2023
Season 20 Division 4 Stats and Facts
Can AZ shield their keeper to take the title?
Division 4 is normal full of compromises. A weak keeper, lack of depth a dodgy midfield.
Note any transfers after Monday 3rd are not included.
AZ are 2 clear points above the rest of the pack. They have a 90 rated striker, just below 90 midfield and a strong defence. So long as the keeper isn’t breached they should do well. Feyenoord in 2nd a similar team but with more depth overall who should come good in the 2nd half of the season. Sassuolo less potent up top than their rivals but they have a far better keeper and if they can withstand some possession football could be the 3rd choice for auto promotion.
You have to be above 219 to survive D3, therefore any team lower than Bordeaux has a lot of improving to do. Lille weak in defence but strong elsewhere, Malaga with a dodgy keeper but strong in the remainder of the team. Bordeaux maybe more balanced but have the weakest midfield of the top 7 teams.
Up for the cup? Feyenoord look the best prospects.
Anything less than 217.5 leaves you in serious relegation risk. This means 7 teams have to improve their stats to survive. Shaktar and Fiorentina look prime suspects to drop back down. Maybe Fiorentina can hide behind or in front of their keeper. Napoli will be ok unless they get a couple of injuries, if so they will suffer. Dnipro still a weak defence leaves them vunerable. St Etienne go for the strong striker , weak defence combo that often is enough for the weaker teams.
Average = 218.09 , 0.55 lower than last season
|
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre |
| AZ Alkmaar | 87.0 | 89.0 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 88.2 | 222.18 | 1 |
| Feyenoord | 87.0 | 88.3 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.1 | 220.53 | 2 |
| US Sassuolo | 89.0 | 88.5 | 88.4 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.0 | 219.72 | 3 |
| Lille OSC | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 219.65 | 4 |
| Málaga CF | 86.0 | 88.0 | 88.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 219.16 | 5 |
| Girondins Bordeaux | 87.0 | 88.3 | 88.2 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 219.00 | 6 |
| CSKA Moskva | 90.0 | 88.0 | 87.4 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 218.52 | 7 |
| 1. FC Köln | 89.0 | 87.5 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 83.0 | 87.1 | 218.08 | 8 |
| Lokomotiv Moskva | 87.0 | 86.8 | 88.2 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.92 | 9 |
| Torino | 86.0 | 87.5 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.0 | 217.92 | 10 |
| FK Partizan | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.4 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 217.81 | 11 |
| Crystal Palace | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.4 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.1 | 217.68 | 12 |
| Dynamo Moskva | 87.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 217.68 | 13 |
| AS Saint-Etienne | 87.0 | 86.3 | 87.5 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 217.49 | 14 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.1 | 217.36 | 15 |
| Olympiacos | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.1 | 217.36 | 16 |
| Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.2 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 86.8 | 216.47 | 17 |
| SSC Napoli | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.0 | 87.0 | 82.0 | 86.2 | 216.15 | 18 |
| ACF Fiorentina | 88.0 | 86.5 | 86.6 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.6 | 215.79 | 19 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 87.0 | 85.5 | 85.8 | 89.0 | 84.0 | 86.3 | 215.41 | 20 |
Espanyol lay out plans for the future
Newly promoted Espanyol go into the new season as relegation favourites in Division 1, after their play off success last season. There is no pressure on the spanish side with their stats some way below that of all their division 1 rivals.
Its been an intriguing 3.5 seasons at the helm for the manager. The team has achieved a 6th place finish in division 1, a European Trophy, and despite suffering a relegation in their free season, the club bounced straight back to claim promotion and another free season, and this was achieved 3 seasons ahead of target, with reaching the play offs only predicted at the end of season 22, with promotion likely only in season 23.
Twice in 3 seasons the manager has made the short list for the manager of the season, whilst his young side is starting to look very exciting for the future.
"Its fair to say we have arrived in Division 1, three seasons ahead of target and with that comes the downside of us being significantly lower rated than the rest. Being in division 1 will not change a single thing for us, we've been building the foundations for long term success and are pretty much there now in terms of the squad which will take us forward for many years to come.
We had only one option when I arrived, the squad was old, lacking any depth and ranked 14th in division 1. There was no chance we could just sit on players 34, 35, 36 years old, or we'd of dropped down through the divisions with little hope of a sustainable team for the future. Its took a lot of time and effort to go from a squad of no hope, to a squad of serious young talent who we take daily messages for from the bigger clubs to try and tempt us to sell. We won't be doing that, we've set our stall out to be a team where the squad grows together so one day it becomes a serious top 4 side in division 1, and I believe time will show that those stars are already sat in Espanyol's ranks to make that dream a reality.
We will once again enter the youth cup this season, with the knowledge that 8 of this teams youth cup best 11, will also qualify play in season 22's and in many cases also season 23 and 24. We are also purring at the fact thet the likes of Fernandez, Ben Seghir, Guler, Gordon, Chaibi, and Simic are not even in consideration for the youth team yet, which demonstrates the strength of our young players, whilst showcasing the work we've put in over a sustainable amount of time to put our club very much on the list to keep an eye on as seasons progress.
Hidden deeper within those youth players are Turco, Christensen, El Arouch, Pedrola and Rankine, players who are quietly going under the radar but are expected to break out during 2023-24.
Whilst rebuilding the youth set up, we have also brought in some excellent young players into the first team, Ilic, Vieira, Garcia, Vivian Smith-Rowe, Almada, Stiller and Hickey will all play a significant part this season, whilst youth team strikers Broja, Elanga and Leonardo are all expected to play a large amount of first team games learning from the legend that is Ibrahimovic.
Although relegation is somewhat guaranteed, and if anything welcomed at this stage of our squad development we feel that a return to division 1 football for season 24 as a team who can then stay there is the long term plan. This squad is going to be allowed to grow, we have no need to sell anyone, whilst right now our only focus on recruitment is external youths who can be added to the squad. We plan to sign 5 of these over the season to take our squad back up to 50 in which we have a strong shortlist of players both on the database and also ones likely to be added."
Season 20 Division 3 Stats and Facts
Levante the team to beat, who else could challenge?
