Top 100 unveil another statue to stand alongside Hirst, Marsden and Payne as Wallace is rewarded for his excellent service to the gameworld with a place in immortality. A fitting honour for another great servant of the gameworld!

With the season wrapping up, Leicester City continue to keep their eyes on the next few seasons, and the continuous development of the squad. This season alone, the average squad rating has increased from 89.4 to 90.4, whilst at the same time, the average age of the starting XI has dropped from 25.00 to 24.5 (based on current ages). With both these figures moving in the right direction, it is exciting to see where the team could end up in a few seasons time.
Today though, I will be looking all the way back to the start of my time at Leicester City, to compare what I inherited (Then), my starting XI after the first round of transfers following my arrival (After) and the current team (Now), as well as my current back up options (Sub) too. So lets get into it!

Goalkeeper
Then - Lukasz Skorupski - 29 - 87
After - Luigi Sepe - 29 - 87
Now - Aaron Ramsdale - 24 - 89
Sub - Lucas Chevalier - 20 - 80

We've been through a load of keepers here at Leicester, but I feel like I am now set long term with my options! Aaron Ramsdale will hopefully continue to rise and earn the starting spot at the World Cup. At 24 he has a long career ahead of him, and it is more than likely that he will be spending his years at Leicester City. In behind him, Lucas Chevalier is the number 2, and also starting youth keeper. This season he has taken the starting spot at Lille and so will hopefully be rewarded fairly with a rise in the winter. They have earned 6.89 and 6.98 average ratings respectively making them an exciting duo for us to have. Skorupski is still a solid option at 88, but he's 31 now and (with my current team) I wouldn't trade even Chevalier for him at this stage. Contrastingly, Sepe dropped to 85 this January, and finds himself external, which is unsurprising.

Centre Back
Then - Rodrigo Caio - 26 - 89
Then - Emanuel Mammanna - 24 - 87
After - Bonfim Dante - 36 - 88
After - David Garcia - 26 - 85
Now - Ibrahima Konate - 23 - 90
Now - Nikola Milenkovic - 25 - 90
Sub - Niklas Stark - 27 - 89
Sub - Jaka Bijol - 23 - 85

On paper, the pair I inherited are a solid looking duo. However, looking into it, Mammanna was a guaranteed dropper, and Caio was a fantastic trading piece whose departure gave me Nicolas Gonzalez and Luis Sinisterra. Both Caio and Mammana have received -2 drops since leaving. The immediate drop in the "after" category, shows my interest was shown in lower players with potential to rise, who we cant see on this list as they had no squad role (Gonzalez and Sinisterra for example). Dante was a very short term option, and Garcia was a promising late bloomer at Osasuna. My faith in him was rightly placed as he is now up to 89 in rating, although not here at Leicester City. Despite this rise, he would still not be an option as we have jumped up massively! Ibrahima Konate looks to be one of the top defensive prospects around with a 6.99 average rating in the Premier League last season, and 7.17 in the Champions League. Whilst injury has kept him side-lined this season, my faith in his ability remains high. Milenkovic is a recent arrival, and another who has a long term future at the club. Since arriving at Fiorentina in 2017, the Serbian has season averages of 6.94, 7.01, 6.91, 6.96, 7.00 and this season 7.02. This represents great quality, and also great consistency, which makes it easy to see why so many teams are chasing him in real life. Depth wise, Niklas Stark is set to join soon, and is a top quality back up for any emergency injuries at the back or in midfield. Bijol also has the longer term capacity to rise, having started life well at Udinese with a 7.2 average this season.

Right Back
Then - Victor Moses - 29 -88
After - Ola Aina - 23 - 87
Now - Nordi Mukiele - 24 - 90
Sub - Tino Livramento - 19 - 85

This was a position which I thought "I'm sorted" when Aina arrived, and in fairness, he has remained a fine option, keeping his 87 rating and being a versatile player, but he just couldn't keep up with our growth. Moses was always on his way out, and rightly so, as he has since dropped and lost his ability to play in defence. Mukiele offers a top option for me, and by far the best right back I have had in my time at Leicester. At 24 he has just joined PSG where he will play a decent role, despite not being a guaranteed starter. The ability to play CB also makes him a valuable asset for the quad as a whole. As my back up and youth starter, Tino Livramento is one of the best prospects around, even despite his injury. He had a great first season at Southampton, and will be expected to be back playing an important role in a few months time hopefully. I would definitely take him over my previous options.

