Welcome to Issue 6 of the T100 mag, I will start on a serious note that needs addressing, Squad cap breeches again come to life twice in the last week, 2 managers over the limit. We really need to take control of our own squad sizes, This is supposed to be the best set up on SM with the best managers yet the disrespect showing by going over the limits imo needs to have tougher sanctions. Michael Bowes suggested selling your best rated or Highest value player and I’m in agreement, the current punishment isn’t distracting people from breaking the cap. A more serious outcome would certainly make managers think twice in future. Anyway on to the latest round of match reports.

Division 1

AS Roma V Hellas Verona

This clash of the Italians in Rome between two sides enjoying contrasting fortunes in form, Roma after failing to win in opening 6 games came in to this game with back to back league wins whilst Hellas were winless in their last 5. The started in predictably slow fashion and the only shot of note in the first 15 minutes was a scuffed effort from Martinez for the visitors which Navas saved comfortably in the home goal. The save sparked Roma into life and just 120 seconds later they were ahead, Nainggolan worked himself into a decent space and laid the back square to Gagliardini who with no options ahead of him decided to chance his arm from distance, he let fly with a stunning right footed strike from a good 25 yards out which flew past Becker. The game fell back into mediocrity for the rest of the half with only a header from Allan from Naiggolan’s teasing free kick of any note. HT 1-0. A huge chance came Hellas way just 7 minutes into the second half when Pavard launched a sweet 60 yard ball over the top of the high Roma back line which left Martinez free on goal, he composed himself and drew Navas off his line before slotting the ball under the keeper, despair for the striker though as he shot drifted inches wide of the left hand post. A huge let off for Roma. That again spurred on the home side who tested Becker twice in 60 seconds on the hour mark, firstly Becker saved from Gaya with his feet before a slightly more comfortable save from Ocampos from the resulting corner. The final chance of the game came the way of the visitors but again they fluffed their lines, Gnarby jinked past 2 players before firing a ball across the 6 ayrd box which Tagliafico met well but directed his effort straight at the keeper, anywhere else it was in. The game finished in the same fashion it started with both sides cancelling each other out. FT 1-0 win for Roma, A deserved win but a poor game if truth be told. Heath Brown won’t be bothered as that’s now 3 on the spin whilst its now 6 winless for Andre Libras-Boas and his Hellas side.

Division 2

Leverkusen V Standard Liege

A battle of two sides in form at the BayArena as Leverkusen welcomed Standard in their Division 2 match, Both sides with an eye on promotion. The match started with the away side firmly on the front foot as Anth Maddison’s side started brightly. 3 times in the first 10 minutes they could of been ahead but chances were squandered by Lemar and twice by Cutrone, all efforts off target as the home side struggled to stem the flow. Riyad Mahrez started to pull the strings for Stephen Partington’s table toppers, a mazy run down the right as he breezed past 3 defenders before he played in the overlapping Bender who crossed for Brandt who forced Audero into a reflex save at his near post. Mahrez then floated a quickly taken free kick into the box which was met by the head of Costa but Audero was equal to it. The visitors took the lead after 26 minutes however as Lemar fed the ball to Jankto who sidefooted the ball home off the post to put Liege in front, 0-1. Costa almost had Leverkusen level 5 minutes later but after bullying his way into the box he smashed his effort off the crossbar. However that man Mahrez had them level on 35 minutes as Brandt played a ball to Mahrez who whipped a ball into the top corner from 20 yards. 1-1 and that’s how it stayed till HT. The second half was only 16 seconds old when the visitors were back ahead, the kick off was played back to Dahoud who lofted a ball forward, Lemar nodded it down and Paqueta volleyed it from 20 yards over the head of Leno, 1-2. Costa had a great chance on 66 minutes to again level things up but he drilled a shot against Audero. That chance was to prove a big moment as Liege went staright up the pitch and made it 3-1 as Cutrone headed the ball down for Lemar who drilled the ball past Leno, 1-3. The host’s were stunned. It got worse as well as on 81 minutes after a bit pin ball from a corner Vargas touched the ball to Dahoud who finished past a static Leno, 1-4. A remarkable scoreline in a even game. Leverkusen maintain top spot but Liege are now up to 4th.

