2024
Half-time report
Espanyol tonight drew 1-1 with Porto to move up to 8th at the half way stage of the season.
Predicted to finish 18th and ultimately be relegated its been a solid first half of the season for the Spanish side. Wins against Giants , Chelsea, Bayern, Barcelona and Dortmund is an impressive haul from the first 19 games.
The Manager has continued to wheel and deal with no less than 34 deals completed during the first half of the season, as the clubs trading model through activity continues to see the team continually punch above its weight season upon season.
Early cup exits have been off set by a strong run in the WCC Cup, whilst the youth team qualified for the knockout stages with a 100% win record.
Every season the club identifies experienced heads who can do a job for a season, to compensate for the thriving academy which is now the strongest its ever been. Sesko has been joined by German International Maximilian Beier and Brazilan International Vitor Roque this season in what's becoming an embarrassment of riches in the youth striking department. Just this past week another German kid was scoring a hat-trick on his Werder Bremen debut in Keke Topp, whilst teenage sensation Ben Seghir was also on target along with fellow youth player Lamine Camara as Monaco beat Lyon in France.
it's been a good August for Espanyols youth team with Rodriguez, Delorge, Beire, Camara, Mawissa , Topp and Amenda all securing big money moves to big clubs which will ultimately see them rise again at the next update due to the big values they moved for. All have already settled into first team action.
No fewer than 32 players received a rise during the latest round updates with players like Baturina, Wharton, Sesko, Beire and Perez now getting league minutes for the first team despite still being youth players following positive rises to bring them into contention.
There has been some high profile exits too with Olmo, Firmino, Laporte, Felix , Sterling , Otavio, Pepe, Collins , De Paul, Almada , Jones , Marcia , Gomes and Kamada amongst others exiting throughout the season.
"We are well ahead of where we should be, first team wise its a very small squad with just 15 first team players which includes two goalkeepers. However tactically we are grinding results out through flexibility and not being set on one formation. We change from game to game to maximise options but also to catch out the opposition. Its going to be a tough old slog to get the 13 points we need over the next 19 games with Felix and Laporte due to exit, however we are hopeful that Douglas Luiz's arrival will boost us. The Saudi update saw the team take a big hit with drops to 3 of the starting 11, though we've responded well by winning 2 and drawing 1 of last three fixtures. There is some big clubs chasing us down, and with all updates now done, it's going to come down to smart transfers for many of those , especially as injuries and suspensions hit. Nothing is won first half of the season, however we've given ourselves a fantastic platform to once again defy the odds and retain our division 1 status ahead of November's updates which should boost us again. The aim is to stay up and if that's 17th we would take that right now. Its getting harder to get deals done with easily a 50% drop in activity in the market through inactivity of the community. With each job change it appears to have stifled the market further with active Managers leaving and their clubs being taken by less active. Of course with a progressive squad of players as we have in our academy, the less activity there is, the better our chances of success becomes".
IMPORTANT: Change to Transfer Limits in Top 100
SM Worlds 2.0
SM introduced - and almost immediately rolled back due to so many bugs - their much vaunted SM Worlds 2.0 yesterday evening.
I guess we can expect to see it again maybe late next week, unless the Gores like paying overtime to their developers to work on the Bank Holiday Weekend.
Implications for Top 100
A couple of immediate ramifications for Top 100 - firstly, one of our longstanding managers Mark Deadman quit Valencia, and I expect a few more to follow suit once the new update is live and the 7 days free Gold membership expires, if not before.
Secondly, the update includes a new £1 billion upper transfer fee limit, as opposed to the old limit which was two times the minimum player value (except for free agents, which was higher).
New Player Rule and Player Concerns Rule
Yesterday, I agreed with the admin team to introduce an immediate temporary change to our rules for signing new players added to the database, and players who were sold due to Level Three concerns.
Previously, the rule stated that managers can only bid the no higher than the first maximum bid for new players, and bids on players sold as a result of concerns have the same in-game limit.
The new rules are that managers can only bid the MINIMUM value, and not higher.
What are Other Game Worlds Doing?
It's my understanding that this rule already works fine in other game worlds, and that the reason we brought in the maximum bid rule for new players - that some players' values increased overnight putting managers in different timezones at a total disadvantage when it came to adjusting their bids - no longer applies (bids made before any value change are accepted and completed and/or values no longer change).
Fair Play
Changing from maximum to minimum bids, therefore, retains the fairness of bidding for everyone, and in a game world where cash has always been worthless, makes no material difference to clubs' finances or competitiveness.