This must be the season for Levante to push back into the big time. 90+ in all departments and they would probably get automatic promotion from D2.
Schalke and Inter are their nearest opponents. Schalke would seem to be odds on for automatic promotion with only the defence below 90. Sunderland and Inter maybe a keeper away from the title either will that be enough to get a 2nd or 3rd place as the stats suggest, they have good depth and the 2nd half of the season should be a strong one. Inter though have a far stronger strike force than Sunderland or Schalke so the battle for 2 - 4 should be tight. Zagreb are more balanced and could initially be a stronger prospect.
Swansea and Augsburg just missed out on the playoffs last season and this year they will be fighting it out with Inter.
218 or less was the problem zone last season. Roma look most vulnerable lack of depth and weak defence. Sampdoria have a weak keeper but good defence and o,k up front. Twente a little weaker in defence but a better midfield should shield that.
Up for the cup? Twente if they can avoid relegation could throw a few coals on the fire.
The average score is 220.67 which is 0.79 up from last season.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | |
| Levante UD | 90.0 | 91.3 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.6 | 225.43 | 1 |
| Internazionale | 88.0 | 89.3 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.3 | 223.55 | 2 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 90.0 | 89.3 | 90.2 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.9 | 223.18 | 3 |
| Sunderland | 88.0 | 89.5 | 89.4 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.0 | 222.62 | 4 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.6 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.4 | 221.73 | 5 |
| FC AUGSBURG | 89.0 | 88.8 | 88.8 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.4 | 221.54 | 6 |
| Swansea City | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.6 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 221.43 | 7 |
| Flamengo | 86.0 | 89.8 | 89.4 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 221.16 | 8 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 87.0 | 88.5 | 88.2 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.2 | 220.62 | 9 |
| Fenerbahçe SK | 92.0 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.9 | 220.61 | 10 |
| Galatasaray SK | 88.0 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.9 | 220.13 | 11 |
| West Ham United | 89.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 87.9 | 220.10 | 12 |
| Cruzeiro | 89.0 | 87.5 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.6 | 219.93 | 13 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 88.0 | 86.8 | 88.6 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 87.8 | 219.66 | 14 |
| Celtic | 89.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.5 | 219.53 | 15 |
| Celta Vigo | 88.0 | 87.5 | 88.2 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.7 | 219.29 | 16 |
| AS Monaco | 87.0 | 87.8 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.6 | 219.05 | 17 |
| FC Twente | 88.0 | 87.5 | 88.4 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.7 | 218.92 | 18 |
| Sampdoria | 87.0 | 88.3 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 218.68 | 19 |
| AS Roma | 88.0 | 86.8 | 87.0 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.4 | 216.31 | 20 |
WOLFSBURG -LONG ROAD AHEAD
This will be 2nd season at Wolfsburg ( thanks to the panel for re-election), and thought it worth looking at the way forward.
I took on Wolfsburg after they had won promotion to division 2. In my mine a great achivement by the previous manager considering the squad depth there.
It was clear from the outset to me that we did not have the assets to sustain our position in that division, and that proved correct of course.
I decided as I have done with all my teams within SM to try and develop a long term strategy, with the priority being club first and myself second. Always looking to leave a club in a sound position for the future once I move on (probably why I have not won many trophies in SM).
So during last season I looked to bring in a number of youths from wide and far (South America, Scandinavian, even England and my own backyard (Romania). Hopefully over the next 2 seasons or so one of these might turn out to be a gem. In addition to the youths I have bought in a few 85/87 rated players (under 30) who will give me a bit more depth to the first team squad.
So what for this season in division 3. Have not seen the stats yets but suspect we will find it hard to not drop to the next division. As already mentioned aim is to put the club in a position where in future any manager will take them forward.
Season 20 Division 2 Stats and Facts
Real Madrid odds on favourites, who will come second?
Perhaps and over simplistic view but as Madrid would be solid mid table in D1 and Leverkesuen 2 whole points away you can’t see around Real Madrid romping back to D1 and even having time to spare to build a stronger team while they do it.
Leverkeusen also though have a strong side . Second place should be relatively easy and they too have a side built for a higher league with no real vulnerabilities. Everton and Ajax are harder to judge. Everton have a weaker keeper but more depth than Ajax who risking everything if they get injuries. Liverpool Stoke and Anderlecht strong in midfield but weaker at the back. To survive D1 you will need 224 so this is kind of the cut off , unless you can improve your team while gaining promotion.
Last season anything less than 221 suggested a struggle. This puts 5 teams already fighting before the season has begun. Zenit look least well equipped to survive with a week attack and defence combo that will suffer against 90 + rated attacks. Hoffenheim will be good up front but can they out score their opponents. Same could be said for River Plate but they should get more possession than some . Udinese are more balanced and have good depth , which should do them fine. AC Milan trade depth for a stronger midfield which should be good for at least the first few games.
Cup run teams ? Anderlecht & Udinese
Average for Division 222.65 up 0.4 from last season.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | |
| Real Madrid | 91.0 | 91.3 | 92.2 | 93.0 | 88.0 | 91.1 | 228.69 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 90.0 | 90.0 | 90.4 | 92.0 | 87.0 | 89.9 | 225.36 |
| Everton | 89.0 | 90.5 | 90.4 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 89.2 | 224.75 |
| Ajax | 91.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 92.0 | 82.0 | 89.0 | 224.56 |
| Liverpool | 89.0 | 89.5 | 91.0 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.3 | 224.55 |
| RSC Anderlecht | 89.0 | 89.5 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 88.0 | 89.5 | 224.15 |
| Stoke City | 89.0 | 89.0 | 90.2 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 89.0 | 224.04 |
| São Paulo FC (P) | 92.0 | 89.3 | 90.4 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 89.3 | 223.46 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 90.0 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 89.2 | 223.46 |
| Manchester United | 88.0 | 88.3 | 89.8 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 88.6 | 223.00 |
| Southampton | 89.0 | 89.3 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.8 | 222.74 |
| Sporting CP (P) | 88.0 | 90 | 89.2 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 88.4 | 222.62 |
| Hamburger SV | 91.0 | 89.0 | 89.5 | 89.5 | 86.0 | 89.0 | 222.22 |
| Hertha BSC | 88.0 | 88.5 | 89.2 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 221.54 |
| Werder Bremen | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.8 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 88.1 | 221.10 |
| AC Milan | 88.0 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.0 | 220.28 |
| Udinese Calcio | 88.0 | 88.8 | 88.8 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.1 | 220.24 |
| River Plate | 87.0 | 87.5 | 88.6 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.6 | 219.49 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.8 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 87.6 | 219.34 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg (P) | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.43 |
Season 20 Division 1 Stats and Facts.