Division 3

Newcastle V Leicester

Two sides struggling to get going met at a rainy St James Park as Newcastle and Leicester attempted to start climbling the table. The host’s struggling since relegation whilst Leicester struggling to match last season’s mid table finish both started the game on 8 points from the first 8 games. The foxes struck first as only 8 minutes in and they capitalised on some slack defending from Newcastle as Luis Gustavo nodded the ball down to Elneny who struck an unstoppable drive into the top corner. 0-1. Schneiderlin almost made it 2-0 not long after Ulreich had rushed out of his goal clearing a long ball the ball dropped to the frenchman who attempted to lob the keeper from 40 yards out, the relief was visible on Ulreich’s face when the ball landed on top of the netting. The best the home side managed in the first half was two efforts from Taison which were both comfortable saves for Akinfeev. HT 0-1 and boo’s rang round St James Park. Jimmy Gouldie must of ripped into his side at half time as they looked a different animal shooting towards the Gallowgate in the second half. Just 3 minutes in to the 2nd half Tosun bundled his way into the box before finding Tadic in space, he took a touch before firing low past Akinfeev, 1-1. Ulreich then saved the home side on the hour mark, again from a speculative Schneiderlin effort. The magpies went ahead on 63 minutes as Taison delivered a cross from deep which Tosun rose well to bullet a header past the despairing dive of Akinfeev, 2-1 and the game had turned. Tadic and Tosun both had chances saved from Akinfeev before the game was made safe on 83 minutes and again it was Tadic on the scoresheet, and again from Tosun’s assist, this time Tadic’s shot should of been a routine save for Akinfeev but he somehow allowed the ball to slip under his body and it trickled over the line, 3-1 and that was how it stayed till FT. The Bigg Market will be a happier place as Newcastle climb to 12th whilst Leicester drop to 2nd bottom after their dismal second half showing. An unhappy return for former manager Kevin Mcgregor.

Division 4

River Plate V FK Partizan

The Estadio Monumental was absolutely bubbling with anticipation as top of the table FK Partizan travelled to 2nd place River Plate. Partizan started the brighter creating a couple of half chances but Sabitzer fluffed his lines on both occasions. The home side started to play their way into the game and had the best 2 chances of the half, firstly Sportiello went full length to deny Callum Wilson and then just on the stroke of HT Xeka split the Partizan defence and set Wilson away, he tried to dink the ball over the diving Sportiello but the ball clipped off the keeper’s head, 0-0 HT. The first real chance of the second half was almost 15 minutes in coming, but what a move. 29 passes had been made before Schone found Quagliarella with a lofted ball, the big striker twisted in mid air and scored with an unbelievable overhead scissor kick,0-1. The Estadio Monumental rose to applaud the goal, they had witnessed a fine strike and showed great respect. Their mood somewhat changed 4 minutes later when Quagliarella turned provider, his scuffed shot falling in to Sabitzer’s path and he slotted past Fabianski with ease, the home fans baying for offside but the flag never come, VAR confirming the decision was correct, 0-2. River did briefly rally with substitute Glenn Murray forcing Sportiello into action again but the real onslaught never arrived and Partizan extend their lead at the top of the table to 4 points.

Division 5

Besiktas V Augsburg

Besiktas were hoping to put their mini slump in form behind them as they welcomed high flying Augsburg to the Vodafone stadium. And what followed was simply the game of the day. The game was 8 minutes old when the drama started, Declan Rice was allowed far too much room and time as he strode forward unopposed, he took advantage of the situation by burying a fantastic long range strike which Armani got nowhere near, 0-1. The home side roared back however and on the 15 minute mark they were level, Gradel played a lovely one-two with Medel before running in on goal and beating Masip with a low drive. 1-1 15 minutes gone and still the drama was to continue. Ryan Giggs was furious on the touchline on 21 minutes when Rice lunged in from behind on Moreno, the Englishman received just a yellow card and he was extremely lucky. That was the start of referee Mohamed Benouza losing control of the game. 5 minutes before half time a soft free kick was awarded to Augsburg outside the box, Joao Felix stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and into the top corner, 1-2 and the home crowd were turning. Their mood was off the scale just 3 minutes later as Felix won a penalty after going over easily under little challenge from Mbodji who was booked after the ref give the pen. Justice however was done as Felix stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way, however the ball sailed wide of the left hand post. HT 1-2 and the ref needed escorting off the pitch. The second half was just 7 minutes old when perhaps looking to readdress the balance another soft penalty decision was given, this time to the home side. A dubious hand ball was spotted and Hodzic stepped forward and blasted the ball high and wide. It remained 1-2. With 12 minutes to go Augsburg won a free kick out wide which again was hotly disputed, Felix floated a ball into the middle which Rice met with a deft header into the corner of the net, 1-3 and the man lucky to be on the pitch had made the points safe, or so he thought. 4 minutes later and unbelievably we had our 3rd penalty of the game, again to Besiktas. This time Hodzic made no mistake, blasting the ball straight down the middle, 2-3. That was how it stayed as despite Besiktas throwing everything at Augsburg they couldn’t find an equaliser. FT 2-3 and what a game.

