Monaco finally found their goalscoring touch here in Germany. However they were fortunate to leave with all 3 points as Cologne were more than deserving of at least 1. Cologne were 1 up in just 6 minutes, Santini was played in by Juardo who found the bottom corner despite Reina getting a hand to it. All the goal did was get Monaco fired up. Mustafi had them level after 15 minutes, striding out of defense  and playing a lovely one two with Sarabia he found the top corner from 20 yards. Just 5 minutes later it was 2-1 to Monaco, Sarabia again the provider and Palomino scored with a delightful lobbed finish past Azzizabalaga. The onslaught from Monaco continued and it was no surprise that the 3rd come before the break, Higuain did all the dirty work before squaring the ball for Benzema to tap into the empty net. 3-1 at the break. Twice in the 2nd half Reina denied Everton before he was beaten by Grillitsch on 72 minutes, left flat footed by the quick snap shot. 60 seconds later and Monaco had their 2 goal lead back and what a beauty of a free kick from Gundogan for his 3rd of the campaign. He drilled it through the wall and give Azzizabalaga no chance. A cruel defeat for Cologne but Monaco's extra quality finishing was the difference. 

LEAGUE TABLE AFTER ROUND 4
 


TOP GOALSCORER TABLE

Some good looking fixtures on sunday, Espanyol host Basel looking to hold on to top spot whilst Atalanta and Aston Villa do battle at the bottom.

Thanks for reading. Next update will be Tues/Wed. 

Norman

Daily Hamburger: Winless and Wheels Off!

A quick drive-thru:

  • Hamburg's 1-1 draw with Spartak last night
  • Look ahead to Sunday
  • Lyon's ice cream van loses its Wheels

Hamburg 1 -1 Spartak Moskva


Hamburg's line-up

Hamburg reverted to 4-3-3 last night, as promised, but it was a slightly different and more compact shape than that formation which got a creditable draw with Anderlecht in the season opener, and then battered Sao Paulo, but couldn't find a winner.



Spartak's team

















It was only the introduction of Vargas and Hernandez for Khazri and Valbuena on the hour, and a shift to genuine wing play that changed the game in der Dino's favour. 

Hernandez duly laid on the pass for Aduriz to score his first league goal for the club, and save a point.


Bilbao on Sunday


Athletic's likely starting eleven?


Three draws and one defeat from the first four league games, and a place in the bottom four, is not what anyone around the club wanted. 

On the positive side, we look hard to beat, and the goals will surely come to get some wins before too long.

Athletic Club are next, another team with an unbeaten pre-season, followed by mixed results in the league - one win, two draws and a defeat puts them tenth in the Division Three table.

Playing against five at the back, Hamburg can expect to find themselves with a lot of the ball on Sunday. 

Can they find a way to break down a stubborn defence, and not get caught on the break?







Wheels' Off at Lyon


The first managerial casualty of the season is ex-Sao Paulo boss Nick Wheels. 

With his new team of gelatinous geriatrics propping up the rest of Division Three, Nick felt that the honourable thing to do was to stop offering free ice creams to youngsters to come and play with his "old men".


Season Div Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
4 3 9 São Paulo FC 38 12 14 12 50 45 5 50
5 3 20 São Paulo FC 38 6 19 13 34 47 -13 37
3 4 2 São Paulo FC 38 15 15 8 46 31 15 60
7 4 3 São Paulo FC 38 17 10 11 53 46 7 61
6 4 5 São Paulo FC 38 17 8 13 57 44 13 59
2 5 5 São Paulo FC 38 17 12 9 61 45 16 63
1 5 10 São Paulo FC 38 15 9 14 60 49 11 54

On a more serious note, Nick was probably one of the more under-rated managers in Top 100. Yesterday I named a few of what the statistics show are the best managed clubs - clubs which improve season after season. 

I would have included Sao Paulo in that list if Nick had still been there, as he is responsible for quiet and steady improvement, from Division Five to a high of ninth in Division Three, and three promotions in seven seasons.

The Spoon Army are said to be holding a vigil for the revered ex-boss and guiding light, and the whole Top 100 community wishes Wheels well in his recovery from visiting France.

Daily Hamburger: Post-Pre-Season Depression

Today’s menu:

  • Preview of tonight's home game
  • Ratings changes
  • Best managed club
  • Favourites to go down

Spartak Moskva


Hamburg are looking to get their first win of the season tonight at home to Spartak Moskva.

After and unbeaten pre-season, Spartak got off to a flyer with a 2-0 victory at Dynamo Kyiv. Two home defeats to Saint-Etienne and Hellas Verona have rather punctured their balloon, and they must be travelling to northern Germany for tonight's match feeling more than a little deflated.