A few notes for the uninitiated.
The ratings for GK,DEF,MID,ATT are the average rating of the likely players in those positions. Top 18 is the lowest player likely to be in the starting squad. Average is the average of those. ETOT is based on a secret formula using the relative importance of each position. That created the Pre (predicted ) finishing position.
Perhaps it is no shock to see Chelsea still way ahead of everyone else. They lead in most categories except perhaps defence where they are a little weaker and could be vunerable to any team sporting 92 attack or above if you pick the right formation. Benfica are the nearest challengers, almost a Chelsea clone just a point or so down across the board. Juventus under their new boss sit 3rd , defensively the most solid team in the league. Porto have a really strong attack and could beat any team. Dortmund and Bayern are strong in the middle and could challenge any team.
With the lowest 4 at risk of the sack any team less than 223 is likely to be in trouble but such is the strength of D1 this season that even teams on 224 or less will be pulled down if they are not careful. As they stand Espanyol look relegation certainties, Spurs will also struggle. Valencia may have a good enough attack to survive. Villa will look to shield their keeper usings the defenders and midfield as a screen. Cup run team, surely Bayern Munich who can put out an 89 as their 18th ranked player or maybe Dortmund who can do the same.
Average ETOT 226.93 down 0.4 from last year.
| Gk | Def | Mid | Att | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | |
| Chelsea (C) | 95.0 | 91.5 | 94.4 | 97.0 | 86.0 | 92.8 | 233.49 | 1 |
| SL Benfica | 94.0 | 90.0 | 94.0 | 96.0 | 87.0 | 92.2 | 231.32 | 2 |
| Juventus | 94.0 | 92.5 | 93.4 | 93.0 | 85.0 | 91.6 | 230.65 | 3 |
| Hellas Verona | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.4 | 95.0 | 86.0 | 91.2 | 230.11 | 4 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 92.0 | 92.0 | 92.6 | 93.0 | 89.0 | 91.7 | 229.85 | 5 |
| FC Porto | 94.0 | 90.3 | 92.2 | 96.0 | 85.0 | 91.5 | 229.84 | 6 |
| Bayern München | 93.0 | 90.8 | 92.6 | 92.0 | 89.0 | 91.5 | 228.32 | 7 |
| Arsenal | 92.0 | 91.8 | 91.8 | 92.0 | 86.0 | 90.7 | 228.00 | 8 |
| Barcelona | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.0 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 90.3 | 227.72 | 9 |
| Manchester City | 95.0 | 91.8 | 91.6 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 91.1 | 227.55 | 10 |
| Leicester City | 90.0 | 89.8 | 92.4 | 93.0 | 86.0 | 90.2 | 227.29 | 11 |
| Standard Liège | 91.0 | 91.0 | 90.4 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 90.5 | 226.93 | 12 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 89.0 | 90.0 | 89.8 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 89.8 | 225.41 | 13 |
| Genoa CFC | 91.0 | 90.6 | 90.4 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.8 | 225.19 | 14 |
| SC Internacional | 90.0 | 89.5 | 89.8 | 91.0 | 88.0 | 89.7 | 223.95 | 15 |
| Atlético Madrid | 91.0 | 89.5 | 90.6 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 223.94 | 16 |
| Aston Villa | 89.0 | 90.5 | 90.6 | 90.0 | 82.0 | 88.4 | 223.90 | 17 |
| Valencia CF | 89.0 | 89.3 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.3 | 223.67 | 18 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.4 | 89.0 | 84.0 | 87.9 | 221.21 | 19 |
| RCD Espanyol | 89.0 | 87.3 | 87.6 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 219.91 | 20 |
Espanyol back in the big time as they show Levante the art of building on both fronts
The Celebrations will go on long into the night as Espanyol beat Bayer Leverkeusen 4-2 on penalties after the teams drew 1-1.
Ronaldo got the equaliser in normal time, before Otavio stepped up and smashed home the winning penalty to send Espanyol back to division 1 at the first time of asking.
With the team also reaching the youth cup final this season, it tops off a remarkable journey for the side who were ranked 13th best in the division before a ball was kicked.
At the halfway stage of the season the club was 17th, however the second half of the season saw the team storm up the table to finish 4th and grab a place in the play offs.
"We had not planned on promotion, we've let big stars go in the last week, but showed our fight to the end. Our build has always been a about long term success and the foundations are clearly there. We are under no illusions , next season is going to be a slog, but we believe in what we are doing and are looking forwards to seeing this team grow. We look at those idiots down the road Levante who have suffered back to back relegations with all their eggs in the youth team basket. We will start next season 2 divisions higher, but with the comfort we also made the youth cup final and showed why he will continue to be a shit manager, and why their supporters continue to leave in their 1000's due to the pain and embrassment he has bestowed on that club. We have a free season next season and will likely come back down as we are ahead of schedule. However this team is looking tasty in the youth department. We've some of the best young players in the world, and at some point we are going to be a team fighting at the higher reaches of division 1"
DONETSK DREAM: THE UNLIKELY STORY OF PROMOTION S19
The Fans went wild for the underdog story of the Shakhtar promotion
Where do we begin this story- perhaps looking at the previous seasons of Justice's reign as the gaffer of Shakhtar Donetsk, where the club had been dwindling at the bottom of the table which resulted in the English manager having to be re-appointed three times previously by the T100 Panel Members, but they saw the build in transition, from a side that was essentially dying of old age in SM Terms left by the previous manager Andrew Achellios.