Landucci at Lokomotiv Moskva asked if we can also have a cap on transfer fees for all external players (i.e., including players who are not newly added, not sold as a result of the concerns rule).
Newsfeed Discussion on £1bn Upper Transfer Limit
This provoked a long discussion on the newsfeed. The main point being that some clubs have billions in the bank while most have only a few hundred million, putting them at a distinct disadvantage when bidding on external players with a new £1 billion offer limit. The new £1 billion limit is obviously much, much higher than the previous two times value limit, which kept everything fair in a game world where cash has never had any value.
The other side of the argument is that 1) there are very few players at external clubs who are not newly added, or who are not sold as a result of the concerns rule that anyone wants to buy - they are at external clubs for a reason! There are, of course, occasional exceptions - Samuel Mbangula being one very recent exception. 2) Having a new £1 billion upper limit on transfer bids for all players could enliven the market and create new strategy options for managers.
The counter-argument being that its possible (if not likely) that this scenario would firstly give the rich clubs an immediate unfair advantage, and secondly in the longer term perhaps create a situation too realistic where all the wealth and talent is owned by a few super rich clubs.
New Rule for Offers on ALL External and Free Agent Players
I think, therefore, that at least until the end of this season, we will adopt the precautionary principle approach whereby we keep the transfer limits in Top 100 as they always have been (or as close to), in order to minimise any perceived unfairness and to limit any further disruption midway through the season.
So, from today, ALL TRANSFER OFFERS FOR EXTERNAL OR FREE AGENT PLAYERS must be at the MINIMUM value allowed and no higher, and disclosed (i.e, public so we everyone can see the bid).
This change keeps things pretty much as they were and makes no material difference to anyone because cash has no value in Top 100.
Whether we want to change that in the future will depend on further discussion and/or a vote at the end of this season or later.
SM Worlds 2.0 Announced
SM have announced the launch of SM Worlds 2.0 next month (September). This follows on from previous announcements in May and June.
In short, what this means is that you will have to upgrade to Gold membership in order to continue to play SM Worlds as you do now - and with the promise of new features and improvements in the months and years to come (assuming the transition is successful financially for SM).
SM announced some incentives to do so (although I don't yet see the new features, and the announcement isn't yet linked on the SM Worlds main page when you login, so presumably this isn't live, but soon will be):
Everyone who logs in throughout August, will receive 7 days free Gold Management (existing GM as well) to try the new features – mainly around transfers. We are also giving a 25% discount to all members on the 12 month Gold Management option for a limited period, bringing the cost down to just over £1/$1.50 a month.
A few weeks ago I messaged all non-Gold managers in Top 100 asking what they planned to do when the updates kick in.
30 said they would definitely upgrade top Gold membership.
8 said they would probably upgrade.
5 were undecided.
5 said they will quit Top 100 and/or SM.
1 said he couldn't afford to buy more than 1 month per year.
1 didn't respond and has since quit Top 100 (replaced by a Gold manager).
The bottom line is that if you don't upgrade to Gold you will not be able to conduct any transfers, effectively becoming a zombie manager.
Youth Cup Groups Final Tables
The final group games were played on Saturday, and all the results and final tables are on the Challonge tournament website.
The top three in each group plus the two best fourth placed teams qualify for the knockout stage.
The best of the rest (fourth placed teams plus best fifth and sixth placed teams who didn't forfeit more than one group game) qualify for the Youth Shield, along with the losers from the first round of the Youth Cup knockout stage.
Teams that forfeited games.
Plan for the knockout stages.
Knockout stages will be seeded as per finishing position above.
Assuming I haven't made any mistakes with results, tables and forfeits the knockout stage fixtures can be viewed for the Youth Cup and Youth Shield.
WCC WCS R32 FIXTURES
Hello everyone, welcome to next phase of the tournament (i.e. Knock-out stages) of World Club Cup (WCC) and World Cup Shield (WCS) tournament. Qualified 32 teams of each tournament list is available in the recent post WCC WCS Qualified Teams.
Through random draw, we finalized the fixtures for WCC and WCS R32. First leg to be played on 21st August and second leg will be played on 28th August. Winners will be selected by aggregate goal score. In case of ties, away goal rule and FET will come into effect.
WCC WCS Qualified Teams
The group stage of the WCC WCS tournament completed successfully and we have top 64 teams (32 each for WCC and WCS respectively) qualified ready to compete for the glory. From here on, it'll be two legged knock out round and winners will be decided on aggregate score, away goals and Fictional Extra time method.
The fixtures for the next round will be announced after the draw.