Left Back
Then - Jordan Amavi - 26 - 88
After - Faitout Maouassa - 22 - 87
Now - Alvaro Pedraza - 26 - 89
Sub - Mikel Balenziaga - 34 - 87

On paper, this again looks like a great start with Amavi, and a great arrival with Maouassa, but both have since had drops. Amavi was used to bring in Yangel Herrera (who rose from 85 to 88 with me), and Josh Sargent (who was later swapped for Giacomo Raspadori). Like Aina, I thought I was set when Maouassa arrived, but he was surpassed by other signings such as Federico Dimarco who arrived as an 83. Since leaving, Maouassa has dropped to 84. Alfonso Pedraza is now arriving in a few months to take up the position, making him the the highest rated left back we've had since I joined. There's a chance he can rise further, after a 6.93 league rating last season, and a 7.00 so far this season. Behind him we have Balenziaga, who was originally planned to come in as a starter, but we had Berchiche come in too so he is just a short term back up who will probably move. When he does, Micky Van de Ven will become the sub option who I expect to get a rise in the upcoming reviews. I would probably take back Dimarco (used to bring in Mukiele) in this position, as he is looking great at Inter, but no other options would have any role here now.

Centre Midfield
Then - Pedro Obiang - 28 - 87
Then - Morgan Schneiderlin - 30 - 87
After - Sander Berge - 22 - 87
After - Douglas Luiz - 22 - 86
Now - Rodrigo Bentancur - 25 - 91
Now - Manuel Locatelli - 24 - 91
Sub - Ellyes Skhiri - 27 - 88
Sub - Ivan Ilic - 21 - 86

Not much to say about the Obiang and Schneiderlin, neither were ever going to have any role here. Obiang is now 85 rates and Schneiderlin is retired. The 2 we got in were a different story though! Berge was seen as my long term future and was club captain for some time, he didn't really get going in real life and is still at Sheffield United. Less was expected of Douglas Luiz, but we got much more out of him with 164 league appearances for me over 5 seasons. He was eventually deemed surplus to requirements and moved out but was a massive success rising from 86 to 89 for me. The partnership for next season is just a different league to what we have had in the past though. Not only are both rated 91, but they are in the golden "Under 25" category. Between them they also have scope to improve further too. Bentancur has a 7.09 average since joining Tottenham last season whilst Locatelli has been over 7.00 in average season ratings for the past 4 years in Serie A, with a current 7.06 for Juventus. As far as back ups go, we could certainly be doing worse than Skhiri. At 88 he is a solid cup or injury cover option, and he is still young enough at 27. Ilic offers the longer term sub option though. At 21-years-old he already has 68 Serie A appearances to his name and is a full international.

Attacking Midfield
Then - Dimitri Payet - 33 - 90
After - Ifran Kahveci - 24 - 87
Now - Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - 27 - 92
Sub - Yacine Adli - 22 - 86

Certainly a big fan of this upgrade... to be fair, Payet is still a 90! But he, like many others, was used to bring in younger options and didn't at all fit how I build teams. Kahveci looked like a solid arrival for me, having done great as Basaksehir, and I hoped he's move to a Top 5 team. However, that never happened and he left without really making a splash for me. The disappointments of the past are easily forgotten now though as Milinkovic-Savic lines up in the team. He's my 2nd best player, and the type of player I didn't expect to have this soon. He has been superb for Lazio for the past few seasons, but has hit even better levels this year. He's currently in the top 10 best performers in the Top 5 leagues after scoring 3 and assisting 7 in 10 games in the league. Adli just joined as our CAM back up and is another young up and coming option. A couple of good seasons in Ligue 1 earnt him a move to AC Milan where he is now (after a loan back to Bordeaux last season). He's not had an immediate impact, but he has potential and is only 22 so will hopefully have a good future. I would take either of my current duo over either of the earlier 2 options for sure.