The ratings took a huge hit in the re-build as Donetsk began clearing out the ratings for youngsters, as they fell from Division-4 to Division-5, which was under the tenure of Justice by technicality, although the side were already well in the relegation battle when he arrived. the Ukrainian side actually not too long ago were in Division-3 with the ratings they had, but have spent the last 3 seasons in the bottom tier of the T100 pyramid, with their highest finish previously under Justice being 14th spot.
But, this season felt different and it simply was different for the inspiring Ukrainian side, as the campaign got off to a flyer and they kept that consistency of being in and around the play-off spots from GW-1 only dropping out of them on a few occasions.
The Hirnyky however went on to not only reach the play-offs but obtain the last spot of automatics promotion spots on the last day of the campaign when they drew with Russian side Rubin Kazan to ensure they bettered Boca Junior's result who were occupying the 3rd-spot, as they were defeated by Olympiacos 3-2, and the celebrations were wild ones, as the struggling side turned it around into a promotion in quick time!
There has been only been a few changes in the season transfer wise compare to seasons gone by under Justice, but the deals worked a treat as the side is in a healthy position and has improved and is still a very young side, with only one experienced head added to the side in the form of veteran goalkeeper Vincente Guaita, who is still very much a regular in real life at Palace, whilst they have Arijanet Muric as a potential longer-term solution between the sticks. That said the marquee signing for the side was for sure Mathues Cunha, 23, 89, who literally arrived with 2 games to go, and grabbed a vital goal and assist for his side in GW-37! But going into the next season he will be a vital cog, and beyond that too...
It has been quite the journey for the club under Justice and he's thoroughly enjoyed his 175 game stint back in T100 after a brief spell away between Villa his last club and the Ukrainian's! He had this to say on the season and his time so far...
"Honestly, I'm so delighted to be here and to have managed to turn things around even against my very own expectations going into this season, and has shown the faith put by both the panel and club into the long-term plans here! Now... well, now, we must prepare for the tough season ahead in Division-4 and go again, we cannot be complacent at all...prep starts now!"
For sure next season will be a true test for the side sitting currently at 86 averaged rating in their starting XI...
Thanks for reading...
Arsenal review Season 19
Arsenal review a little turbulent this season deciding to swap Lewandowski for Mane and Pavard although long term a good deal, it did hit us hard.
When we where flying early doors following our title win the season earlier, but we stumbled, I wanted to try bring some more youth in and start a transition to the side but also try not to affect results too much.
Well after a long season knocked out of the Youth Shield at the Semi Final Stage and out of the title race we where determined to do well in the World Club Cup and retain if it possible a first for Top 100. Really difficult games, FC Porto, Benfica very hard team to beat in the final and semi final.
Brazilians Casemiro and Raphinha having stand out seasons for me.
A league finish of 6th place again not the best top four was the aim.
A great line up for next season as below verging on 93 average hopefully, hoping for increases for Pavard, Rudiger Raphinha
W SZCZESNY 92
B PAVARD 91
A ROBERTSON 93
M GINTER 91
A RUDIGER 91
C CASEMIRO 94
B RAPHINHA 91
M BROZOVIC 92
S MANE 94
J KOKE 92
M OYARZABAL 92.
Great cover with
L Spinazzola 90 both full backs plus Pavard can play central or right back.
J BOwen 90 , Centre forward , Right Wing and Attacking midfield.
S DIOP 88 covers wings also.
Lots of up and coming 20 something players that will get game time and also due into the club at the start of the season are the following 5 players.
Kike Salas 80 rated CB Youth Team
A PEDRINHO left back for Youth TEAM
Young established players due uprating
Aimar Oroz 83, Yacine Adli 86 and J Ramsey 87.
Looking forward to Season 20 , all the best in the play offs to my fellow managers for the end of this season.
Last Game for Arsenal is the SMFA Champions Cup Final against Barcelona.
Espanyol v Bayer Leverkeusen Div 2 play-off Final
38 league games, 1 play off semi-final and it all comes down to one match, the Division 2 play off final.
Espanyol will face off against German opposition again as they face a Bayer Leverkeusen side who clearly sport a squad rating advantage.
Leverkeusen go into the game without Bennacer, Andersen and Christensen who are either injured or suspended. In normal circumstances this would be a big loss to any team. However the german side sport one of the better squads to cope with absentees and are likely to partner Lovren 89 and Romo 87 at centre back which is still greater than the two centre backs in D'ambrosio 87 and Boscagli 87 who will be at the heart of the Espanyol defence. Elsewhere the Germans have 90 plus rated players across the pitch, giving them the advantage on paper.
Espanyol have continued to plan long term and have recently lost Parejo 92, Locatelli 91 Ocampos 90 and Senesi 88 who have been mainstays in the clubs run to finish 4th. All have moved onto pastures new.
Espanyol also face a number of fitness issues as their pre-planned substitutions in the semi final, for some reason did not occur, meaning their best 11 played 90 minutes.
In Ronaldo, Muller and Vardy the spanish side certainly have match winners, but all three are not fully fit. Midfield is also a big problem, Smith-Rowe is almost certainly out of contention from starting, whilst Otavio and Krunic are touch and go.
In stand buy is Hickey, Karlsson, Silas and Leonardo who could become unlikely options to start the game and if not could be on the pitch at some point.
Its an intriguing fixture in the sense, a promotion does not suit Espanyol at this stage of their build, its probably two seasons too soon, but is testament to the competitive nature of the Manager.
"We are relaxed about the game as its more than we expected this season and whichever way it goes we wont be disappointed. Division 1 right now would be a massive struggle for this squad of players. Our planning has always been around being in division 2 next season, and although we will try our best to win the game, we are realistic in terms of where we are right now as a squad. Its the final game for our veterans Muller, Vardy and Ronaldo before they exit the club, and maybe they have that one last gift for the club within them to upset the odds on the night. The opposition have had the luxary of adding another 90 player who is fully fit to their line up in the last 24 hours.
We have been hit with a few blows in the transfer market the last 24 hours with Malaga's Manager resigning which has put our pre-agreed transfers at risk. This will have a knock on affect if one of the managers we have other deals agreed with takes that role. We are having to quickly do the maths and re-allign targets as we sold players on the back of those deals and cannot exactly turn the time back.