Here are the 32 teams qualified for WCC R32 :
| SC Internacional | Hamburg | São Paulo FC | Sporting CP |
| Levante UD | Barcelona | Valencia CF | Atlético Madrid |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Sunderland | Manchester City | Montpellier HSC |
| Arsenal | H. Berlin | Internazionale | Hoffenheim |
| Boca Juniors | Schalke | Aston Villa | Hellas Verona |
| FC Porto | Dinamo Zagreb | West Ham United | Sevilla |
| Leicester City | River Plate | Dortmund | RCD Espanyol |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Bayern | Augsburg | Chievo Verona |
Here are the 32 teams qualified for WCS R32 :
| SL Benfica | Bremen | AS Roma | Genoa CFC |
| FC Basel | Flamengo | Everton | Leverkusen |
| Celtic | Chelsea | Liverpool | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
| Santos FC | Real Madrid | AZ Alkmaar | Feyenoord |
| Galatasaray SK | Stoke City | Athletic Club | Crystal Palace |
| CSKA Moskva | FC Twente | Málaga CF | ACF Fiorentina |
| Cruzeiro | Swansea City | AC Milan | AS Saint-Etienne |
| Olympique Lyonnais | Besiktas JK | Tottenham Hotspur | Girondins Bordeaux |
WCC - WCS 2nd & 3rd Points table
Below are the points table of all 2nd placed and 3rd place teams of all 25 groups after Match day 6. These tables will be updated after every match day. Remember, all groups winners (25 teams) and 7 best second placed teams will advance to WCC R32. Remaining 18 second placed team and 14 best third placed teams will advance to WCS R32. Remaining 36 teams will be eliminated from the tournament.
(MP - Matches Played, W - Win, L - Loss, D - Draw, GF - Goals For, GA - Goals Against, GD - Goal Difference, Pts - Points)
Continue growth!!
Two consecutive promotions brought us to Div 1, the level is very high and the opponents are very strong, however, as always we want to be protagonists, many market movements, many interested young people were sacrificed but we brought in some top players like Gnabry Bremer and Dembelè who together with good re-evaluations make us a team that can aim to be in the top 10 places, despite this, as always Levante U21 is always a team that fights to go a long way, below are the two teams
Bayern and summer reviews
Long waiting reviews are finally done for us. We had big expectations, specially with our young players, and hard work with systematic scouting is paying off.
All together we had 28 players out of 50 getting rise and just one who declined in his rating (Robertson, which was a bit hard in my opinion - but not worried about it, because already seen my players bounced back from getting down - Griezmann for example). All together our players rise for 72 points in ratings from beginning of April, when Brazil reviews started (so basically summer reviews).
First team players who rise were Rudiger to 94 (+2 from time we brought him to Munchen half a year ago), Bailey back to 90, Doku 90, Kubo 91, Johnson 88, Gibbs-White 89, De Winter 85, Gabbia 87, Onana 89 and also Xhaka 92 who will join us soon (I didn’t count his rise in previous statistics).
From our youth team we are pleased that players like El Khannouss, Guilherme, Guiu, Lewis-Skelly, Diao, Camarda, Röhl, Diarra, Uzun, Noubi and many others are developing in right direction.
Our strategy is showing results. We will continue our commitment of investing into first team to be competitive and at the same time we will not forget to scout and develop our future stars from youth team. Not all will succeed and be able to play for Bayern first team, but they will for sure find a place in one of the clubs in Top100.
Mia San Mia
Meeting the Fox Cubs!
Following a mixed start last season, the U21s stormed away to win the Youth Shield for the second time in their history! Some have said it is not an achievement or a losers trophy, but I would rather have the Shield than no trophy at all like most got...
But with that said, the target is winning the Cup and challenging the record setting Levante Youth Academy.
And so, lets meet the current team!
Goal Keeper
Pascal Loretz, 21, 82
Loretz is currently the joint 4th highest rated U21 keeper in the game and looks secure as our goalkeeper for this season. He has already played 45 league games for FC Luzern having worked his way up through the youth ranks. This season he picked up a 7.01 average rating showing his ability!
Centre Back
Ousmane Diomande, 20, 86
Defence has always been a difficult position to fill at youth level, but Diomande has changed that for us. Coming in with a lot of hype, he has taken big strides this season helping Sporting CP to the league title, and also Ivory Coast to becoming AFCON winners! Rumours look to continue this summer with links to Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea already afloat, but a high valuation may limit a potential move!
