2022
Pre Season Wrapped
At the end of November, and throughout December, Leicester City underwent some major changes with 8 of the starting XI being replaced.
With that in mind, many fans expected a quiet off season with little transfer activity. Early on that looked likely, but a busy couple of days has excited fans once again.
The first news of an arrival was nothing spectacular, but came in the form of Denis Bouanga, 27, who was announced on the 5th of January. The winger officially joined 2 weeks later for a fee of just under £4 million, from Earle's past team RCD Espanyol. Bouanga isn't expected to be in contention for a starting spot and will likely only play a role in the cup competitions, or in exceptional circumstances. Fans were happy enough with the signing who helps with the depth whilst costing the club next to nothing.
Leicester then switched their target from squad depth to star man and managed to pull off the signing of Gabriel Barbosa, 25, from Division 2 side Aston Villa. Fans were caught completely unaware by the move, as the club had signed Santi Mina just a month earlier. However, their surprise was quickly followed by excitement with the Brazilian looking likely to be the main man for the years to come. In his 2 seasons at Villa, Gabriel scored 17 goals and assisted 9 more in 42 games, figures Earle will hope he can build on in Division 4. Josip Stanisic, 21, also arrived in the deal, adding another youth option to the defence. He will spend this season on loan at Spartak Moskva, gaining game time in the Youth Cup.
The deal saw promising duo Eberechi Eze, 23, and Trevoh Chalobah, 22, move in exchange. Whilst the loss of 2 developmental projects was unfortunate, the club were delighted to bring in a game changer such as Gabriel, along with a strong future defender.
It looked likely that the rest of the preseason may roll by with no more moves, but the 20th of January saw two more deals agreed. Tyrick Mitchel, 22, signed from Barcelona, becoming the second left back to swap the Camp Nou for the King Power in as many months, following Borna Sosa's move at the end of last season. Mitchell is expected to back up Federico Dimarco, 24, who has comfortably claimed the starting position since the departure of Alex Moreno, 28. Fans have been very happy with the arrival, as Mitchell becomes just the 4th Englishman in the entire squad. George Bello, 20, Konstantin Tyukavin, 20, and Check Diakite, 19, all moved to Barcelona in exchange.
Igor Matanovic, 18, was also signed, joining from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of around £650k. The German was a target of Earle's whilst at Torino, but the Italians opted to sell to Frankfurt, before Leicester swooped in to pick him up anyway. At 18, there is no expectation on the striker, who is unlikely to even get any game time in the Youth Cup. The club hope that he will be able to develop into a useful option, with an alternative style of play, similar to that of the clubs former striker Sandro Wagner.
Following the arrival of Mitchell, Borna Sosa, 24, was made available. The left back was deemed surplus to requirements and attracted a lot of interest. After long negotiations, a deal was agreed with FK Partizan. The left back will depart Leicester along with centre midfielder Diadie Samassekou, 26, and Nehuen Perez, 21, to the Serbian capital. Joining Leicester will be Matteo Guendouzi, 22, and Jeremie Boga, 25, who add much needed quality in depth to the midfield, wing and attacking positions. Both will arrive at the end of March at a key period of the season and Earle will hope the timing will give a morale boost to the sqaud.
Luis Sinisterra, 22, has departed the club on loan, joining AZ Alkmaar for the season. Having played key roles in the youth competitions whilst eligible, he had to adjust to less game time last season trying to battle for domestic cup minutes. He did well, but the strengthening of the squad means he would face tougher competition, and so it suited both the club and the player for him to seek game time elsewhere.
Sepp van den Berg, 20, also left on a season long loan, joining Youth Cup champions Arsenal. The defender will be in the youth team and push to help retain the trophy for the Gunners. At Leicester City, the Dutchman was behind Valentino Livramento, 19, at right back and a number of players at centre back. The loan will give him the opportunity to play regularly and train with top quality players in Division 1.
Leicester City are still looking to develop at right back and to pick up an extra centre back and have made Santi Mina, 26, Davide Faraoni, 30, Kevin Bonifazi, 25, Cortes Antonin, 21, and more available for potential deals.
