2026
Espanyol Season Review: Against All Odds – A Youth Revolution in Full Flow!
What a season it’s been for Espanyol! Tonight, the team travels to face Arsenal in a match that could define everything. Sitting in 3rd place in Division 2 with promotion tantalizingly close, this is the stuff of football dreams. Just 90 minutes away from a sensational return to the top flight!
The numbers tell an incredible story: only 6 defeats all season and a rock-solid 69 points on the board. In any normal year, that would be more than enough for promotion. But this hasn’t been a normal year. Wolfsburg have been absolutely sensational and virtually unstoppable. They face relegated Boca Juniors tonight – a game they’re expected to win – meaning Espanyol must go to the Emirates and beat the Division 2 champions-elect, Arsenal, to keep their promotion hopes alive.
And to think… most people had Espanyol down for a relegation scrap at the start of the campaign!
But the manager refused to panic. He stayed true to a bold, long-term vision:
“We had strict objectives this season as part of our wider rebuild. We wanted to move on our older declining players and open up the academy pathway to the first team. It was a gamble. We needed to test our recruitment policy, trust these young players, and hope we’d get a helping hand with the updates. We also had to keep recruiting the next wave who will follow those now wearing the shirts.”
The gamble has paid off in spectacular fashion.
Ten of tonight’s likely starting lineup featured in the Youth Cup Final – which Espanyol won for the second time! In just 8 entries into the competition, they’ve reached 6 finals, a semi-final, and a quarter-final. With the age profile of this youth squad, the future looks ridiculously bright.
It’s a World Cup year, and eight of these exciting youngsters will represent their countries on the biggest stage. Many are already being linked with monster moves to Europe’s elite clubs.
Think about the transformation: When the manager arrived, 95% of the game world had zero interest in Espanyol players. It was the oldest squad in the league, sliding toward a painful drop through the divisions. Fast forward to now, and those same players are coveted assets. That’s what belief, hard work, and sticking to a vision can do.
No matter what happens tonight, this has been an unforgettable campaign. Espanyol have shown heart, hunger, and huge potential. Promotion would be the perfect ending – but even without it, the club is in a far stronger position heading into next season.
The rebuild is working. The future is bright. The Pericos are back – and they’re coming with serious intent! 💙⚪
Vamos Espanyol!
ASH DELIVERS WORLD CLUB CUP GLORY IN DEBUT SEASON AS LEICESTER EDGE PORTO
Leicester crowned world champions after dramatic extra-time victory following 1-1 aggregate draw
Ash could hardly have dreamed of a better beginning to life as Leicester City manager.
In his first season in charge, the Leicester boss guided the club to World Club Cup glory, overcoming Porto in a tense and dramatic final that required fictional extra time to produce a winner after the two sides finished level at 1-1 on aggregate.
The triumph marks the first World Club Cup title of Ash's managerial career and represents one of the finest achievements of his young tenure at the club. Having arrived with the task of leading Leicester into a new era, he has wasted little time in delivering silverware on the global stage.
The final itself was a showcase of determination and tactical discipline from both teams. Neither Leicester nor Porto were willing to give ground, resulting in a closely fought contest that remained on a knife-edge throughout both legs.
Porto, managed by Andre, proved worthy opponents and matched Leicester for long periods of the tie. After the aggregate score finished 1-1, the final was forced into fictional extra time, with the destination of the trophy hanging in the balance.
As fatigue set in and tension gripped players and supporters alike, Leicester found the moment they had been searching for. The decisive extra-time goal finally broke the deadlock and sent the Leicester bench into wild celebrations.
Porto pushed desperately for an equaliser, but Leicester stood firm, defending their advantage until the final whistle confirmed them as world champions.
The victory is particularly significant for Ash, whose arrival at the club was met with both excitement and expectation. Delivering a major international trophy in his first season has immediately endeared him to supporters and established his credentials among the game's rising managers.
Leicester's players also deserve immense credit for navigating one of the toughest paths imaginable. Against a Porto side that refused to surrender, they demonstrated resilience, composure and character when it mattered most.
For Andre and Porto, defeat will be difficult to accept after pushing the final beyond normal time. Their performance throughout the tie earned admiration and respect, even if they ultimately fell short of lifting the trophy.
As Leicester's players celebrated on the world stage, one image stood above the rest: Ash, in his debut season, raising the World Club Cup trophy for the first time in his career.
For Leicester City, it is a moment of glory.
For Ash, it may be the beginning of something special.
FINAL DAY FRENZY: TITLES WON, HEARTS BROKEN AND EVERYTHING STILL TO PLAY FOR
The season reaches its boiling point as clubs across all five divisions face their moment of truth. Some are already celebrating, others are clinging on for dear life, and a few are praying for miracles.
DIVISION 1: CHELSEA CROWNED, BUT THIRD PLACE IS A STREET FIGHT
Chelsea have stormed to the title with Barca trailing behind, while Hellas sit in third — but only just. Leicester and Sporting lurk in the shadows, but the goal difference gap is so colossal it would take a footballing apocalypse to overturn it.
Key fixtures:
- Inter vs Hellas Hellas should breeze through this, but they must win to lock down third. Leicester’s superior goal difference means any slip could be fatal.
- Bayern vs Leicester A much tougher assignment. A draw looks likely, which would hand Hellas the bronze medal.
Relegation? Already sorted. Nothing to see here.
DIVISION 2: ARSENAL CHAMPIONS, BUT THE SCRAMBLE FOR THIRD IS PURE CHAOS
Arsenal have wrapped up the title and Internacional will join them in the top flight. But the real drama is the battle for third place and the playoff spots.
Third‑place showdown:
- Espanyol vs Arsenal Espanyol must win. Arsenal won’t be rolling over.
- Boca vs Wolfsburg Wolfsburg should take the points unless they rest players for the playoffs — and they might, knowing Atletico and Cologne can rotate freely.
Playoff contenders: Stoke & Benfica
- Stoke vs Internacional Stoke need a win, but Internacional are a nightmare opponent.
- Benfica vs Zagreb Benfica will fancy all three points.
Relegation? Signed, sealed, delivered.