Its all a bit of a mess right now, and it certainly will change our model in terms of pre-agreed deals which cannot be partially completed at the time.
Top 100 - A new beginning? A new owner? - Season 20 onwards....
Important context to this post - it isn't one that I want to write - but I am in essence being forced to do it as we have tried in vain since 4pm yesterday to sort this out privately and in house.
Many managers know I don't like contracts but have gone with the flow and implemented them, followed them and put in "some" of the hard work behind the scenes, appointing the panel, collecting votes, sending emails etc - I went with it as this was what was decided for the gameworld. In addition I think 50 as a squad is too high - but I respect the multiple votes we have had and it remains at 50.
I have had to ask managers to leave their clubs too - for example Ignazio, Ken to name just two and whilst it isn't easy they have always complied and respected the rules of the gameworld. Ignazio for example happily took on a new challenge and is thriving when sacked by Liverpool.
There are in my head a few fundamentals for Top100 - interact and be active firstly and some managers and I'll name some of them RJ Alston, Liam Pigott, Attila are not active enough and rarely interact and if it were my decision they'd be sacked and asked to leave - but it isn't my decision - we have used bottom 3, and then contracts and decisions always been made by a panel (a key fundamental) of 11, a panel which does change season by season - and is impartial to a degree. I stand by the panels decision and if a manager refuses to accept a panel decision I will fall on my sword and leave - No problem!
Another thing that annoys me is managers who can't be bothered to take part in the youth cup - which is unique to Top100 yet expect to keep their top clubs - Andre Guerra for example at Porto, Bojan at Bayern - yet expect to remain at Top clubs - again not against the rules so they stay in place.
So that brings us to Dan Payne and Juventus (who failed his contract in season 19 - finishing 10th - target was 6th - 21 points behind) - yes a founder member and to all intent and purpose the co-creator with Frank Hirst. Dan Payne was a big driver in bringing in contracts and this season has failed his. He even wrote the rules around contracts and what happens if you failed etc. So we asked for a statement and got one. Incidentally the top part was not included.
For the record I would have said "REAPPOINT" but it isnt my decision - it is the panels.
I respect the panel and this is what they came back with NEW CLUB - 6 -3 - 2 yet to vote but irrelevant as he cannot win. See below evidence of people voting for NEW CLUB for Dan Payne. Some snippets of emails from panel too.
Dan though is refusing to accept their decision. He says that when we brought in contracts the first failure didnt need to go to panel - both myself and Dan W do not remember this - it isnt written in the rules anywhere - and I ask if he remembered that WHY has it never been implemented before - Ignazio at Liverpool for example got asked to go to a new club after 1 contract failure - screenshot below of Dan Payne never suggesting he should get an automatic second chance - and appalauding work of panel.
Additionally - why did Dan not remind us of the "so-called" rule of second chance after first contract failure before sending his statement?
So I have asked Dan P to leave Juventus and offered him a new club - but he wont leave it appears. He said NEW CLUB is not an option which to me is blatant disregard of the institution, rules and panel. He said IF Admin make a decision that he is no good for gameworld and ask him to leave then he will leave. We were forced to have a vote and under circumstances we voted 3-0 (Mike T didnt need to vote as was decided).
If Dan P doesnt leave I will leave by 8pm - as I put trust in panel and panel and gw expect us to implement these rules - so this must fall on somebody. Mike T will take over as GW owner and I wish you all the best in future what you choose to do moving forwards is up to you all as a GW - likewise what you decide to do with Dan P.
No one is bigger than the gameworld and yes Dan has worked so hard for the gameworld over the years that isnt denied - but contracts need to be respected. Dan in my own opinion is putting his ego above all - it is a game at the end of the day... many of us have had multiple clubs and play for the game and nothing else.
ZSP A Dream Season Review
As the sun sets on season 19 of Top 100, Zenit fans are still swimming in a sea of joy as they celebrate an unlikely promotion.
Touted as relegation favourites at the start of the season the Russian club have astounded the SM world by not only getting promoted but actually still being in the title race on game 37.
The club based near the River Neva in Russia have been starved of success for many years. Their last promotion came in season 3 when they won the play offs to make it to division one.
Since then the club has spent most of its time in division 3, indeed it has been 9 seasons up until now.
So just how did the club achieve such a fantastic feat this season?
Manager Mark Stewart said “We must rewind to the end of last season, with 3 matches to play we were 8 points adrift of safety, needing to win all 3 to have any hope of staying up and hope Sassuolo lost all their games.
“We indeed went on to win all 3 and from that moment I sensed a real togetherness and fight, we carried that spirit over to this season and a strong team ethic and togetherness has been key.
We don’t have the strongest of first elevens but have good subs that have helped make a difference, and we battle until the final whistle every game
Stewart is indeed right in this assessment, the side battled hard all season, the first half of the season saw Zenit pick up 31 points, as the club sat around 8th but an improved second half saw them pick up an impressive 39 points and surge to second place and the runners up spot.
Stewart who has previously tasted a lot of Top 100 success such as winning 3 successive titles in D5,4 and 3 with Hertha Berlin before moving to Benfica and winning the D2 play offs in his first season to make it a jump of D5-D1 in successive seasons
Stewart then went on to win T100 Cup in Benfica’s first season in the top flight, a great resume indeed, but Stewart has said this promotion has been the best achievement out of all those, to prove all the doubters and the odds wrong really enthuses me said the Welshman
So just who were the key players for the club?
Lukas Skorupski – the talented keeper was brought in on an internal deal with Southampton and made captain, he picked up 7 mom awards and 15 clean sheets
Sofyan Amrabat – the midfield marauder patrolled the centre of a park like a lioness protecting her young, winning biting tackles and protecting the back 4, with aplomb. After a great world cup in real life the in demand Moroccan has said he is happy at Zenit and the club have confirmed he wlll not be allowed to go cheap if we do let him go at all
Maxime Lopes – the French midfield dynamo was allowed to get forward thanks to Amrabats willingness to do the dirty work and he did so with gusto as he top scored for the club with 12 goals and has proved deadly from free kicks
James Forrest – the 86 rated winger has performed above expectations as he caused havoc with opposition defences scoring 8 and assisting 6 times
Jean Phillipe Mateta - the 87 rated striker struggled to find the net scoring just 4 times but he did assist 9 times and recorded the highest average rating of the squad with 6.71. A cult hero with fans for his non scoring ability was a key player as his tireless running and work rate really bothered opposition defences and helped the team.