Jorne Spileers, 19, 83
At 19 Spileers already has 55 games for Belgian champions Club Brugge. A good combination of size and speed offers a well sought build for a defender, which has earnt him links to Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and more throughout his career. He did lose game time at the end of last season, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back next year!
Right Back
Timothee Pembele, 21, 82
Right back was the only position left vacant after last season as Yan Couto turned 22. We turned to the market and came back with Pembele which is a solid choice, but one who's potential is up in the air. A few years ago he was one of the highest regarded youngsters in Europe at PSG, he is now coming off an injury ridden season at Sunderland. Whilst he isn't at the level that was expected of him, he is still an 82 and at a team who are happy to play with youngsters, if he can stay fit he could well be in for a recovery season.
Left Back
Alex Valle, 20, 82
Developed at La Masia, Valle spent last season on loan in LaLiga2 with Levante. in 29 games he earned over 2,300 minutes of senior football which is great for his development. That is not to say his season was without trouble, he had a minor injury which kept him out for 4 games and bounced back well from, but a 2nd injury from which he missed 2 games saw him struggle to regain a permanent starting spot in the following 10 games. The Spaniard did eventually solidify the spot playing the full 90 minutes of the final 4 games. Valle is now set to be given a chance at Barca who seriously lack depth at full back and don't have funds to invest in a new option. This could be a great break for Valle to prove himself and earn a spot in the Barca first team!
Centre Midfield
Eduardo Camavinga, 21, 91
We all know Camavinga... he already has over 230 senior appearances for Rennes and Real Madrid combined and has won 2 Champions Leagues, 2 LaLiga Trophies, the Spanish Cup, the French Cup and 5 other trophies. With 45 games for Spanish and European champions Real Madrid this season, a rise would not have been unfounded, but that can wait for the future. The Frenchman has just been given the #6 shirt for the upcoming season showing Madrid's long term commitment to Camavinga!
Aleksandar Pavlovic, 20, 86
The star addition for this season comes in the form of Bayern Pavlovic. He started off the season as a bit part player but made the most of all of his opportunities and has now cemented himself as one of Bayern's best options in midfield. Except for suspensions and injuries (4) he started every match since week 19, and earned a call up to the Germany EURO squad. Unfortunately he dropped out with tonsilitis, but is now all set to go again next season at Bayern with new boss Kompany!
Attack Midfield
Arda Guler, 19, 87
It was a slow start to the season for Guler, but any player swapping Turkey for Real Madrid should expect to take their time to adapt. Adding into that, he was out until January with a knee injury but he showed everyone he was back and had what it took to be a star with 6 goals in 7 appearances towards the end of the season. Guler then had a strong EURO tournament helping Turkey to the Quarter Finals with a goal and 2 assists on the way. AC Milan are now keen to bring him in on loan, and it will be interesting to see what happens. But given his end of the season displays it would be hard to see the benefit for Madrid.
Right Wing
Vitor Roque, 19, 86
With 21 goals and 8 assist in 45 games for Athletico Paranaense in 2023, Roque earnt a move to Barcelona in a dream move for any player. So far though, that dream has not gone to plan. He has featured in 16 games and netted 2 goals for the Catalan club, and has only been given more than 30 minutes on 2 occasions (his only starts). Many have attributed this limited gametime to Xavi's preference of Spanish players, whilst other suggest he needs time to adapt to the European game. In either case a new manager and a full pre season should help. It will be interesting to see what next season holds for Roque.
Left Wing
Mathys Tel, 19, 87
After joining Bayern from Rennes in the summer of 2022, Tel has bided his time for the right opportunities. This season that looked to pay off as he scored 10 and assisted 6 goals for the German giants. Playing on the left, the right and up front, Tel offers exciting versatility with output across all 3 positions. With Coman and Sane possibly set to leave Bayern, Tel will look to pick up increasing minutes in the seasons to come, especially with Kompany a fan of using youngsters.
Centre Forward
Florian Wirtz, 21, 93
The game changer of the team, and one who will hopefully carry us forward. Wirtz is the 2nd highest rated youth player in the whole game. At 21, Wirtz already has 91 goal contributions for Leverkusen in 152 matches. This season, he was key to Leverkusen going undefeated in the league for their first ever league title, winning the DFB-Pokal, and being runners up in the Europa League as he picked up 18 goals and assisted 20 more. One of the biggest names in the world at the moment and a player who will be key for Leicester at both senior and youth level!