DIVISION 3: PROMOTION SET, BUT THE RELEGATION TRAPDOOR IS WIDE OPEN
WBA, Genoa and Sevilla are already celebrating promotion. Zenit, St Etienne and Lille can rest their stars. But the playoff hopefuls? They’re sweating.
Playoff chasers: Hoffenheim, Galatasaray, Spurs
- Spurs vs Sunderland Spurs might scrape a draw.
- Galatasaray vs Sevilla Gala will be praying Sevilla take it easy.
- Hoffenheim vs River Plate Hoffenheim should fancy their chances. River Plate are wobbling and fighting for survival.
Relegation roulette: Dnipro, River Plate, Partizan
- Dnipro vs Lille Lille likely rotate heavily. Dnipro should win.
- Partizan vs Zenit Zenit resting players means Partizan should take three points.
If Dnipro win, River Plate are heading down.
DIVISION 4: AJAX CHAMPIONS, BUT THE PROMOTION AND PLAYOFF RACE IS BRUTAL
Ajax take the title, Liverpool are already up, but Lokomotive and Monchengladbach are separated by a single point — with Gladbach holding the goal‑difference advantage.
Promotion deciders:
- Lokomotive vs Liverpool Liverpool still want second. Lokomotive could be in trouble.
- Monchengladbach vs Chievo Chievo are stubborn. A draw is very possible.
Playoff contenders: Monaco, PSG, Napoli, Lyon One of them must miss out.
- PSG vs Lyon A draw is enough for PSG.
- Monaco vs Independiente Monaco should win.
- Napoli vs Bremen Napoli should also take the points.
Relegation battle: Feyenoord vs Fiorentina
- Fiorentina vs Celtic – Tough ask.
- Feyenoord vs Schalke – Expect Feyenoord to lose.
Fiorentina probably don’t have enough to survive.
DIVISION 5: PLAYOFF STAMPEDE AS FIVE TEAMS CHASE THREE SPOTS
The top three are locked in. Santos can rest players. The playoff race? Absolute carnage.
Contenders: AZ, Rubin, PSV, Villarreal, Shakhtar
Key fixtures:
- PSV vs Twente – PSV should win.
- Villarreal vs Stuttgart – Villarreal should also take the points.
- AZ vs Marseille – Tough for AZ.
- Shakhtar vs Bordeaux – Could easily be a draw.
- Rubin vs Santos – Rubin will fancy it with Santos resting.
Prediction: Rubin, PSV and Villarreal to take the playoff spots.
Sack race? Nothing left to play for.
Chelsea - James
Some people like to build slowly,at chelsea we have always tried to create great youth and sell them on to make the first team the best it can be.constantly scouting for players isn’t an easy game,injuries loss of form knowing when to sell when they are at there peak.the pitfalls of someone heading to Saudi.sometimes it’s a thankless task.but always one that gives u great enjoyment.this term we have moved
On some of
The best finds I’ve had.but it’s all worth it to get my hands back on the title.barca have pushed us all the way this term and credit to Adam his consistency has been great.but we had a spell of 12 wins in a row at the mid point of the season and it propelled us into a great position,one we nearly threw away after a series of injuries and suspensions.but finally 6 seasons after our last title.one we loved but knew we had to go back to the drawing board and reinvent ourselfs ,something some teams don’t come back from but we have managed to believe in what we are doing here,stick to the plan and we look like a
Proper team who can maybe next season carry
This great momentum forward and go for
Another title.till then we will savour this season and take great
Pride knowing that next term we will be the target,the one everybody wants to beat. Cheers for all the congrats
I’ve received
And good luck to everyone for the play offs.lets
Get the transfers going at
End of season and hoping to see some big deals for next term to keep
This gameworld going strong.
Division 5: The Season Nears Its Conclusion
The title is settled, the playoff race is anything but, and a few managers are already checking whether their contracts contain a severance package.
With just two matches remaining in the Division 5 season, the campaign is entering its final days. While Valencia have already wrapped up the championship, several important battles remain unresolved as clubs prepare for the final six points on offer.
Valencia Crowned Champions
The title race is over.
Valencia CF are mathematically confirmed Division 5 champions after opening up a 13-point lead at the top with only six points left to play for. It has been a dominant campaign from start to finish, built on a combination of attacking quality and defensive discipline.
Their record of 26 wins from 36 matches, alongside 93 goals scored and a league-best goal difference of +59, leaves little room for argument. They have simply been the best side in the division.
With promotion already secured and the trophy effectively polished and waiting, Valencia can approach the final two fixtures knowing the job has been completed.
Marseille And Athletic Club Secure Promotion
The automatic promotion places have also been decided.
Olympique Marseille's 71 points and Athletic Club's 68 points mean both clubs are guaranteed to finish inside the top three and will join Valencia in Division 4 next season.
Marseille's consistency has been the foundation of their success. Twenty wins and eleven draws have ensured they remained among the leading contenders throughout the campaign.
Athletic Club's route has been slightly different. Their season has contained more highs and lows than their rivals, but 22 victories have provided enough points to secure promotion with games to spare.
The only remaining question is who finishes second and who settles for third.
Four Teams, Three Places
While the automatic promotion spots are settled, the playoff race remains alive.
Santos FC currently occupy fourth place on 60 points and have arguably been the division's form side in recent weeks, winning five of their last six matches. Their late surge has put them in a strong position to secure a playoff berth.
Rubin Kazan sit level on 60 points, while Villarreal CF are sixth on 59.
AZ Alkmaar currently hold seventh place on 58 points, but their position is far from secure. Shakhtar Donetsk are level on points and PSV remain only two points behind on 56. Torino with an outside chance sit on 54.
With seven clubs separated by just six points and only four playoff places available, the final week promises to be one of the most competitive periods of the season.
One good result could be enough to secure a playoff place. One bad result could end a promotion dream.
Mid-Table Security
Celta Vigo, Girondins Bordeaux, Lazio and Olympiacos all appear destined for mid-table finishes.
Their seasons have produced moments of quality, but not quite enough consistency to challenge for promotion. With little left to play for in terms of league position, pride and finishing as strongly as possible become the primary objectives.
The Fight To Avoid The Sack
With no relegation in Division 5, the battle at the bottom still bears consequence.