So just how good was this season?
Well we dusted off the record books to peruse seasons gone by and found that this season was a record breaker in terms of most wins in a season, least goals conceded and most points, as the club end their 9 season stay in d3
So who came in to join the Zenitchiki this season?
Internals
We have highlighted Skorupski above the keeper joined in exchange for Areola with Facundo Torres also coming in, highlighted below
Manolo Gabbiadini, the 87 rated winger joined in a px deal with Southampton, Oliveira Lincoln headed the other way, Gabbi plyed 12 times scoring thrice, gaining 2 assists and 1 mom award, a positive contribution for the Italian winger
Facundo Torres the exciting Uruguayan MLS based winger has rarely featured, still very young just 22 years old and 85 rated, we expect him to rise in the next MLS review and he could well feature as a squad player next season
Yann M’villa the 88 rated D/DMC will play at the back, he only joined on matchday 38 in a double player exchange for Palomino, the Frenchman should be safe with his rating as Greece reviews were finished in February
Roberto Pererya the Argentininan midfielder/winger will play on the wing for us,, rated 88 and a regular for Serie A Udinese he will be a first team winger next season
Externals
10 players were brought in for external the pick of them highlighted below
Left back Nuno Sequeira has proved a shrewd signing, brought in from external as an 86 rated player, he received a plus one a few weeks later and has established himself as the number one left back for the club
Aleksa Terzic the 82 rated 23 year old Fiorentina left back has now established himself in the Fiore side and could prove a shrewd signing if he can keep up his performance in real life
Taylor Booth the young American midfielder has had a great season with Utrecht in Holland, is regarded as a hot prospect in real life and could well be a great makeweight for a transfer in the future
Niccolo Pierozzi the young wing back is currently on loan with Serie B Reggina, he has had a cracking season, is regarded as a very promising talent and if reports are to be believed he will be in Fores squad for next season
What does the future hold for Stewart and Zenit?
Stewart said “I'm not one to club hop, we are on 199 games here now and have the best average points rating of any Zenit manager.
The squad was a car crash in my eyes when I took over 2 years ago, its still not where I want it but in a far better place, we had little to work with and always have to rely on picking up rough diamonds and others cast offs, it’s a challenge I really enjoy.
We will be hot favourites to go down and if you look at Malcolm's stats you will see stats wise we should be in Division 5, but were not, were going to give everything to try and stay up and improve the side, we may fail but it want be for a want of trying".
Strong words from the wily ZSP manager and they will warm the hearts of the ZSP fans, the journey hasn’t finished yet and they look forward with hope and optimism to season 20
Partizan- After the party was over
Here its the hot off the press thoughts from Walter as Partizan suffer relegation....
"Well to say im sad and disheartened about the effort the team has put in is something no words can express". The players have owned up in their lack of effort this season and a few have already been shipped out or are packing their bags as we speak. The main player blamed after a decent start is not to be named but he is 89 rated...
Next season with new talent coming in the door we are aiming a return to division 3 as soon as we can. The chairman says there is no pressure at this time but feels future transfers need to be done inline with the philosophy of the club, no more pensioners or players on decline.
Abner 22 87 on the way in will be a vital peice along with Daka 24 87 and keeping the youthful element the squad has at the moment. Thr manager is looking to add to this pool where possible.
Tactics have been a problem when trying anything it just hasnt worked. We aim to solve this issue in house and sort roles and positions players understand...
There will be more exits....
Season 19 Division 5 Stats and facts review.
Two great examples of how to play the game right. Fiorentina should have been 18th but came 1st +17 VA and +18 PVA.
Shaktar should have been last +17 VA and +6 PVA.
2nd spot Olympiacos have +10 VA with Athletic club on +8 VA. Other notable over achievers were Montpellier and Newcastle.
Most abjectly poor performance as -18 VA Lazio, Spartak Moscow were not far behind on -14 VA , along with Lyon. Villareal and Stuttgart on -10 VA were also behind the curve.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | Fin | VA | PVA | |
| ACF Fiorentina | 87.0 | 86.8 | 86.6 | 86.0 | 85.0 | 86.3 | 215.22 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 18.00 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 86.0 | 84.8 | 86.2 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 85.4 | 213.59 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 6.00 |
| Olympiacos | 87.0 | 87.5 | 87.2 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.7 | 216.95 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 5.50 |
| Athletic Club | 87.0 | 86.0 | 86.6 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.3 | 215.27 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1.00 |
| Montpellier HSC | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.4 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 86.8 | 217.16 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 1.00 |
| Boca Juniors | 89.0 | 86.8 | 88.4 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 217.55 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1.00 |
| Newcastle United | 87.0 | 85.5 | 86.8 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 85.9 | 214.79 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0.67 |
| AS Saint-Etienne | 87.0 | 86.3 | 87.2 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 86.9 | 217.25 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.57 |
| PSV | 87.0 | 86.5 | 87.0 | 87.5 | 86.0 | 86.8 | 216.44 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0.50 |
| Independiente | 89.0 | 86.5 | 87.2 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.9 | 216.39 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0.45 |
| FC Basel | 87.0 | 86.0 | 86.6 | 89.0 | 82.0 | 86.1 | 216.21 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0.13 |
| Atalanta BC | 88.0 | 87.3 | 87.8 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.47 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0.13 |
| Olympique Marseille | 88.0 | 87.3 | 87.3 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 86.5 | 216.67 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 0.00 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 89.0 | 87.5 | 87.6 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 86.8 | 217.27 | 9 | 19 | -10 | -0.47 |
| Club Brugge KV | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.2 | 88.0 | 84.0 | 86.9 | 217.60 | 5 | 13 | -8 | -0.54 |
| Villarreal CF | 87.0 | 87.0 | 87.3 | 88.5 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 217.57 | 6 | 16 | -10 | -0.56 |
| Rubin Kazan | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.6 | 218.88 | 1 | 5 | -4 | -0.60 |
| Olympique Lyonnais | 88.0 | 87.3 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.4 | 217.96 | 4 | 18 | -14 | -0.72 |
| Spartak Moskva | 87.0 | 86.3 | 88.6 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 218.37 | 3 | 17 | -14 | -0.76 |
| SS Lazio | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 90.0 | 80.0 | 86.6 | 218.50 | 2 | 20 | -18 | -0.85 |
Season 19 Division 4 stats and facts review.