The club has a long season ahead of them where the squad will continue to transition and strengthen with the ultimate goal of rising through the leagues. However, Earle has made it clear that he will not damage the clubs long term project for short term rewards, and believes this option is already proving to be extremely rewarding for the club.
Season 17 Division 1 Stats and Facts
Barcelona and Chelsea top the table.
First of all the explanations.
This is purely statistical and takes no account of squad building or managerial ability.
How it works: I look at the likely picks for the first eleven and take an average of the ability in Gk, Def, Mid , Att and the Top 18th player ( unlikely you will need to go down any further )
Then using a formula developed in the first few seasons on the relevant importance of key positions. I calculate the ETOT the estimated total strength of the team.
There is some human input if you lack say 2 decent forwards in the first eleven or your 18th players was 5 ratings below anyone else.
It is really tight between Barcelona ,depth vs Chelsea strength. A few injuries would push it the way of Barcelona with Juventus a kind of halfway house between the two teams.
There is then a huge gap down to Porto a defensive based team and Arsenal and attacking force who could still trouble the top 3.
Real and Bayern are the next nearest challengers with Hellas perhaps a keeper away from a great squad.
Relegation cut of is around 225.5 there are therefore 7 teams realistically who could face the drop this season. Maybe as said last season it is difficult to see Stoke surviving this season unless they pick up the scraps from the other lower ranked teams. Milan also sit well beneath the comfort zone and will struggle. Espanyol should survive if they avoid injuries, Hertha likewise. This leaves Internacional , Bremen and Levante fighting it out for the last survival spot.
Interestingly D1 is half a point weaker than last season perhaps as a result of the unusually strong teams who were relegated..
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | |
| Barcelona | 95.0 | 93.3 | 93.3 | 94.5 | 88.0 | 92.8 | 232.59 | 1 |
| Chelsea | 95.0 | 92.5 | 93.8 | 95.5 | 82.0 | 91.8 | 232.32 | 2 |
| Juventus | 95.0 | 92.3 | 93.8 | 94.0 | 85.0 | 92.0 | 231.50 | 3 |
| FC Porto | 94.0 | 91.8 | 92.5 | 93.5 | 88.0 | 92.0 | 230.02 | 4 |
| Arsenal | 92.0 | 91.5 | 91.3 | 94.5 | 88.0 | 91.5 | 229.23 | 5 |
| Real Madrid | 91.0 | 91.5 | 91.3 | 94.0 | 88.0 | 91.2 | 228.78 | 6 |
| Bayern München | 93.0 | 91.0 | 92.8 | 92.0 | 89.0 | 91.6 | 228.64 | 7 |
| Hellas Verona | 89.0 | 90.3 | 92.5 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 90.4 | 227.77 | 8 |
| Atlético Madrid | 92.0 | 90.8 | 91.8 | 92.3 | 86.0 | 90.6 | 227.32 | 9 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 92.0 | 91.3 | 90.8 | 92.0 | 88.0 | 90.8 | 227.00 | 10 |
| SL Benfica | 93.0 | 91.3 | 92.0 | 90.0 | 88.0 | 90.9 | 226.82 | 11 |
| Standard Liège | 91.0 | 91.0 | 91.5 | 91.5 | 86.0 | 90.2 | 226.72 | 12 |
| Manchester City | 90.0 | 90.5 | 90.8 | 93.0 | 86.0 | 90.1 | 226.57 | 13 |
| RCD Espanyol | 92.0 | 90.3 | 91.5 | 89.5 | 85.0 | 89.7 | 224.82 | 14 |
| Hertha BSC | 89.0 | 90.3 | 90.8 | 90.5 | 85.0 | 89.1 | 224.51 | 15 |
| SC Internacional | 91.0 | 89.8 | 89.8 | 90.5 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 223.79 | 16 |
| Levante UD | 89.0 | 89.5 | 90.3 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 89.0 | 223.30 | 17 |
| Werder Bremen | 89.0 | 89.3 | 89.5 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 88.8 | 223.03 | 18 |
| AC Milan | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.8 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.4 | 221.73 | 19 |
| Stoke City | 89.0 | 87.8 | 90.0 | 88.5 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 220.73 | 20 |
PSG - THE FUTURE
It was a big decision for me to move to a club, which even at that early stage of season 16 were likely to be going down. Particularly as I am a manager that likes to develop a sqaud and Division 1 is not a good place to start.