The managers finishing in the bottom three positions will lose their jobs at the end of the season, creating a nervous finish for several clubs.
Sassuolo currently occupy 18th place on 33 points. They sit 18 points clear of 19th and only 4 behind Atalanta.
That leaves FC Twente and Stuttgart already condemned to bottom-three finishes, with Twente collecting only 15 points and Stuttgart enduring a miserable campaign that has yielded just 11.
The final dismissal spot is effectively a battle between Atalanta BC, Club Brugge and Spartak Moskva.
Spartak currently hold a five-point cushion over Atalanta and appear to have done enough to preserve their manager's position. Club Brugge sit four points clear of danger and remain favourites to survive.
Atalanta, however, remain vulnerable. Sitting on 37 points with only six available, they need a strong finish to avoid ending the season in the bottom three and facing an uncomfortable conversation with the board.
Two matches remain.
For some clubs, they are little more than a formality.
For others, they will define the entire season.
Is AI the Future?
Going into the season Malcolm's rankings (rightfully so) had CSKA pegged for relegation. We were surprisingly promoted into D1 and from a ratings standpoint don't have much business being there.
But did AI know something we didn't? AI said with our GK (Carnesecchi) and depth we may well survive. After 25 games, CSKA has 32 points, good for 13th place and with a 10 point cushion to relegation. Could we still be relegated? Of course! We're just not that good (yet). But Memphis Depay, Ciro Immobile and perhaps our first signing Simon Adingra and a great D have kept us in games a bit. We're exceeding expectations
We have a weird team where most of our starters are 30+ and everyone else is u21 with a few exceptions. The updates will help somewhat - Martin and Jimenez may well be startable soon but with so maybe oldies we're due some drops as well.
CSKA already has more points than I was likely expecting. It will be an interesting final 1/3 of the season. Even if we survive we'll be battling relegation for several seasons without some big moves. But the goal is always to win D1 not just survive.
Shakhtar Donetsk - Mid season review
Thought I would do a review of the season so far and some overall observations.
I have been in SM a few years now, and in and out of T100 during that period, and of course had a few clubs along the way.
Having taken over a year out from SM and T100, I have seen some changes in here.
- Certainly seems a lot of money about now and some huge amounts spent of youngsters. I will come back to our clubs financial position later.
- It now seems most managers aim for squad building rather than short term gains. As generally shown in the lack of interest in moving to other clubs when they become available. Certainly different to a few years back.
- Following on from that point there is much less activity certainly via the Whats App group.
- As with other GW's it now seems harder to find new managers, once again we used to have a waiting list. There now appears to be a lack of new people joining SM, gold membership may be one of the reasons, but for all the work SM are putting into the changes there is less appeal for this product it seems .
As far as my team is concern I firstly like to thank David for inviting me back in, and was more than happy to take on a Division 5 team (without the pressure). Shakhtar had some success with Dan Wallace about 2 years ago, but it seems since then they have slipped back.
In summary we have bought in 18 players and sold 15. Outlay of £114m and income of just £27.2m. Our budget is now £486m. Obviously my aim now is improve our balance for the next manager to have a sound base. So will concentrate on new players and the odd bargain priced player. But also keeping some of my young assets for the future.
In general I have attempted to look at players under 27 to bring in, the exception was the experienced Azpilicuete as a short term option while his rating remains above 86. I also bought in Lopez and Nketiah (since move on) to provide some goals (hopefully) Letting Nketiah go was not easy but it allowed me to add depth to the squad with Hutchinson, Awoniyi and Kislyak coming in.
League position prediciction at start of the season was 14th and so far we have over achieved in my view and expect a drop in form over the second half of the season, but still hope for a mid table finish.
Finally having played all the clubs - not sure why Valencia are even in this division, they have already won it and would not be surprised if they reached 100 points. Of the others to impress so far I expect Olympique Marseille and Villareal to be in the mix at the end of the season.
Good luck to all the other division 5 managers for the rest of the season.
Season 27 Power Rankings
Bayern back on top! After relinquishing the top power ranking spot to Hellas Verona last season, Bayern is back on top, with Chelsea also leapfrogging Verona.
Holding down the basement for the 3rd year in a row is Stuttgart. Those poor supporters!
My club CSKA climbed 8 spots to #45. Our first season ever in D1 looks statistically impossible.
Biggest Risers from S26: Celta Vigo moved from 97 to 66 while Cologne/Koln moved from 52 way up to 25.
Biggest Fallers from S26: Boca Juniors and Man United both fell almost 25 spots. Must be a Cavani thing.
How does everyone look compared to S20 when I first started tracking?
Napoli, Zenit, and Sevilla have all climbed almost 50 spots! On the opposite end Schalke, Sassuolo, and Werder Bremen supporters are all left in tears from the on-field product moving down close to 50 spots (Schalke is down 62 spots in the power rankings!!).
It should be a good season for West Brom, Genoa, and Napoli as they far outrank their opponents. Augsburg and CSKA appear to stand almost no chance of survival.
Season 27 Division 5 Stats and Facts.
Two strong favourites for promotion, who can join them?
A division of contrasts to be sure. Some ruinously bad teams, that are for some reason uncompetitive, despite higher rated players being freely available, this could cause some skewed stats in this division if they make a number of purchases during the season. On that note I have capped Stuttgart’s top 18 to 78 as I believe that 70 rated players will not feature much in the first team.
Valencia is an easy side to get promoted strong all-over best keeper in the division best midfield, best depth. Marseille may be the best defence in the league and have a great attack but will lack in possession at times. AZ a more balanced team are in 3rd spot but they lack more depth than their 2 rivals. Celta Vigo currently managerless are the 4th best team in the division and have a potent front line. Santos, Brugge and Torino should make up the top 7 with very little disagreement from the A.I.
In fact, with 1 exception of Shaktar the A.I. and I (sounds like a Christmas musical for about 20 years’ time) agree very closely. The A.I. maybe thinks the weak keeper and lack of midfield strength will be more of a problem.
No relegation of course, Stuttgart is dire and utterly uncompetitive, Bordeaux makes more of an effort and if they could swap a few midfielders for defenders could soon have a decent squad. Twente just need to sort the keeper and defender.