Red Shorts gaffer Marsden had this to say at this morning's pre-match press conference:

'We had a good pre-season, playing a new 4-3-3 formation, but it all fell apart as soon as points were at stake. I'm going to do an analysis of pre-season games to settle the debate once and for all.

'I used to think they don't mean anything, but now I'm thinking they mean the opposite of what you might think they should mean. If you know what I mean?


Marsden prepares to post his team selection, with a 50p piece sellotaped to the back, to Gore HQ

'Team news: Seamus Coleman's out, of course. Can I defend what he did to Gomis last Sunday? Let's just say, he was going for a ball.

'Anyway, Lassie will come in at right back. Robbie and Artie will come back in for Ramsie and Cainie.

'Cainie?

'Cain and Abel.

'Abel Hernandez.

'It's in the Bible.

'No, I don't read the Bible.

'Do you?

'Maybe you should?

'I'm disappointed with the start, just like you all are.

'Apart from last time out, when we were awful, we've been good in the first two games.

'Anderlecht are obviously a very strong side under the best manager in Top 100.

'Against Sao Paulo, we just couldn't stick our chances away. Hopefully, that will change tonight.'


Ratings Changes


'Obviously, I disagree them. Full stop.

'No way Aduriz should have gone down. But so did Kalanic. So we're no worse off.

'Yes, I know he's old enough to be Kalanic's granddad.

'Yes, Ekambi went up, but have you seen him play? I know I haven't!

'Same with Pereyra. He's miles better than Doucoure, yet they are rated the same? It's bollocks.

'Of course, they're different players.

'Mangala stayed the same, right? I should have listened to Andre [Guerra, Porto manager]!


Best Managed Club



'Best managed club is Celtic.

'Closely followed by Dynamo Kyiv.

'Chievo Verona. Very well managed. Sassuolo, too.

'Genoa, obviously. And Hertha, Villarreal, Espanyol, Juve. Internacional, of course. Standard Liege. Wolfsburg. Werder Bremen. Ajax. Hamburg.

'I'd say there are a few teams doing really well.

'But no one is better managed than Celtic.

'They are the only team who have improved their position in Top 100 every season.'

'But in terms of personnel, it's hard to look past Juve. I mean, they have just loaned out most of their youth squad.

'DP's analysis of his boys is faultless, really.'

Favourites To Go Down


'Alex is obviously a bit touchy, and so he should be after the start they've had. 

'Eight goals conceded in two home games?

'It's a shame, as they had made lots of progress under Alex last season. Best ever finish.'

Season 8 Division 1 stats and facts

Top 3 closer than previous years,  Everton off to a great start.

It's always hard to bet against any team that can put out an average of 95 in attack and no main stat less than 93.  So let's look at the weakness of the top few sides.

Barcelona the one weakness is depth, they could realistically be fielding 87/86 rated players if they pick up a couple of injuries.

Bayern while still incredibly strong have a slight vunerability at the back if others choose to exploit it.

Chelsea are the most balanced side but also , just the weakest is midfield so could possesion be a problem.

Juve have the best depth but the poorest attack and defence of the top 4

Tottenham will struggle with the weak keeper they now have following the demise of Hart , others to look out for are Arsenal , will a one man band be enough .

Everton who should be in the relegation zone are currently up with the big boys.

Hard to see a way that Sevilla or Internacional will survive this year. Sevilla are the most vunerable at the back, and won't get the possesion needed to feed the forwards. Internacional ,while better at the back and up front seriously lack the depth to make any more progress. Man City really haven't  made much progress statistically lately and they have to be amongst the favourites to go down , where as promoted Leverkeusen should be comfortable enough to stay up.


 GK DEF MID ATT Top18 Ave
ETOT
Barcelona 95.0 93.3 94.5 97.5 86.0 93.3
235.30
Bayern 92.0 93.0 94.5 96.0 87.0 92.5
233.88
Chelsea 93.0 93.3 93.0 95.5 87.0 92.4
232.68
Juventus 94.0 91.8 93.5 92.5 90.0 92.4
230.41
Arsenal 91.0 91.3 91.3 96.0 88.0 91.5
229.88
Tottenham Hotspur 88.0 91.5 93.0 93.0 86.0 90.3
228.93
Real Madrid 93.0 91.5 92.0 92.5 87.0 91.2
228.53
Manchester United 89.0 91.3 92.5 92.0 87.0 90.4
227.92
Paris Saint-Germain 95.0 91.0 90.5 91.0 87.0 90.9
226.19
AS Roma 92.0 89.5 92.3 90.5 86.0 90.1
225.59
Leverkusen 91.0 89.5 90.5 92.5 83.0 89.3
225.01
FC Porto 91.0 90.8 90.5 90.0 88.0 90.1
224.98
Dortmund 92.0 91.3 90.3 89.5 86.0 89.8
224.74
Liverpool 90.0 90.0 90.0 91.3 86.0 89.5
224.43
SSC Napoli 90.0 90.3 90.5 90.0 87.0 89.6
224.34
Schalke 89.0 89.5 90.3 89.5 87.0 89.1
223.10
Everton 89.0 89.3 89.5 90.5 87.0 89.1
222.95
Manchester City 90.0 90.8 89.0 89.0 87.0 89.2
222.89
SC Internacional 92.0 89.3 89.3 90.0 85.0 89.1
222.54
Sevilla 89.0 89.3 89.3 89.0 85.0 88.3
221.53