Wingers
Then - Hans Vanaken - 27 - 88
Then - Renato Steffen - 28 - 87
After - Oussama Idrissi - 24 - 87
After - Darwin Machis - 27 - 85
Now - Martin Odegaard - 24 - 91
Now - Gabriel Martinelli - 21 - 88
Sub - Thiago Almada - 21 - 87
Sub - Mykhaylo Mudryk - 21 - 85

If you don't know, I'm and Arsenal fan, so this is my favourite section of the pitch now! Looking back, Vanaken and Steffen have both retained their ratings up to now, which is more than can be said for Idrissi and Machis. Idrissi joined coming off an amazing AZ season and got a move to Sevilla, but struggled and has since dropped to 86. Machis had a better time, rising to 88 for me and being one of my key players. He has dropped back down to 86 though since leaving, meaning both "afters" are now at the 86 mark. The main talk is Odegaard and Martinelli though. Odegaard is the club captain and is already making things tick for me with 7 goals and 13 assists this season, whilst Martinelli has 13 goals and 5 assists in his league and cup games. In real life, they are currently sitting at 7.30 and 7.23 averages in the Premier League. I hope they will hit 92 and 90 each in the coming reviews. Almada and Mudryk offer great young back up options who can also help push us in the youth competition. Both of their futures rely on moves to the Top 5 leagues, which will hopefully come sooner than later!

Striker
Then - Max Kruse - 31 - 89
After - Florian Niderlechner - 29 - 86
Now - Paulo Dybala - 28 - 93
Sub - Jordan Larsson - 25 - 86

Another one of the "big players" when I arrived, Kruse was someone who could have had a big impact for us, as he is still rated 89, but as before, he didn't fit the direction of the club and so off he went. Niderlechner was also an older option, but cheap, allowing me to focus my resources on younger long term options too. He did get a rise whilst at Leicester, before we sold him in a deal for a younger option. Somehow though, we have now ended up with Paulo Dybala leading the line! At 93 he is one of the best striker options in the game, and he has shown that for us, netting 11 and assisting 7 in his first 15 games. He is fairing similarly well in real life with 7 goals and 2 assists in 10 starts for Roma, earning himself a 7.58 average. He's one of the biggest difference makers in the team and, at 28, still has many seasons left in him to help drive us forward! Larsson as the back up is just a fine cup option, nothing more. At 25, he has longevity left in him, and has the ability to rise further, as he has been at 87 before. Backup striker is probably the position I will look to improve most this offseason, although, as it is a backup role, it wont be a massively important move.

Overall
Then Age - 28.3 Rating - 87.9
Now Age - 24.5 Rating - 90.4

It's clear to see the progress of the team, and there is not a single player which I inherited who I would take back now. Even moving forward, there are perhaps one or two player I would want back as starters in Dimarco and Tonali (not in terms of reversing the deal, more so they are the only guys who would actually have a role if they were in the current team). Whilst the team progress is obviously going to slow and plateau as we start attaining the higher rated guys, the overall trajectory has been excellent and I look forward to seeing how some of these guys rise in the future. We also have some top class youth prospects who can hopefully start to look like starting prospects in the near future!

IN RESPONSE TO, AND AS REQUESTED BY (DW) THE FOLLOWING IS MY SUPPORTING STATEMENT

REGARDLESS OF WHERE I FINISH IN DIVISION 2 IT IS MY INTENTION TO STAY AT UNITED AND TO CONTINUE MY REBUILDING PROJECT

Whenever I take a team over I immediately assess their current squad and commence a “long term rebuild”, as they tend to have a lot of older players (bought for ratings)  that are unlikely to rise and could even start to decrease. 

My first club in TOP100 was Besiktas which I had for two seasons, in the first season I managed to gain promotion from division 5 to division 4.