Possible outliers: Brugge could drop to 10-12th due to a large depth gap, Kazan are predicted to be vulnerable to injuries of suspension with a possible low point of 16th. Atalanta could push up as high as 11th due to a small depth gap and balance within the squad.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | A.I | |
| Valencia CF | 89.0 | 88.5 | 89.8 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.5 | 220.96 | 1 | 1 |
| Olympique Marseille | 88.0 | 89.3 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.2 | 220.49 | 2 | 2 |
| AZ Alkmaar | 88.0 | 88.8 | 88.6 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 219.84 | 3 | 3 |
| Celta Vigo | 87.0 | 88.3 | 88.2 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.7 | 219.77 | 4 | 4 |
| Santos FC | 88.0 | 88.5 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 219.65 | 5 | 5 |
| Club Brugge KV | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.8 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 219.50 | 6 | 7 |
| Torino | 88.0 | 87.8 | 87.8 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.5 | 219.05 | 7 | 6 |
| Olympiacos | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.4 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 218.28 | 8 | 9 |
| Spartak Moskva | 89.0 | 87.8 | 87.8 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 217.87 | 9 | 8 |
| Villarreal CF | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.1 | 217.44 | 10 | 10 |
| SS Lazio | 87.0 | 86.8 | 87.2 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.0 | 217.16 | 11 | 11 |
| Rubin Kazan | 86.0 | 86.5 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 82.0 | 86.1 | 216.80 | 12 | 13 |
| Athletic Club | 85.0 | 86.5 | 88.2 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 85.9 | 216.47 | 13 | 12 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 86.0 | 86.3 | 86.4 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 86.3 | 215.84 | 14 | 17 |
| PSV | 87.0 | 87.3 | 86.2 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 86.1 | 215.71 | 15 | 14 |
| US Sassuolo | 88.0 | 86.5 | 86.8 | 87.0 | 83.0 | 86.3 | 215.71 | 16 | 15 |
| Atalanta BC | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.0 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 86.6 | 215.71 | 17 | 16 |
| FC Twente | 85.0 | 86.0 | 86.8 | 88.0 | 80.0 | 85.2 | 215.24 | 18 | 18 |
| Girondins Bordeaux | 86.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 87.0 | 84.0 | 85.8 | 214.55 | 19 | 19 |
| Stuttgart | 85.0 | 83.3 | 84.4 | 85.0 | 78.0 | 83.1 | 208.93 | 20 | 20 |
Season 27 Division 4 Stats and Facts.
Solid agreement on the top 3 in this division.
There is certainly a growing trend of 2 or 3 top teams followed by a close pack of teams. Napoli are favourites with the usual top and tail technique that works well in the lower divisions. Lokomotiv are a well-balanced outfit and they are just a little more solid in midfield to close rivals Celtic who should make up the top 3.
Liverpool or Monaco look set for 4th or 5th just a variation of keeper and attacking strength. Ajax look set for around 6th spot, no big 90 ratings but a well-rounded squad maybe lacking a bit of depth. Palace are the first team with a big difference between me and the A.I., the weaker keeper is a major concern for the A.I. as is the lack of depth. Independiente is the A.I.s last playoff spot team and I can see why with a well set up balanced squad. A can see Dynamo Moscow making a good cup run with their strength in depth. If you assume around 219 to survive D3 then they would be the last team who could get promoted and not immediately relegated again.
The two German sides Schalke and Bremen hold up the table, good enough attacks but defence and midfield lack enough depth to handle the better teams. Lyon look to be in trouble half a point away from anyone else defence and keeper are too weak Then comes some disagreement, Feyenoord also are really vulnerable at the back I see them in 17th spot, the A.I. says that Dynamo Kiev lack depth meaning their advantages in attack and midfield could come back to bite them.
What about possible outliers? Palace are seen as attack heavy with a large depth gap possible low point of 15th, Kiev may not even make 17th if their lack of depth has a serious impact. Dynamo Moscow could go as high as 5th if that huge depth helps them out.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | A.I | |
| SSC Napoli | 90.0 | 88.5 | 89.6 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.2 | 222.87 | 1 | 1 |
| Lokomotiv Moskva | 88.0 | 88.8 | 89.6 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.5 | 222.06 | 2 | 2 |
| Celtic | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.4 | 221.78 | 3 | 3 |
| Liverpool | 88.0 | 88.3 | 88.6 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.4 | 220.98 | 4 | 5 |
| AS Monaco | 89.0 | 88.5 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 220.85 | 5 | 4 |
| Ajax | 89.0 | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 220.33 | 6 | 6 |
| Crystal Palace | 86.0 | 87.5 | 88.2 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 87.5 | 220.23 | 7 | 12 |
| Independiente | 88.0 | 88.5 | 88.4 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.8 | 220.13 | 8 | 7 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 85.0 | 88.3 | 88.2 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.3 | 220.06 | 9 | 10 |
| Dynamo Moskva | 87.0 | 88.5 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.7 | 219.28 | 10 | 8 |
| Monchengladbach | 87.0 | 88.0 | 88.2 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.4 | 218.92 | 11 | 11 |
| ACF Fiorentina | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.8 | 87.0 | 86.0 | 87.6 | 218.87 | 12 | 9 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 88.0 | 86.5 | 87.4 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.4 | 218.38 | 13 | 17 |
| Fenerbahçe SK | 87.0 | 87.8 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.3 | 218.24 | 14 | 13 |
| Besiktas JK | 87.0 | 87.8 | 87.4 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 218.08 | 15 | 14 |
| Chievo Verona | 88.0 | 87.5 | 87.4 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.4 | 218.00 | 16 | 15 |
| Feyenoord | 87.0 | 86.8 | 88.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.2 | 217.76 | 17 | 16 |
| Olympique Lyonnais | 87.0 | 86.5 | 87.5 | 88.5 | 85.0 | 86.9 | 217.37 | 18 | 18 |
| Bremen | 86.0 | 86.3 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 80.0 | 85.6 | 216.20 | 19 | 19 |
| Schalke | 87.0 | 85.8 | 86.8 | 88.5 | 85.0 | 86.6 | 216.17 | 20 | 20 |
Season 27 Division 3 Stats and Facts
Who will win the battle for 3rd place.