So as the weakest of the four teams that were relegated, season 17 is going to be a tough with many better teams that us, so my main aim/ hope is to avoid a secondary drop.
After taking over I bought in 2 players who I thought would help us in the future -Weston Mckennie and Donny Van De Beek. During the close season I decided to move them on and try and fine 1) strong defender 2) someone who could score goals - which last season was a big problem. I am hoping the experience of Filip KOSTIĆ will help with the goals and Gabriel MAGALHÃES will be my main man at the back. We will also rely heavily on De Gea in goal, but knowing SM he get 5s in most matches.
Elsewhere I have tried to bring in a number of younger players who will provide a longer term future for the club. As I have said my aim is to ensure a strong foundation for PSG, not just while I am manager but for whoever follows me. As they say only time will tell.
Ready for this great challenge!
Tomorrow the championship will start, the first in Div1 of the Levante, I think I moved well, I brought experience to fight but I kept a good youth team to continue the work, I will always try to improve my team both for the present and for the future but I believe that from now on we can demonstrate that we remain in Div1.
Marseille - Season 17 Preview
I picked up Marseille on the downturn into Division 5. I was drawn to the team, not by any measure other than the history of this club as many of us would remember their famous Champions League win in 93' as well as a host of players that have graced their club, including; Ribery, Drogba, Pires, Voller, Deschamps, Cantona, and many many more.
The task will not be easy here in Division 5. For a time there have been managers clamouring around improving their squads and lying in wait. In addition, some that have dropped down from Division 4 still possess very strong sides. With a range of 2.5 points in rating from top to bottom, there will definitely be an interesting season ahead.
My task here is simple. Defy the odds. Don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusion that my first proper season in Top 100 will be a steep learning curve, but I firmly believe that with the right tweaks, both tactically and with transfers a team can exceed expectations.
Our first hurdle was the retirement of Davy Propper. Upon my arrival in France I had many a sleepless night wondering how on earth we will recover from losing such a key player in such a role for next to nothing.
Our second hurdle - and I imagine as the season progresses, not our last - was finding the right tactic for the club. I'm a firm believer in being innovative, going against the grain. I pondered a tight 4-3-3, but with the loss of Propper it was became too much of a stretch on potential rotation. Our misfortunes in the transfer market in being able to successfully procure a decent CM became all too familiar.
In any case, our transfer business as follows:
In
- Christopher Trimmel (86) RB - 1.2m
- Erik Durm (85) LB/RB - 1m + Grady Diagana
- Patjim Kasami (85) CM/AM/W - 1.7m
- Kristoffer Olsson (85) - CM/AM - 4m
- Gabriel Pires - CM (86) and Yaroslav Mikhailov - CM (70) - Nail Umyarov + Neraysho Kasanwirjo
Out
- Adam Smith (84) RB/LB - 1.8m
My main target this season will be to finish in the top half of the league. I feel our best possible way to achieve this is to continue to look for moves in the transfer market to strengthen the side.
GinoBET odds for Season 17
Good evening to all managers of TOP100 and welcome to a new season. We have reached Season 17 already and it only seems like yesterday when this idea came to fruition and a legendary Game World was born. To last 16 seasons and still have a 100% take up is an incredible feat and here is hoping it continues for seasons to come.
We are at the pre season stage as everyone scrambles around the transfer market looking for the player(s) that can make the difference between a title/promotion and being an also ran.
Once again GinoBET has teamed up with TOP100 to bring the odds for the new season. Each Division will be revealed as we get closer to the opening league games on Sunday. I am one day behind what I had hoped for so Division 1 and 2 will be revealed on Saturday. The book will then open for anyone who wants a small flutter on the season. There will be a small note before each Division's odds saying how close I think it will be. I will also include how accurate the betting was in that Division for Season 16.