Daily Hamburger: Porro, Por Favor!

Today’s news from the home of Nigel Farage…


  • Transfer scoop
  • Young 'too old'
  • Youth Cup


Done Deal!


Hamburg boss Marsden was delighted to sign young Girona winger Pedro Porro, despite facing stiff competition from Juventus for his signature.

'Porro was about to sign a contract with us, literally had the pen in his hand, when in walks Old Lady boss DP!

'I couldn't believe it.

'We all know how DP can't keep his hands off young European boys for his "academy".

'Anyway, he put his "offer" on the table, and poor Porro didn't know what to do.

'He very politely said he would "think" about it.

'Anyway, he's ours, now!'

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Gone Deal!


After yesterday claiming a deal was on the cards for Palace flanker Ashley Young, HSV fans were disappointed to see the aging lothario sign for Southampton instead.

'At the end of the day, we just felt we couldn't match what Saints offered,' opined Marsden.

'He's a special player, but he's not getting any younger, is he? 

'We felt Palace wanted a touch too much, much too young. 

'But fair play to Mark Deadman. He got what he wanted.'


Youth Cup


'We're delighted to be back in the Youth Cup where we rightly belong,' said Marsden. 

'We felt hard done by getting banned from last season's competition, all for signing young Christian, for Fruchtl's sake!

'I think Frank and DP were worried they were going to have to win some games.

'This season we've brought in a few players on loan.

'We're particularly happy to have one of the best young keepers around in Andriy Lunin joining us from Atletico Madrid.

'We've also brought in Enes Unal, who scored four goals for Bayern last time, and Vinicius Junior from Partizan.

'Thanks to Doug, ruts and Mark!'










Daily* Hamburger**

All the latest news, rumours and gossip coming out of HSV right into your favourite blog.

Today…

  • Ashley Young
  • Juan Sanchez Mino
  • Left backs
  • England


Ashley Young




Hamburg are in the running to sign veteran Crystal Palace and England wide man Ashley Young.

Boss Marsden said, 'We came very close to signing Ashley last week, it was only Mark[ Deadman, Palace manager]'s scouting trip to Outer Mongolia that prevented it. 

'By the time Mark found a phone signal, he reckoned Youngy had "improved" overnight, and was now worth considerably more.

'Now he wants someone "younger". Anyway, our offer is in, as are those from Rubin, Levante and Leicester.

'None of which have the Reeperbahn. I think Youngy would like the Reeperbahn.'



Juan Sanchez Mino


Hamburg completed the signing this morning of Argentine left-sided player Juan Sanchez Mino from Lanus.

Heading the other way will be defender Papy Djilobdji and Panamanian starlet Ismael Diaz.

'Papy has done well for us whenever called upon,' said Marsden.

'I didn't really want to let him go, and I could say the same for young Ismael, who has bags of potential for the future.'

'But we needed to create some room in the squad as a whole. And Juan offers us at least decent prospect of cover at left back in the future.'


Left backs


'Lots of managers have been complaining recently, again, about how difficult it is to sign full-backs, and left-backs in particular,' the Hamburg gaffer commented.

'Having been through countless left-backs - Rui, Emerson, Santos, Monreal, Laxalt, to name a few - I can assure my erstwhile colleagues that it's not that difficult.'


England


'Same old England, almost, wasn't it?' said Marsden after last night's win opening World Cup win against Tunisia.

'We we all rooting for our own Wabhi Khazri, obviously, and our former players Sliti and Skhiri.

'England were going to win the World Cup for ten minutes, weren't they? They should have had the game wrapped up, but all those missed chances!

'You could see the confidence draining out of the players after Tunisia equalised, and as the second half wore on. Where have we seen that before? Then it looked like panic stations towards the end, with Maguire playing on the left wing, Stones as a midfield playmaker, Walker as a libero. Barmy!

'Still, we got there in the end, which is all that matters. Bring on Panama!'


* Probably not
** Not recommended