West Brom and Genoa, should both be in Division 1 and would probably win Division 2 at a canter. The only thin holding back Genoa is their keeper and for West Brom maybe there could be even more depth.
Zenit are the clear favourites for 3rd spot even if the A.I. sees it a bit different but with a good Keeper, Midfield and Attack that should be enough. Then there is the usually closely matched pack with 8 teams more or less within 1 pt of each other. Hoffenheim go for the midfield possession, the A.I sees them overhauling Zenit for that reason. My own Sevilla sit 5th maybe the last gasp of an ageing squad, Sampdoria are the 6th placed team in my stats but the A.I. sees the lack of depth as being more problematical than I do. Lille are my 7th place team a strong attack and midfield, the A.I. is less bothered about the weaker keeper than I am.
If you assume 221.3 is survival in D2, probably no team lower than Lille would survive D2 , however the A.I. sees Sunderland as having a fighting chance with their strong midfield line.
There is much stronger agreement for the relegation teams, 6 of the lower 8 match with only 2 swapping 1 position. 218.1 was more or less the cut off last season, so River Plate much the weakest team look set to go down, Dnipro look to finish 19th but you pick them for relegation at your peril. Galatasaray and Newcastle are well shy of the other teams with the possible exception of Partizan.
Who could be the outliers? St Etienne a lack of depth could drop as low as 14th. Spurs may get off to a good start but likely to prove inconsistent during the season could drop to 15th – 17th if they have injuries or suspensions. Newcastle on the other hand have a good amount of depth and balance, they could finish as high as 12th to 14th and finally River Plate despite being weaker than anyone else they could reach 17th as no one position is likely to suffer due to losing a player or 2.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | A.I | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 91.0 | 90.3 | 90.8 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.8 | 225.23 | 1 | 1 |
| Genoa CFC | 88.0 | 89.3 | 89.6 | 92.0 | 88.0 | 89.4 | 224.00 | 2 | 2 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 89.0 | 88.5 | 89.0 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 88.7 | 222.15 | 3 | 4 |
| Hoffenheim | 89.0 | 88.8 | 90.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.6 | 221.85 | 4 | 3 |
| SEVILLA FC | 89.0 | 88.3 | 88.6 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 88.8 | 221.75 | 5 | 6 |
| Sampdoria | 87.0 | 88.5 | 88.6 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 221.47 | 6 | 11 |
| Lille OSC | 87.0 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 86.0 | 88.2 | 221.46 | 7 | 5 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 88.0 | 88.3 | 88.4 | 91.0 | 83.0 | 87.7 | 220.99 | 8 | 12 |
| Sunderland | 88.0 | 88.3 | 89.6 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 88.0 | 220.89 | 9 | 7 |
| Swansea City | 88.0 | 88.5 | 89.2 | 89.0 | 85.0 | 87.9 | 220.77 | 10 | 8 |
| AS Saint-Etienne | 90.0 | 88.5 | 89.2 | 89.0 | 82.0 | 87.7 | 220.65 | 11 | 9 |
| Southampton | 87.0 | 88.5 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 87.9 | 220.45 | 12 | 10 |
| FC Basel | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.4 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.9 | 220.38 | 13 | 13 |
| AS Roma | 89.0 | 88.0 | 88.6 | 89.0 | 84.0 | 87.7 | 219.89 | 14 | 14 |
| Montpellier HSC | 88.0 | 87.3 | 88.2 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.7 | 219.62 | 15 | 16 |
| FK Partizan | 88.0 | 88.0 | 88.2 | 88.0 | 85.0 | 87.4 | 218.92 | 16 | 15 |
| Newcastle United | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.2 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 87.6 | 218.36 | 17 | 17 |
| Galatasaray SK | 88.0 | 87.3 | 87.6 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.4 | 217.96 | 18 | 18 |
| Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | 88.0 | 86.5 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 87.3 | 217.52 | 19 | 19 |
| River Plate | 87.0 | 87.0 | 86.4 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 86.5 | 215.91 | 20 | 20 |
Season 27 Division 2 Stats and Facts
Arsenal to win the league, human and A.I. agree but could they be an outlier?
Not as close at the top as D1, Arsenal has a clear division 1 squad and should get promoted with ease. Stoke in addition there is solid agreement that the well-balanced team with loads of depths should finish second well ahead of their nearest rivals. This is where things get tricky. Only 1pt separates the next 6 teams rather like the top of D1, so a small deviation from form could place the 3rd place team out of the play off spots. Flamengo if they score enough should finish 3rd but are they over reliant on their attack when they have a weak keeper. The A.I. sees them finishing 7th and maybe lower. My 4th place team Internacional are the A.I.s choice for 3rd, seeing them as more balanced even if depth is slightly less. Benfica also a balanced team with a good attack should be 5th or 6th, before we reach another big difference in Cologne. I see them as coming 6th, the A.I. says 12th, even more so though Anderlecht who I see as a playoff team but the A.I. sees struggling to avoid relegation. If you assume 224 is needed to survive D1 all the teams except Arsenal and Stoke have plenty to do if promoted.
Liege is the A.I.s big winner finishing in 4th rather than 8th and it also see’s West Ham finishing as high as 5th.
There is general agreement that current top team Augsburg will struggle finishing last or 2nd to last with Boca Juniors. They should be joined by Dinamo Zagreb. I see Espanyol as relegation territory but the A.I. does not agree, with Real Madrid being unfavoured by the robotic calculator. Interestingly only Augsburg are below last seasons cut off point of 219.8 for relegation.