So, let's not fanny about and we will get this show on the road, starting with Division 5
DIVISION 5
Last season Cruziero cruised to the Division 5 title at odds of 25/1. Manager Roberto Downinho had the meanest in the division, conceding just 30 goals in 38 games. That was the catalyst for his win and the odds for Cruziero in Division 4 this season might not be so generous.
Title favourites, Sao Paulo, finished 2nd and of the teams tipped to finish in the top 7 by GinoBET, five of them obliged. The two odd ones out were Internazionale (9th) and FC Twente (15th) so five out of seven to finish in the promotion/play off places is surely not too bad.
On to Season 17 and the odds have been calculated. This is expected to be a very close battle and I think that the fight for the automatic promotion places and the play off spots will go down to the last day. It is that close that trying to get at last seasons five from seven is going to be very difficult. So, guys, here are the odds for Season 17
DIVISION 5
5/1 RUBIN KAZAN
11/2 INTERNAZIONALE
7/1 ACF FIORENTINA
8/1 ATALANTA BC
9/1 OLYMPIQUE LYONNAISE
9/1 FC TWENTE ENSCHADE
10/1 OLYMPIACOS
12/1 SPARTAK MOSKVA
14/1 AS SAINT ETIENNE
14/1 MONTPELLIER HSC
14/1 OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
16/1 BOCA JUNIORS
18/1 ATHLETIC BILBAO
22/1 MALAGA CF
28/1 AZ ALKMAAR
28/1 INDEPENDIENTE
28/1 TORINO
33/1 VFB STUTTGART
40/1 1FC KOLN
50/1 SHAKHTAR DONETSK
And that is us off and running for Season 17. As I said, I expect Division 5 to be very close but just have the feeling that the top two of Rubin Kazan and Internazionale will be in the promotion places come the end of the season. A dark horse? Montpellier look good value at 14/1 and I would give odds 7/2 to earn promotion by any means.
Next up we have Division 4 and looking at last season's odds, you would have got 15/2 on VFL Wolfsburg winning the title and it was the same price for 2nd placed Celtic. Fenerbahce SK were the surprise of the season as they earned promotion after starting the season at 25/1 to win the title. Of the teams that GinoBET tipped to finish top 7 (promotion and play off positions) only 3 managed to do that while one of them, Atalanta BC, were actually relegated so not a fantastic prediction there.
So let's move on to this season and it looks just as tough, if not tougher, to work out the favourites. Another very tight season is ahead so here are the odds for the fourth tier in TOP100
DIVISION 4
4/1 LEICESTER CITY
9/2 SAO PAULO
5/1 SWANSEA CITY
7/1 CRUZEIRO
8/1 CELTA VIGO
10/1 CSKA MOSKVA
12/1 LILLE OSC
12/1 CLUB BRUGGE KV
16/1 WEST HAM UNITED
18/1 PSV EINDHOVEN
22/1 GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
22/1 DYNAMO MOSKVA
25/1 SUNDERLAND
28/1 CHIEVO VERONA
33/1 VILLARREAL CF
33/1 DYNAMO KYIV
50/1 FC BASEL
50/1 LOKOMOTIV MOSKVA
66/1 SS LAZIO
And that is Division 4 odds for the coming season. For the second season in a row, Leicester City are installed as favourites but more interestingly is the fact that the 3 teams that were automatically promoted from Division 5 take up the next three places. This would suggest that Division 5 was stronger than Division 4 last season. Likewise, of the four teams that came down from Division 3, three of them are favourites to land back-to-back relegations. Looks like a very interesting season in Division 4.
Division 3 gives us our first clear favourite so far which is probably a pressure all on it's own but let's have a quick look at how last seasons odds compared with the outcome. Flamengo were the hot favourites last season and although they did not win the title, they did earn automatic promotion. Dinamo Zagreb were tipped for automatic but they finished a disappointing 12th. FC Augsburg, however, were tipped to go up automatically and they won the division to make it 2 out of 3 tipped for automatic to actually get. Of the four teams tipped for the play offs, two made it into the play offs, one missed out by one point and the other were five points short. Overall, not a bad effort to which I hope you agree. Of the four teams tipped to go down, only Borussia Monchengladbach escaped so 3 of 4 were relegated.