I was then successful with my application for United. For the first 10 seasons they were in division 1 but then in seasons 10 & 11 they deteriorated and had successive relegations from division 1 to division 3. Successive managers had pretty much destroyed them, and they needed a complete rebuild. Although United is considered a big club, the team that I inherited was poor and typical of a division 3 or division 4 side. A rebuild was required but I gained promotion in my first season getting them back to division 2. I always manage my teams with the long term in mind, and although my aim is to get them to division 1, when I get them there they will be in a good position to stay there. I have managed to bring in some interesting first team players and some youths that will keep the first team supplied, and I have a number of players that I am sure will achieve rises in the next round

This season 100 teams were entered into the World Club Cup and we were placed in group P where we managed to finish top of the table, and progress to the knockout stages and the last 20. We reached the quarter finals where we had a tough away trip to division 1 leaders Arsenal, and we had a competitive game and managed just a narrow defeat of 1-2. Not bad for a division 2 side to get to the last 8 for a team that is also in the middle of a total rebuild, and where 6 of the last 8 teams were in division 1.

I have managed to get two separate teams promoted to a higher division. Although United May be relegated, they will be in the division that I took them over. Back in division 3 it would prove the ideal place to start the rise under the team that I have rebuilt

In the middle of a rebuild programme, I think for all of the reasons above, I should retain my position as United manager and continue to rebuild the team.

I am also active in Facebook and on the “blog”. With regards to transfers, I have brought in 15 players and sold 14 players this season so am also active in SM

————————-

Below are the results from the recent Squad Cap poll

A sensational turnout of 90% was had, thanks to all who voted and those who chased them up as well

Results shown below, with holding the cap at 50 players just shading out a reduction

Please vote here.

[docs.google.com/forms/d/e...](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4ciVzMD7j5-HoXvk6Sz68JYyONS4NRx23ihl7AUuZYJD_1Q/viewform?usp=sf_link)

Last month has been very busy for Independiente Team Manager. 9 new players has arrived, someone finished directly and the first XI and someone that can develop in our Academy.

Jean-Philippe Gbamin has been payed probably too much, but he is an 87 and he will be very important as CB.

In the near future, the place of Gbamin could be taken by another new arrival: Nicolas Cozza has joined from Southampton and we have good hopes for the "Petit Bleu" international.

Also the full backs has been readjusted with Gabriele Zappa on the right on the right and Domagoj Bradaric on the left. The Italian is trying to find finally a good form in SerieB team of Cagliari, while the Croatian is actually not doing so well in Salerno.

In the midfield we bet on two players that are in decline but not too old to reverse the trend. Amadou Diawara is the new playmaker, his transfer to Anderlecht irl can help him to find himself.

Morgan Sanson hasn't had a good impact in Premier and recently he is struggling to find place.

As backup of Edouard, directly from external, we have bought Vincent Janssen; in his comeback to Europe it seems he restarted to score and probably he will go to Qatar to play the World Cup for Netherlands.

In addition to these deals, three very young players. While Monaco's Sountougou Magassa and Odd's Dennis Gjengaar are just starting to play their first games, Filip Bundgaard, born in 2004, is already having a big season in Denmark, with 3 goals in 10 games for the second placed Randers.

Do your U21s need a refresh? Are you currently under squad cap? Have some just turned or about to turn 22 and therefore ineligible for next seasons competition? Then fear not for Mario has done some work for you....

Mario Balotelli - the assistant manager of Sampdoria U21s (and Top 100 legend) has kindly produced a short scouting report of 10 U21s available at external - in most cases all will be eligible for Youth Cup Season 19. All of whom have first team minutes and some are current or former youth internationals.

Eliano Reijnders,
Harrison Burrows,
Cameron Duke,
Louis D'Arrigo,
Marco Bosisio,
Giuseppe Di Serio,
Aldo Florenzi,
Nicholas Bonfanti,
Fabio Ponsi,
Simone Rabbi,

BONUS 2

Florian Bianchini, Allan Tchaptchet,

SEASON 18 (Division 2)

It appears that the strength of division 2 will be similar to that of season 17, but at worst, no stronger.

Just before the end of season 17, I tried to make some changes to the team but found that I was being offered poor players in return for mine and can only assume that the players I was offering did not meet other managers expectations. I do not talk up my own players as I like to give other managers the credit of knowing their worth. I therefore start season 18 with pretty much the same team that finished season 17, so I expect the outcome and league position may be similar too.