The four biggest uncertainties are around Arsenal if hit by injuries or a poor rotational policy could drop them to 4 – 6th spot. Flamengo could lack consistency and the A.I. says in a worse circumstance they could drop to 10 – 12th. Cologne has a big depth gap so with bad luck could finish 15 – 17th. Zagreb has a small depth gap and that could count in their favour with a finish between 13th – 15th although that may only be evident after the mid-season.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | A.I | |
| Arsenal | 91.0 | 90.5 | 91.2 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 89.7 | 225.63 | 1 | 1 |
| Stoke City | 90.0 | 90.5 | 90.4 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 224.46 | 2 | 2 |
| CR Flamengo | 88.0 | 89.3 | 89.4 | 92.0 | 86.0 | 88.9 | 223.60 | 3 | 7 |
| SC Internacional | 91.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 89.2 | 223.47 | 4 | 3 |
| SL Benfica | 90.0 | 89.0 | 89.8 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 89.0 | 223.19 | 5 | 6 |
| Cologne | 90.0 | 89.3 | 88.6 | 92.0 | 84.0 | 88.8 | 222.96 | 6 | 12 |
| RSC Anderlecht | 89.0 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 92.0 | 85.0 | 88.8 | 222.88 | 7 | 16 |
| Standard Liège | 93.0 | 88.8 | 89.4 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.6 | 222.62 | 8 | 4 |
| Málaga CF | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.2 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.6 | 222.06 | 9 | 10 |
| Atlético Madrid | 90.0 | 89.3 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 83.0 | 88.3 | 221.86 | 10 | 15 |
| Real Madrid | 89.0 | 89.0 | 88.6 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 221.70 | 11 | 17 |
| Udinese Calcio | 89.0 | 89.5 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 221.61 | 12 | 8 |
| West Ham United | 89.0 | 89.3 | 89.8 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 88.6 | 221.56 | 13 | 5 |
| Wolfsburg | 88.0 | 89.3 | 89.2 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 221.49 | 14 | 11 |
| Everton | 88.0 | 89.0 | 89.2 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.4 | 221.41 | 15 | 13 |
| Manchester United | 88.0 | 89.3 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 86.0 | 88.3 | 221.33 | 16 | 14 |
| RCD Espanyol | 90.0 | 89.5 | 89.0 | 88.0 | 86.0 | 88.5 | 221.12 | 17 | 9 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 90.0 | 88.5 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.7 | 221.09 | 18 | 18 |
| Boca Juniors | 89.0 | 86.5 | 87.0 | 95.0 | 82.0 | 87.9 | 221.07 | 19 | 20 |
| Augsburg | 89.0 | 87.3 | 88.0 | 90.0 | 85.0 | 87.9 | 219.58 | 20 | 19 |
Season 27 Division 1 Stats and Facts
I say Dortmund should win the league the A.I. says Chelsea (with a big caveat) who is correct.
Usual preamble. I work out the average rating in each of the 4 key positions, the lowest player in the top 18 and the average. This calculates a rating the ETOT, This is used to predicted the final position.
Last year I practiced with some A.I. data which only did marginally worse than I did. During the preseason I trained it with 5 more divisions of data. It came up with the A.I. formula and also was able to spot possible outliers.
It is closer at the top of D1 than ever. Any one of 6 teams have a good chance. Dortmund is just the top team with a great attack, midfield and some depth. Chelsea who the A.I. predict to win are my 2nd team, only a lack of depth hampers them. Hellas have greater depth than the Atlantic Ocean but you can’t play all those superstars, they are ranked 3rd. Barcelona 4th ranked form me with that potent attacking threat, Porto a well-balanced team have good depth and a good attack. They sit above Leicester who have a new gaffer who would be looking to push them to the top of the table.
There is then a sizeable gap to Juventus and the chasing pack. At the lower end of the table if we say 224 is the cut off for survival, CSKA look doomed to me unless their keeper can save them, Cruzeiro have a good attack but an 88 keeper in D1 will struggle. Milan and Leverkusen are close to the cut off and maybe their depth will save them.
The A.I. also looked at possible outliers and believes that Chelsea and Barcelona have the biggest potential to underperform placing Chelsea as low as 4-6th place and Barcelona 9th – 11th as outliers.
It also sees Levante as maybe pushing up to 4- 6th spot and CSKA maybe 15th – 17th due to solid depth and keeper strength.
| GK | DEF | MID | ATT | Top18 | Ave | ETOT | Pre | A.I | |
| Dortmund | 93.0 | 92.5 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 87.0 | 92.1 | 231.75 | 1 | 4 |
| Chelsea (-) | 94.0 | 93.5 | 93.4 | 94.0 | 82.0 | 91.4 | 231.74 | 2 | 1 |
| Hellas Verona | 91.0 | 92.5 | 92.8 | 95.0 | 90.0 | 92.3 | 231.71 | 3 | 3 |
| Barcelona (-) | 92.0 | 91.8 | 93.2 | 96.0 | 85.0 | 91.6 | 231.60 | 4 | 6 |
| FC Porto | 92.0 | 92.8 | 93.4 | 94.0 | 87.0 | 91.8 | 231.50 | 5 | 2 |
| Leicester City | 91.0 | 92.5 | 93.4 | 94.0 | 87.0 | 91.6 | 231.18 | 6 | 5 |
| Juventus | 95.0 | 91.8 | 91.8 | 93.0 | 89.0 | 92.1 | 229.37 | 7 | 7 |
| Levante UD + | 91.0 | 92.0 | 93.4 | 91.0 | 85.0 | 90.5 | 228.59 | 8 | 8 |
| Sporting CP | 90.0 | 91.8 | 92.2 | 92.0 | 87.0 | 90.6 | 228.20 | 9 | 9 |
| Bayern | 93.0 | 90.0 | 91.2 | 94.0 | 87.0 | 91.0 | 227.66 | 10 | 10 |
| H. Berlin | 92.0 | 89.5 | 90.8 | 94.0 | 88.0 | 90.9 | 226.94 | 11 | 13 |
| Internazionale | 92.0 | 90.0 | 90.8 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 90.6 | 226.57 | 12 | 12 |
| São Paulo FC | 91.0 | 90.3 | 91.6 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 90.0 | 225.87 | 13 | 11 |
| Aston Villa | 89.0 | 90.0 | 90.2 | 93.0 | 87.0 | 89.8 | 225.73 | 14 | 16 |
| Hamburg | 90.0 | 89.8 | 90.8 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.7 | 224.83 | 15 | 14 |
| Manchester City | 93.0 | 89.5 | 89.8 | 92.0 | 86.0 | 90.1 | 224.72 | 16 | 17 |
| Leverkusen | 89.0 | 91.0 | 89.4 | 90.0 | 87.0 | 89.3 | 223.94 | 17 | 15 |
| AC Milan | 89.0 | 89.8 | 89.8 | 91.0 | 87.0 | 89.3 | 223.91 | 18 | 18 |
| Cruzeiro EC | 88.0 | 89.8 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 86.0 | 89.0 | 223.83 | 19 | 19 |
| CSKA Moskva + | 90.0 | 89.0 | 88.8 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.8 | 221.33 | 20 | 20 |
S27 Youth Cup
64 teams registered, same as last season.