On to Season 17 and as I said, we have clear favourites for the division while the rest queue up to try grab either an automatic place or a play off spot. Ok, here are the odds for the third tier in TOP100
DIVISION 3
7/4 WEST BROMWICH ALBION
5/1 UDINESE CALCIO
6/1 GALATASARAY SK
8/1 FK PARTIZAN
8/1 SAMPDORIA
8/1 DINAMO ZAGREB
10/1 CRYSTAL PALACE
12/1 TSG HOFFENHEIM
12/1 SASSUOLO
14/1 VFL WOLFSBURG
16/1 HAMBURGER SV
16/1 FENERBAHCE SK
18/1 CELTIC
22/1 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG
22/1 SEVILLA
25/1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
33/1 BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH
33/1 FEYENOORD
40/1 AS ROMA
40/1 SSC NAPOLI
So, West Bromwich Albion are easy favourites and anyone that backs against them are either very brave or very stupid. They missed out on the play offs last season by finishing 8th but it is felt that this will be their season. AS Roma and SCC Napoli are tipped as the main strugglers but we know that anything can happen.
Last season, Division 2 was the most difficult to predict. There were teams where managers claimed were too high up in the betting and ones that said they were too low. As it turned out, favourites were Everton and while they were always in the top half, they ended up finishing 5th before crashing out in the play offs. The actual winners were 25/1 shots Werder Bremen with a great season. My other tips for automatic promotion were Aston Villa (11th) and Levante UD (3rd). Levante were tipped for 3rd so we got that one right. Two out of four was the stat for the play offs as Internacional and Southampton were correct. It was the same as the bottom as two out of the four tipped were relegated.
Moving on to this season, I think it will be more accurate with the relegated teams from Division 1 looking strong. The promoted teams from Division 3 will find this division a huge step up in class. Here we go then:
DIVISION 2
4/1 GENOA CFC
5/1 RSC ANDERLECHT
13/2 EVERTON
7/1 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
8/1 VALENCIA CF
10/1 ASTON VILLA
12/1 FLAMENGO
12/1 SPORTING CP
14/1 PARIS SAINT GERMAIN
16/1 MANCHESTER UNITED
16/1 RIVER PLATE
18/1 SOUTHAMPTON
22/1 FC AUGSBURG
25/1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
25/1 SANTOS FC
25/1 AJAX AMSTERDAM
28/1 LIVERPOOL
33/1 FC SCHALKE
40/1 DNIPRO DNIPROPETROVSK
50/1 AS MONACO
So, the relegated teams are probably worth following. As far as I know, there has never been a season where the four relegated teams were promoted back in the following season. This season could see it happen for the first time if things went the right way. I am willing to offer that bet as a special and would give 100/1 for it to happen.
Only one division to go and it's the big one. Nowadays, Division 1 is a tough league to win once but to win twice is very difficult but Barcelona have managed to do it last season. They were clear favourites at 6/5 and they duly obliged. GinoBET got the top three bang on with Benfica being the first team to fail to reach expectations. At the bottom, 2 of the 4 teams tipped to go down, did so with rank outsiders Stoke City having a fantastic season to finish 12th. They find themselves with the exact same chances again this season so can they repeat it. Hertha Berlin seems to have been overlooked as they finished an incredible 5th after being tipped to be relegated.
Onto this season and the question is can Barcelona make it three in a row. They already hold the record of four titles in a row so it wouldn't be new ground although, arguably it is harder to do now. GinoBET, after having a good look at things, have not installed Barcelona as favourites but instead think there will be a brand new name on the trophy. After the top two, the rest will be playing for third place. Here are the latest odds:
DIVISION 1
13/8 JUVENTUS
7/4 BARCELONA
8/1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND
10/1 FC PORTO
11/1 SL BENFICA
12/1 CHELSEA
14/1 ARSENAL
14/1 BAYERN MUNICH
16/1 REAL MADRID
22/1 HELLAS VERONA
25/1 ATLETICO MADRID
28/1 MANCHESTER CITY
28/1 STANDARD LIEGE
33/1 SC INTERNACIONAL
33/1 HERTHA BSC
40/1 LEVANTE UD
40/1 RCD ESPANYOL
50/1 WERDER BREMEN
66/1 AC MILAN
80/1 STOKE CITY
And that is us all set for Season 17 getting underway tonight.