The 1 2 3 in the league come 3rd 2nd and 1st in the stats.
West Ham with best VA of +11 in the league come top of the stats with the most over performing team in D4. Fenerbache in 2nd had a a great +7 VA and Twente +3 VA. All 4 were tied with 4.00 PVA so the VA was the tie breaker.
Playoff Dynamo Kiev had a great +8 VA as did CSKA, Cologne top that with +10 VA and a notable +6 for Napoli.
AZ on -11 VA come lowest placed in the stats, though Chievo on -15 VA could really claim that prize after the predicted 2nd place team got relegated. Santos also struggled and paid the price on -8 VA.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | Fin | VA | PVA | |
| West Ham United | 89.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.4 | 217.88 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 4.00 |
| Fenerbahçe SK | 89.0 | 87.5 | 88.8 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.7 | 218.55 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 4.00 |
| FC Twente | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.1 | 220.57 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4.00 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 218.20 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 2.25 |
| CSKA Moskva | 88.0 | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 218.04 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 1.80 |
| 1. FC Köln | 88.0 | 87.8 | 86.8 | 88.0 | 82.0 | 86.5 | 217.24 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 1.38 |
| SSC Napoli | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.0 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 86.8 | 216.84 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0.50 |
| Lokomotive Moscow | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 86.0 | 87.0 | 217.04 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Torino (P) | 87.0 | 87.3 | 87.5 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.76 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0.23 |
| Crystal Palace | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.7 | 218.97 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0.17 |
| Málaga CF | 88.0 | 88.8 | 87.8 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.5 | 218.67 | 8 | 10 | -2 | -0.10 |
| Besiktas JK | 88.0 | 87.3 | 87.6 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.31 | 17 | 20 | -3 | -0.10 |
| Sevilla | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.2 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.44 | 16 | 19 | -3 | -0.11 |
| Dynamo Moskva | 87.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 218.33 | 11 | 15 | -4 | -0.20 |
| Girondins Bordeaux | 87.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.4 | 218.76 | 7 | 11 | -4 | -0.27 |
| US Sassuolo (R) | 91.0 | 88.5 | 88.5 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 88.2 | 219.92 | 5 | 9 | -4 | -0.33 |
| Santos FC (R) | 88.0 | 87.8 | 88.5 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.5 | 218.43 | 10 | 18 | -8 | -0.39 |
| Sunderland (P) | 88.0 | 88.8 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.1 | 220.73 | 3 | 7 | -4 | -0.43 |
| Chievo Verona | 88.0 | 87.5 | 88.6 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 88.2 | 220.91 | 2 | 17 | -15 | -0.82 |
| AZ Alkmaar (C) | 87.0 | 89.3 | 88.0 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 88.1 | 221.59 | 1 | 12 | -11 | -0.83 |
Season 19 Division 3 Stats and Facts review.
Have Zenit done the performance of the year?
2nd spot in the league and VA of + 16 and a PVA of 8.50 puts them miles ahead of leaders Sporting who are in 2nd. Galatasaray in 3rd had a great season with +6 VA, with Roma the only other big over achievers.
Augsburg were the most disappointing team this year. -7 VA and the lowest PVA. Swansea their playoff rivals faired little better with -4 VA. Relegated Lille also had -4 VA
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | Fin | VA | PVA | |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 89.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.7 | 217.23 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 8.50 |
| Sporting CP | 88.0 | 89.5 | 89.0 | 91.0 | 84.0 | 88.4 | 222.59 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2.00 |
| Galatasaray SK | 88.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.0 | 220.33 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1.75 |
| Manchester United ( | 88.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 84.0 | 87.8 | 220.74 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.40 |
| AS Roma | 88.0 | 88.0 | 86.8 | 87.0 | 84.0 | 86.5 | 217.03 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0.33 |
| Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 87.0 | 86.5 | 87.2 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 86.7 | 216.27 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.17 |
| Sampdoria | 88.0 | 87.3 | 88.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 218.76 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0.15 |
| Internationale | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.3 | 220.69 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0.14 |
| Cruzeiro | 89.0 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.7 | 219.60 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0.08 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 87.0 | 88.3 | 89.0 | 89.5 | 85.0 | 87.9 | 220.62 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Celtic | 89.0 | 87.3 | 87.6 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.2 | 218.61 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 0.00 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 90.0 | 89.0 | 88.4 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.9 | 220.77 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Celta Vigo | 87.0 | 88.0 | 89.2 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.1 | 220.37 | 9 | 11 | -2 | -0.09 |
| FK Partizan | 87.0 | 87.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 217.68 | 17 | 20 | -3 | -0.10 |
| Feyenoord | 87.0 | 87.0 | 88.4 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.1 | 218.16 | 16 | 19 | -3 | -0.11 |
| AS Monaco | 88.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 219.86 | 11 | 14 | -3 | -0.14 |
| Lille OSC | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.5 | 219.49 | 13 | 17 | -4 | -0.18 |
| São Paulo FC | 90.0 | 89.5 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.9 | 223.22 | 1 | 3 | -2 | -0.33 |
| Swansea City | 88.0 | 88.3 | 88.8 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 88.8 | 221.79 | 4 | 8 | -4 | -0.38 |
| FC AUGSBURG | 89.0 | 88.5 | 89.8 | 90.5 | 86.0 | 88.7 | 222.43 | 3 | 10 | -7 | -0.60 |
Season 19 Division 2 Stats and Facts review.
2nd Place Villa just beat champs Leicester to the stats crown.
Dominant they were but Leicester were beaten stats wise by Villa who had a great VA of 7 , though the top VA was Udinese who just missed out on the playoffs after being relegation candidates. Espanyol, Werder and AC Milan had a good VA this season.