Full tournament groups and fixture schedule on Challonge.com as usual.
Scroll to bottom for screenshots of groups and fixtures.
Seeds
🔥 Elite Tier (84+)
🟣 Espanyol — 86
🟣 Genoa — 86
🔵 Barcelona — 84
🔵 Bayern Munich — 84
🔵 CSKA — 84
🔵 Levante — 84
🔵 Sporting — 84
💪 Strong Contenders (82–83)
🟢 Club Brugge — 83
🟢 Juventus — 83
🟢 Leicester Youth — 83
🟢 River Plate — 83
🟢 Dynamo Moskva — 82
🟢 Hamburg — 82
🟢 Hertha Berlin — 82
🟢 Independiente — 82
🟢 SC Internacional — 82
🟢 Swansea — 82
⚔️ Losers Shield Contenders (80–81)
🟡 Atletico Madrid — 81
🟡 Besiktas — 81
🟡 Chelsea — 81
🟡 Dortmund — 81
🟡 Man City Academy — 81
🟡 São Paulo — 81
🟡 Anderlecht — 80
🟡 Aston Villa — 80
🟡 Athletic Club — 80
🟡 CR Flamengo — 80
🟡 Marseille — 80
🟡 Monaco — 80
🟡 Partizan — 80
🟡 Tottenham — 80
😬 Shield Fodder (78–79)
🟠 AC Milan — 79
🟠 Arsenal — 79
🟠 Celtic Factory — 79
🟠 Fenerbache — 79
🟠 Real Madrid — 79
🟠 Sampdoria — 79
🟠 Stoke City — 79
🟠 West Brom — 79
🟠 Wolfsburg — 79
🟠 Benfica — 78
🟠 Cruzeiro — 78
🟠 Leverkusen — 78
🟠 Liverpool — 78
🟠 Roma — 78
🟠 Werder Bremen — 78
💀 Here For The Prize Draw (≤77)
🔴 Dynamo Kyiv U21 — 77
🔴 FC Basel — 77
🔴 Montpellier — 77
🔴 Newcastle United — 77
🔴 Sevilla FC — 77
🔴 Udinese — 77
🔴 Atalanta — 76
🔴 PSV — 76
🔴 Borussia Mönchengladbach — 75
🔴 Santos — 75
🔴 Crystal Palace — 74
🔴 Lazio — 74
🔴 Olympiacos — 74
🔴 Saint Etienne — 74
🔴 Southampton — 74
🔴 Villarreal — 74
🔴 Chievo Verona — 73
🔴 Valencia — 73
Format and Rules
Group Stage starts 21 February.
16 groups, 4 teams in each group. Teams play each other twice, home and away. Six matches in total. Top two qualify.
3rd placed teams will drop into the Youth Shield.
Last placed teams will be out (unless a team above them is disqualified for forfeiting three or more matches).
All fixtures must be arranged - home teams must send friendly requests to away teams asap.
If you are the away team and you haven't received a friendly request, please message the home team manager to buy their best player for cash give them a friendly reminder.
If there's a problem, please screenshot any messages sent or received and send them to me on WhatsApp, FB or email.
No loan players are allowed at any time.
All players must be aged 21 or under at the start of the season, i.e., on 27 January 2026. If a player turns 22 since 27 January (i.e., on 28 January or after), he's eligible to play throughout the tournament.
Managers who fail to arrange fixtures or select eligible players and teams will forfeit those matches 0-3, and be excluded from the end of season prize draw.
Groups
Fixtures
THE ROAD TO GLORY STARTS NOW
A new season is approaching — and the World Club Cup is calling.
First, congratulations to last season’s champions: Leicester, winners of the WCC, and São Paulo, champions of the WCS. True excellence, deserved success, and a benchmark for the season ahead.
The upcoming season introduces a refined competition format. Experience has shown that managing multiple parallel competitions can place excessive pressure on managers, so this season will feature again with one unified elite competition. All Top 100 GW teams remain included — only the structure evolves.
All teams have entered a random draw, forming a full knockout bracket with elimination matches from the very first round. Every round will be played over two legs, where consistency, preparation, and performance will define progression.
Due to the 100-team structure, some clubs will receive a Round 1 bye. This is a result of the random draw and a necessary structural element to ensure competitive balance and proper tournament flow.
The competition officially begins on Wednesday, February 18th.
⚽️🔥🏆Link to schedule: https://challonge.com/gyn86ja0
All competition rules remain in effect, including the system for tied aggregate scores after two legs, which will continue to be resolved through Fictional Extra Time.
We will continue with rules for match organization and managerial responsibility. Based on last season’s experience, a stricter professional standard will apply:
- Managers must actively organize their fixtures
- In the event of an unplayed match, managers must contact the organizer and provide proof of attempted scheduling
- Failure to do so will result in both teams being eliminated
- Their next-round opponent will receive a free pass to the following stage
This season is built on discipline, structure, accountability, and competition integrity.
We are entering a new era of the World Club Cup — a format designed for intensity, fairness, and elite performance.
New structure. New pressure. New opportunities. New legends.
Welcome to the new WCC season.
The path is clear. The bracket is set. The battle begins. 🏆🔥
S26 Youth Cup 'New Player Free Pick' Prize Draw
As is now traditional in Top 100, there will be a random draw to select three lucky winners?
The prize?
A free pick of ANY new player added to the database during S27!
All you have to do to be eligible is register for the S26 Youth Cup, arrange all your fixtures and set an eligible team for every game.
Easy, right?
Well, the bad news for 32 (!) managers is that it was too difficult and therefore they all forfeited the chance to be included in the draw.
Which is good news for the remaining 30 managers - their chances of winning just doubled!