We still have an average rating of 89.0 for the best starting 11,  and therefore my aim will be to avoid relegation and our Chairman states “this season he expects us to avoid relegation”. My contract requires me to finish 10th, but this is a bit unrealistic when you compare our squad against the others in this division, and the leagues stats suggest 14th.

 I am carrying out a long term build which does not meet the objectives of a contract where you have to improve every season. My aim is that once we gain promotion to division 1 we stay there. Due to having contracts and having to achieve short term gains, the teams promoted from division 2 are now struggling in division 1

Looking back over the last few seasons, 44 points should see us safe.

The new season did not start very well for us commencing with a 1-3 loss at home, followed by a 2-2 draw away and then followed by another 1-3 loss but this time away.

I Sold Justin(87)24yo (rose 1 to 88) to Atletico Madrid for Lokonga(87)22yo and Koita(83)22yo, and swapped Torres(89)27yo for BIA(88)25yo with Malaga. Time will tell how these changes pan out. 

We are now midway through the season and have completed 19 games of which we have achieved W4, D6, L9 and only 18 points. We are in 18th place and in the relegation zone and the reason for this is that my counter tactics have not worked so well. We do need to pick up our form and I need to see some improvement in the formation/tactics.

No need to panic yet as only 3 points from safety

Two set of deals done today.

LEICESTER CITY :

Oscar Rodriguez will move to them on 9th August when TB ends.

Ellyes Skhiri will swap with Lucas Torreira on 10 October when TB ends.

WOLFSBURG :

Alvaro Odriozola will move with immediate effect. With Layvin Kurzawa and Ryan Kent coming to us.

Luis Suarez will swap with Moussa Marega on 17th August when TB ends.

Leicester City have stared their season in relatively good form, with 2 wins and 2 draws in their season openers. Earle will hope to see this form continue, especially following an offseason of significant improvement, and some further developments within the squad itself.

Fans already expected the transfer window to be a positive one with the long awaited arrivals of Martin Odegaard, 23, and Tanguy Ndombele, 25, from Barcelona. The duo were always seen as players who would immediately come in and take up starting roles, with Odegaard being one that fans were especially excited for. Both have so far started well, and will hope to improve even further once settled. As mentioned, these transfers were both well known about for months, but wouldn't be the only major signings the squad would make.
Despite already having club top scorer Gabriel Barbosa, 25, Leicester splashed out to sign attacker Jonathan David, 22. The young Canadian was originally seen as competition for Barbosa, or as a replacement as interest in the Brazilian mounted, however, no move materialised and so both are being utilised together in a new formidable attack. David has slotted in just behind Barbosa, taking up a more creative role. Whilst fans still have hopes that David will eventually take up an attacking role in the future, they cannot complain at the moment as Barbosa has netted 5 goals in the opening 4 games.
The final new staring arrival came in the form of French midfielder Maxence Caqueret, 22, who joined from Rubin Kazan. His arrival came as a surprise to many as he had been a target for some time with no success. Caqueret has easily claimed the starting spot alongside Ndombele in midfield, and has the defensive capabilities to complement the rest of the midfield and attack.

It wasn't only starters who were brought in, however, as five depth options were signed and 8 youth plyers too. The most notable squad signings were Noa Lang, 23, and Thiago Almada, 21. Lang arrived with Caqueret from Rubin Kazan and added great versatility to the attack. The Dutchman can play on the wings or up front and will likely play a key role in the Cup competitions, as well as in the league if the club face any injuries. A similar Cup role will go to Almada, who re-joined Leicester from Standard Liege after 2 season in Belgium. It is unlikely, though, that Almada will take up a league role with other players ahead of him in the pecking order. Instead he will be a key member of the youth team, likely operating on the wing for the upcoming tournament. Further depth additions came in the forms of midfield duo John Swift, 26, and Jens Stage, 25, as well as winger Romain Del Castillo, 26. Swift and Stage are likely to be given game time in the cup competitions and are hoped to have potential to improve, whilst Del Castillo adds emergency depth if needed.
The youth squad also saw a major overhaul. With many players moving as part of deals, the youth team was left relatively depleted and so there was a need for signings. Along with Almada the club also added George Bello, 20, Lucas Chevalier, 20, Billy Mitchell, 21, Gino Infantino, 19, Jonathan Rowe, 19, Mayckel Lahdo, 19, Thomas Kastanaras, 19, and Arnau Pradas, 16. Of them, only Lucas Chevalier is expected to be a starter in the youth team. The French keeper arrived from Feyenoord as a replacement for Barcelona bound Dogan Aledmar, 19. Whilst Bello is also a starting calibre player, he finds himself behind Manu Sanchez, 21, in the pecking order. Similarly, Mitchell was signed to be a starter, but the arrival of Lucien Agoume, 20, on loan means that the English midfielder will need to settle for a back up role.