Depth and Back Ups
James Beadle, 19, 77, GK
Current back up but with Loretz in the squad, he will need to be patient, but his potential is possibly higher than that of the Swiss. Beadle is already the 3rd highest rated goalkeeper 19 or younger and is coming off the back of a meteoric season! On loan from Brighton he kicked off the season in League One with Oxford United (who won promotion), but an incredible first half of the campaign saw him switch to the Championship and Sheffield Wednesday in January! In a relegation scrap, Beadle stepped up and kept 8 clean sheets in 19 games, the most of any keeper in the league since he joined and helped keep Wednesday in the Championship! A rise could come soon, but whether it will be enough to displace Loretz remains to be seen!
Dean Huijsen, 19, 82, CB
It has been an interesting career for Huijsen so far. A few years ago he was surrounded by hype, and he has shown glimpses of being a superb player. This season gone he joined Roma on loan from Juventus and picked up 14 senior games, which is great for someone so young, but it is worth questioning whether a move to a smaller team where he would have got more game time could have been more beneficial. It seems to have paid off though, as he now looks set to join PSG as they revamp their squad in the post Messi, Neymar, Mbappe era!
Ardon Jashari, 21, 83, CM
Jashari has always been a player I have liked, so the chance to bring him in was one I jumped at. He has proven his ability in Switzerland at Luzern earning 102 appearances, and has just been signed by Club Brugge which is a sensible step up. If he can replicate his form in Belgium he will be eyed up by bigger teams in no time, but for now he will be a useful back up for me.
Jack McGlynn, 21, 82, CM
Some look down on the MLS, but there is a lot of talent there, and the ratings are starting to represent that. McGlynn has been a key player for Philadelphia this season featuring in all but 1 game this season. He has picked up 3 goals and 3 assists in that time and earned himself a call up to the USA Olympic squad. He will eventually need to move to Europe, but currently he is looking like a fine prospect!
Benjamin Cremaschi, 19, 80, CM
Like McGlynn, Cremaschi is developing in the USA. Unlike McGlynn, Cremaschi has the guidance of Messi, Busquets, Suarez and Alba to help develop his game. Already as USA international, and already with 55 senior games for Inter Miami, Cremaschi is developing very well and, even after starting the season injured, he has nailed down a starting spot in the Miami squad.
Lucas Bergvall, 18, 80, CM
The next player off the talent conveyor belt of Scandinavia, Bergvall has already joined Tottenham for the upcoming season after being announced in the winter. After impressing in Sweden a number of teams were after the midfielder, but it was Tottenham who won, beating bids from Barcelona in the process. Pre season reports suggest that staff are already amazed at the teenagers ability with some calling him unbelievable. Hopefully these reports are accurate and he can show it in the upcoming season!
Valentin Carboni, 19, 83, Attack Midfield
A young star still trying to find the right place, Carboni still has massive potential, as shown by his inclusion in the Argentina Copa America spot this summer! He spent this season on loan at Monza where he featured in 32 games and played relatively well. The future now looks like he will stay at Inter and fight for a spot, or join Marseille as De Zerbi looks to build the French club back to former glory.
Gabri Martinez, 21, 82, Wing
Originally signed as my RB, my plans were, expectedly, foiled when he lost the position, but the benefit was he got a rise to 82 in the process. Martinez spent the season on loan with Mirandes in LaLiga2 where he scored 9 and assisted 5 goals. He has now joined Braga in a sensible step for his career where he will hope to replicate his form from last season!
Ilias Akhomach, 20, 82, Wing
A rise will surely come for Ilias after a solid season at Villarreal. Having joined from Barcelona, where he played 3 games, Ilias has become a regular at Villarreal, featuring in 39 games this season. Production has been limited, but the minutes and faith from the club will be massive in his development and he will look to build on that next season
Peque Fernandez, 21, 83, Striker
A free agency pick up which is already paying off. Coming in as a 73 in January, Peque is already up at a +10! It is well deserved though as he joined Racing Santander from Barcelona and immediately showed his quality scoring 18 goals and finishing as the 2nd highest scorer in the league. He has now joined Sevilla for the upcoming season, and if he can deliver even half of those numbers it will be a massive success!
Dishonourable Mention (what could have been!)
Noah Mbamba, 19, 78
Mbamba is unlikely to get game time unless something crazy happens, but he is a promising prospect nonetheless. Unfortunately for me, his presence in the team is a constant reminder to me of a monumental error... Mbamba was one of 3 players I got in exchange for Jakub Kiwior in September, rejecting another offer in favour of this one. The other offer included none other than Kobbie Mainoo. A painful thought, which will surely hurt more after the Prem reviews, and by the fact Mbamba has just joined Dusseldorf on loan, and Mainoo will be in the EURO's final. Hopefully Mbamba can continue to develop though!