Anyone wanting a bet, the rules are the same. Single bets to a maximum of 200cr are accepted without question. Any other bets like doubles or any special bets can be requested. I will then decide if it is acceptable and will offer separate odds for the bet. I wish everyone good luck for the new season and to anyone who lays a bet
CIAO
Paul Wanner' Future Confirmed
Despite being barely 16, Paul Wanner is on the move for a second time after his future was put in jeopardy at Cologne within hours of his signing as a free agent.
Just one week later & his future is now settled, as the youngster will join Juventus on March 23rd. A deal was struck on the 18th January that will see Yan Couto, Loum Tchouna & Fabio Blanco move to Cologne.
Chairman sets out expectations
As we enter a busy pre-season period, before the big kick off on Sunday, optimism within the supporter base has increased with record season ticket sales. The club have increased stadium capacity by a further 2500, as the transitional change goes into overdrive.
"Going into last season, we had a very aging squad. We'd done well to compete, but there was a worry that significant surgery was going to be needed on the playing staff front. Martinez left the club mid-season, with us mid-table but with the squad in the same position with 18 players over the age of 30 with many of these heading into their mid 30's. We appointed Mullan, from Napoli giving him a clear objective of building the future. We wanted more emphasis and effort on our youth set up. We wanted a first team which could continue to compete, but a clear path for our squad players and youth team to progress into first team players. We felt, beyond our core 15 or 16 players, the gap in quality was far too great for the remainder of the squad to impact the first team. With age not on the first teams side, there was a genuine worry that these players had passed the point of being tradeable assets, and were now seen as players on the steep decline. We set out a plan to trade what we could, knowing we'd have to trade again going into this season, and probably again mid season this year. The squad is taking shape, has incretsed in value and we now have assets who can continue to improve. We are on a long term plan here and with that we've set a target of a mid table finish. I've taken into account, the bedding in period of many new players but also the transfer activity elsewhere. The market has been vibrant with some of the worlds best footballers swapping clubs. I think the table is going to be very interesting this season with clubs like Arsenal and Real Madrid on the upward curve, whilst our opening day opponents Juventus are possibly favourites to win the title, given the departures from Barcelona. The updates have also seen a number of clubs get those vital upgrades to their starting 11, which will give them a boost in terms of table position possibilities. The thought of standing still with your squad is now a scary proposition, given the turnover of players at other clubs."
"This is the Managers first full season, but we ask our supporters to judge in season 3. I think 3 full seasons at any club is giving any manager enough time to make the squad their own. We are supportive of the transition at board level, and are pleased with the early signs. We believe there is enough quality in the squad to sustain our division 1 status, whilst we have a greater balance of youth and first team players. We are not expected at this stage to compete with the likes of Juventus, Chelsea and Barcelona, but do have a clear vision of trying to break into the next tier of clubs by season 3. If we can become a regurlar top 6 club, then in our opinion this would be success for a club our size"
From Russia to the beloved Italy
The debut in Russia and now Lazio. A rather positive debut in the Top 100 if it were not for those 15 draws that could raise the ranking for the Russian team and maybe aim for the playoffs, but I can be satisfied. The starting team was already more or less competitive, I just had to rebuild the spring that well figured in Youth without demanding too much. Now a new adventure, LAZIO!!! We return to our homeland in Italy to play again in the 4th Division and have mine team as opponent…. I was asked not to relegate the team for the third consecutive year, it will be tough but I will try to succeed. The starting team does not have enough competitiveness but the spring is absolutely fantastic; there are 7/8 really formidable elements and that's why I'll try to keep everyone even at the cost of going back…. The future is ours, we just have to wait. We will try to perform well in the championship and get the salvation, our only goal.