Even after all of these signings the club wasn't done improving. Earle has seen remarkable improvements in several players which has changed the dynamic of the team. Despite already being starters, Martin Odegaard, Federico Dimarco and Aaron Ramsdale have all solidified their positions further with developments in their play. The biggest improvement has come from Ibrahima Konate though, who was comfortably back up to Andreas Christensen and Rafael Toloi at the start of the season, but now looks likely to take a starting role. That leaves Earle with the decision to either drop Toloi to the bench, or push him out wide to right back in place of Pedro Porro. There is also a third option however, and that is to look for a deal for the Italian defender. It is likely that this is the option Earle will choose as he looks to strengthen elsewhere in the squad. Further developments across the defence have come from Davi Vivian, Manu Sanchez and Tino Livramento who are all likely to step up into cup competition roles, whilst Gabriel Martinelli has taken a step towards the staring 11, although he is not quite there yet.

Whilst the club is currently in it's strongest position since Earle's arrival, if not in it's history, there is a desire to keep pushing and not let standards slip. There are still many targets on the market who will be sought after this season and it is likely that Rodrigo De Paul, Tanguy Ndombele, Rafael Toloi and Gabriel Barbosa could all be allowed to leave if the correct offers come in, although no deals are likely to happen before the end of the month.
The club is continuing on its upward direction, with the fastest period of growth happening between the start of last season and the start of the current season. Only time will tell what route Leicester take next, but it will likely follow the pattern of the previous season.

One of the biggest clubs in the world, with currently its own Top100 transfer list, but sat in division 2, what will it take for this famous old club to be back with the elite of Division 1?

Ken Keeley goes into his fourth season in charge at United with a points to game average of 1.80 from his 127 games in charge.

LIfe started well with promotion from division 3 via the play-offs in his first season, however two mid table finishes in division 2 is all that has followed, With the club avoiding relegation by three points in season 16 and by twelve points last season, although the club only added one additional point from season 16 to finish on 50 points.

The current team has no fewer than 21 players with live bids against their name, whilst half of the squad is on the transfer list, however the only notable business done is the sale of Justin to Athletico Madrid with Lokongo and Kiota.

Looking at Uniteds current squad there are plenty of players with rating improvement in them, its a relatively young squad and if anything is littered with far more assets than the majority of division 2. However Ken's plan appears to be to sit on the talent and wait for it to blossom in a slow build others have tried. Slow building is common in top100, however at a time contracts are critical, is Ken really giving one of the biggest clubs in the world a chance of promotion?

The reality is Man Utd have been closer to going down, than going up. It does not take much to get dragged into the relegation zone, and should the club suffer the embarrassment of relegation then the blame lies firmly with the manager. If relegation was to happen at Man Utd the chance of being reappointed would be zero, as a number of managers would be queuing to take the hotseat and make better use of the pool of players Ken is currently sat on.

Dvision 2 is competitive but has Ken done anything to improve on last seasons finish by the lack of trading or imagination to kick the team onto a promotion chasing team? The answer is simple, its a "No", and we cannot continue reading that other teams are stronger, when there is a complete reluctance to cash in on an asset or two to bring better players through the door.

The glory days at United are looking further in the past as each day passes, the fans are starved of optimism and season 18 is very much judgement time on Ken Keeley and if he is the right man to be overseeing the return to the promised land.

Its now up to Ken to prove his growing list of doubters wrong, and the only way he will do that is a promotion push this season, anything less and he is just making the number's up as part of the top100 community.