In The Hot Seat with…

Today we welcome to the Hot Seat the most successful manager in T100 history…Scott Mckenzie. The ever conquering Barcelona manager has won 6 league titles, 1 Champions Cup, 1 super cup and 5 charity shields. He also has 1 runner up medal in the league and 3 times runners up in the Champions Cup.

It goes without saying you are the most successful manager in T100 with 6 league titles in 10 seasons, what’s the secret behind you’re success?

Success can be measured in so many ways, winning titles and cups , i set my stall out very early in top 100 and that was that the title takes priority over all others , Ive sacrificed the other trophy’s for the big one and by the looks of it has paid off more times than not . others have built good squads that can compete for other trophy’s but when you look deep down they haven’t been able to compete for the title and that is down to having the big squads , im a big believer that if you have a small high rated squad you have a better chance of winning the title however it comes with an added pressure as injury’s and suspensions can sometimes make it harder.

What’s the challenge left at Barcelona now?

the Challenge for me is to be able to keep this team challenging for the title , Ive seen so many big teams be there or there about 1 year and the next year fall from grace , Ive been lucky enough that Ive always been in the mix for winning things but when i feel that i cant keep competing anymore i will move on to smaller but bigger things in the future and hope to build on what i have already achieved , also another challenge will be to start bleeding in my younger players like Jovic , Militao and Arthur with others that will hopefully start coming through behind those boys.

Best transfer you have done in T100?

Best Transfer in my tenure as Barcelona boss difficult one because i have 3 and il put them in order, there have been a lot of deals done during my time as manager but the one that sticks out for me as the best would be when i got Kevin De Bruyne for Rakitic and Adam Traore , back when the deal was done de Bruyne was a rating less than Rakitic but i seen the potential and i think by the end of the 1st season in top 100 De Bruyne rose to same as Rakitic and eventually surpassed him and now if you look at that deal would look like a great piece of business. 2nd one Aguero for Busquets was a no brainier for me goalscorer beats a defensive mid any day for me so was delighted to get him . last one was Neuer for Iniesta and Alba , people might look at that back then and think it looked like i got the worse end of the deal but without Neuer i wouldn’t have half of those trophy’s.

What is the sibling rivalry like with James?

Haha theirs no rivalry , well at least until he can mount a serious title challenge . . . seriously though he has built a great team there and i believe with a few tweaks here and there he will defo be in the mix going forward , its good to see some of the long term projects like Chelsea and even Juventus start paying off , they have spent a lot of time and effort on these teams and both can be applauded for that as seen with some other teams that have had changes in management and been ripped apart . that is my biggest fear if and when i do finally leave the Barcelona Hot seat.

Real life team and hopes for the season?

Haha again i think most people in Top 100 know my first love is Glasgow Celtic ,Hopes for season is a hard one because with us winning the treble treble last year i think it would be out of the question to even ask for the quadruple treble . if i was to be honest i would happily forfeit the scottish cup and league cup this year and next to secure 10 in a row that would be the pinnacle for all Hoops supporters , also if we can get a good run in Europa league this year and push on next year hopefully in the champions league i would be happy with that.

If you could improve one thing on SM what would it be?

to improve the game i would love to get the chat message system back , the amount of deals i got from just chancing my arm when online and seeing people online at same time was unreal , i reckon every time i was on and chanced it must have got a deal done near enough weekly and it was due to being able to get hold of someone instantly and thrashing out a deal , nowadays its murder waiting on people replying due to how busy everyone is and also different time zones etc . i just reckon having the simple feature would help so many people get more deals done quicker

T100 Gossip Column

Real Madrid are losing patience with Stephen Beddows, The spanish side are already making a shortlist for potential replacements, Gursimran Brar and Andrew Kelly have friends in high places at Madrid [MARCA]

Fernandinho is set to see out his career at Tottenham after slotting in at CB recently [TIMES]

Romelu Lukaku was sold by Tottenham after a bust up with manager Gregg Robinson, it’s believed blows were traded in the dressing room after Spurs defeat to Arsenal on Sunday [EVENING STANDARD]

After being under pressure at Roma it’s believed Heath Brown has regained the trust of his employers at the club. 3 wins on the bounce have saved his job. [LA GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT]

Luis Suarez is fighting for his future at Dortmund, [BILD]

Dominik Szoboszlai is considering asking for a transfer at Sampdoria, he has become unhappy at repeated bids being rejected without negotiations. [TUTTOSPORT]

14 year old Youssoufa Moukoko is believed to be at a major tug of war battle between T100 clubs, the free agent is thought to be deciding his future in the next 24 hours [DIE WELT]

That’s all for this issue, hopefully it is still keeping you all entertained. Please send any ideas my way to improve this, and your gossip please.