Most underperforming teams were Hamburg and Liverpool. Promoted Genoa and maybe Everton won’t be bothered if they go up.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | Fin | VA | PVA | |
| Aston Villa (R) | 89.0 | 90.0 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 88.8 | 223.22 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 4.00 |
| Leicester City | 89.0 | 89.5 | 91.4 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 89.2 | 224.22 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3.00 |
| RCD Espanyol | 89.0 | 88.0 | 90.4 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.9 | 222.34 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1.75 |
| Udinese | 88.0 | 89.3 | 88.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.0 | 220.36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 1.38 |
| Werder Bremen | 88.0 | 88.5 | 89.2 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 88.1 | 221.42 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.86 |
| AC Milan | 89.0 | 88.5 | 88.6 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 220.41 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0.50 |
| Southampton | 88.0 | 89.8 | 89.6 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 222.33 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0.33 |
| River Plate | 87.0 | 88 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.6 | 218.88 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Levante UD | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.2 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 87.4 | 217.71 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0.17 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 89.0 | 90.3 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 89.1 | 223.70 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 91.0 | 87.8 | 89.3 | 89.5 | 87.0 | 88.9 | 221.14 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 89.0 | 88.3 | 89.4 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 220.97 | 15 | 17 | -2 | -0.06 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.8 | 90.0 | 84.0 | 87.8 | 220.58 | 16 | 19 | -3 | -0.11 |
| Stoke City | 89.0 | 89.0 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 88.8 | 223.39 | 8 | 11 | -3 | -0.18 |
| Ajax | 92.0 | 89.3 | 91.4 | 89.0 | 84.0 | 89.1 | 223.49 | 7 | 10 | -3 | -0.20 |
| Flamengo | 87.0 | 89.6 | 89.5 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.0 | 221.24 | 13 | 20 | -7 | -0.30 |
| Genoa CFC | 92.0 | 91.8 | 90.8 | 92.0 | 86.0 | 90.5 | 227.20 | 1 | 3 | -2 | -0.33 |
| Everton | 89.0 | 90.0 | 90.4 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 89.1 | 224.35 | 2 | 6 | -4 | -0.50 |
| Liverpool | 90.0 | 89.5 | 90.8 | 89.5 | 86.0 | 89.2 | 223.54 | 6 | 14 | -8 | -0.50 |
| Hamburger SV | 89.0 | 89.0 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.2 | 223.63 | 5 | 13 | -8 | -0.54 |
Season 19 Division 1 Stats and Facts review
Benfica with a PVA of 2.67 with a great 3rd place overall and VA of 7 lead the stats.
For those who don’t know the end of season rating is calculated from the Value Added i.e. how high above your predicted position you finish and the position you finish in, this gives you the positional value added. ( For example finishing 4 th when you should have been 8th is far better than coming 12th when you should have been 16th.
Internacional sit second with the highest VA of +9 ,just above Barcelona in 3rd. The champs come 4th and could do no more, with WBA in 5th spot. Notable high VA from Spurs.
Real Madrid were the biggest disappointment, relegated and out of sorts, -13VA. Arsenal slumped to 2nd lowest PVA and Juve 3rd. Anderlecht have the lowest VA of -6 and they were relegated.
| Gk | Def | Mid | Att | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | Fin | VA | PVA | |
| SL Benfica | 94.0 | 91.0 | 92.8 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 91.2 | 227.87 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2.67 |
| SC Internacional | 91.0 | 89.8 | 89.4 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 223.83 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 1.25 |
| Barcelona | 91.0 | 92.0 | 93.0 | 96.0 | 86.0 | 91.6 | 231.64 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Chelsea | 95.0 | 93.8 | 93.8 | 95.0 | 83.0 | 92.1 | 233.15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 |
| West Bromwich Albion (C) | 89.0 | 89.8 | 89.4 | 92.0 | 87.0 | 89.4 | 224.24 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0.55 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 89.0 | 89.0 | 89.6 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.5 | 221.73 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0.43 |
| Hellas Verona | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.4 | 95.0 | 86.0 | 91.2 | 230.11 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.33 |
| Bayern München | 93.0 | 90.8 | 92.8 | 93.0 | 88.0 | 91.5 | 229.01 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0.29 |
| FC Porto | 94.0 | 91.5 | 92.8 | 96.0 | 86.0 | 92.1 | 231.44 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.25 |
| Hertha BSC | 89.0 | 89.3 | 89.6 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.8 | 222.58 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0.12 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 92.0 | 91.0 | 92.0 | 93.0 | 88.0 | 91.2 | 228.45 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0.11 |
| Valencia CF | 92.0 | 89.5 | 90.6 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 89.8 | 225.12 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0.07 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim? | 88.0 | 87.5 | 88.6 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.8 | 219.61 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0.05 |
| Manchester City | 95.0 | 92.0 | 91.6 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 91.1 | 227.75 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Atlético Madrid | 92.0 | 90.3 | 91.0 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 90.1 | 226.04 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 0.00 |
| Standard Liège | 91.0 | 91.0 | 89.8 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 90.0 | 225.15 | 14 | 16 | -2 | -0.06 |
| RSC Anderlecht | 89.0 | 89.8 | 91.4 | 91.0 | 88.0 | 89.8 | 225.31 | 13 | 19 | -6 | -0.26 |
| Juventus | 94.0 | 92.8 | 93.2 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 92.0 | 230.93 | 6 | 10 | -4 | -0.30 |
| Arsenal | 92.0 | 92.0 | 92.4 | 97.0 | 86.0 | 91.9 | 231.93 | 2 | 5 | -3 | -0.40 |
| Real Madrid | 91.0 | 91.5 | 92.0 | 97.0 | 87.0 | 91.7 | 231.21 | 5 | 18 | -13 | -0.67 |
De Silvestri bids farewell
Super Samps longest serving player, club captain and record apperance maker - Lorenzo De Silverstri departs the club he joined in season 9.
The player has experienced (not all under Beddows) 318 league apperances, 10 goals, 2 relegations, 2 promotions via play off final wins - he really is a club legend!
Doria Ole! Doria Ole!!!