- AC Milan
- Aston Villa
- Bayern Munich
- Besiktas
- Celtic
- Chelsea
- Club Brugge
- Cruzeiro (Ash)
- CSKA
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Espanyol
- FC Basel
- Genoa
- Hamburger
- Hertha
- Hoffenheim
- Independiente
- Levante
- Liverpool
- Man City
- Manchester United
- Olympiacos
- PSG
- Roma
- Sampdoria
- Sevilla
- Stoke City
- Swansea
- Tottenham
- Villarreal
(And in case you're thinking, "hang on there were 64 teams who entered the Youth Cup, what happened to the other two teams?" You're absolutely correct. But Doug and Paddy both quit Top 100 so I'm not including them in the draw.)
And if you think I made a mistake, please let me know asap.
The draw will be at 8 pm UK time on Monday evening - the start of S27 - and completed by RandomResult ticket number: 4063512M388EMK9DP
A season of Redemption in Basel
What a season it’s been in the Swiss town of Basel, as a whole my first season in Top 100 as manager of the mighty “RotBlau” has been a season of progression and unexpected success. We split our end of year review into two sections, Squad Progression and Performance, we start by looking back at where we were when we took over in August…
Squad Progression
As my previous article stated, it was no secret that FC Basel were a team in freefall, they had an ageing squad, no youth at all, mostly trash players and not a lot of assets to work with (36 man squad), the immediate areas of concern were:
- Six players rated 88 and above.
- Eight players under 23 (five aged 21 and under). All trash though.
- Lack of long-term quality: Three of the six high-rated players were over 30.
- Squad of 36 players.
Priority was improving the first team followed by building the u25 aspect of the 2nd team (with longer term talent between 21 and 25) and then lastly adding to the youth setup. Over the course of the last 5 months Basel have seen a total of 96 players join! There has been a constant flow of players in and out depending on their performances for their clubs and the chance to improve the starting 11.
The framework I wanted to build the squad around was having a 33 man core squad, 3 players for every position with at least one player fitting the following criteria:
Criteria A) 88+ rated aged 30 or under, happy to bring in a slightly older age profile as we rebuild the team slowly so long as they are either playing regularly or cheap to bring in.
Criteria B) 83-87 rated squad player aged under 25, there are many of these players around but it was important to buy players who have potential even if their ratings are lower (E. G. Circati) these players need to be playing regularly for their real life teams also.
Criteria C) Under 21 players with high potential, at least 1 of every position.
That gave me 17 extra spaces to fill, as everyone in Top 100 knows youth is king so the best use of this space would be under 21 talent, but some spaces would be used for 86+ rated squad players that will allow Basel to play higher ratings until our youths/u25s wait to rise, for every older rotation option we buy there will be an under 23 player who should take their spot eventually.
To find 33 players that fit these criteria was, and still is, extremely difficult and laborious, we had some mid-season business which saw 6 key players join the club and some important end of season business as we look towards Division 3 which has seen us bring in an additional 9 players, including 4 for the first team.
Mid-Season Business
We brought in Julian Brandt as a natural CAM to help push for the Division 4 title, Chilwell and Loftus-Cheek came in to give quality in some weak areas of the pitch, Gudmundsson was brought in to offer quality and versatility in the attacking areas and fit's our age profile and lastly Gueye and Gregoritsch were brought in for cash only deals to boost the 2nd teams ratings.
End of Season Business so far...
Brandt sadly had to leave Basel for Cruzeiro but in return we got Yuri ALBERTO (88/24) and Lovro MAJER (89/28). Majer was a direct replacement and slightly younger so fits the age profile and Yuri will replace the ageing Giroud. With the arrival of an under 25 striker we could afford to use Felipe PABLO in another swap...
Iñaki WILLIAMS (90/31) arrived to finally give us a natural AM(R) and boost the quality, Division 3 will be tough so it was worth sending Felipe PABLO and KONE to Internacional to get the deal done.
Wonderkid Kauã PRATES (75/17) arrived with 4 heading to Twente (Loftus-Cheek, Riedel, Vega and Barria), a heavy price to pay indeed but LB is a hard position to find talent and as previously stated, the club was in a position we could just about afford to offload these players.
Emirhan ILKHAN (78/21) also joined from external now he is starting for Torino, a solid pickup.
During the writing of this article we also managed to bring in Geoffrey KONDOGBIA (89/32), we sent a couple of youth players to Tottenham in return but he will enable us to keep the same quality we had last season (replacing Thiago Silva but 9 years younger) whilst waiting for Affengruber or Circati to rise.
The squad that Basel have now is by no means complete or at a place where I am content, but it is on its way to being set up for longer term success and the players we currently have that fit these A, B and C criteria options are:
Criteria A
GK
A) MUSSO – 88/31 – A solid 88 rated keeper who has put in fantastic performances for Atletico when called upon. Solid for now as we wait for rises. Happy to disregard the age requirements for GKs.
RB
A) COUFAL – 87/33 – Not the rating or age profile I would like but one of the best RBs in the Bundesliga, he is a safe 87 with a slight chance of 88 if Hoffenheim continue to overachieve. An area for improvement.
CB
A) KONDOGBIA– 89/32 – Recently swapped a couple of youth players for him, not a long term option at all but gives us a rating boost whilst we wait for others to rise. Will drop to 88 in next review but this is still a solid rating for our project for now.
A) NIAKHATE – 88/29 – One of the best performing CBs in Ligue 1 and Senegal’s key defender on their route to an AFCON win, will surely get a +1 in the next review, can also cover LB.
LB
A) CHILWELL – 88/29 – Has seen redemption at Strasbourg and plays nearly every week, has hit a bit of form over the past 2 months (as of writing this in Jan 2026), a solid LB as this was a weak area for the team. With Vinicius Lira and Kauã Prates, the Left Back position looks set for the foreseeable future.
CM
A) KOKCU– 89/25 – The engine of the team, he is undoubtedly one of the better players in the Turkish league, he will likely not rise unless Besiktas start overperforming however he will at least keep his rating for some time which is fine for us, too good for Turkey so I see him heading back to a top 5 league in the future.
A) SOLER - 88/29 - Came into the team in a swap deal for Thiago Silva, he is playing regularly for Sociedad and can play multiple positions and only just turned 29 so he fits the age/rating profile. Should be replaced by Tanaka or Marlon in due course.
RAM
A) WILLIAMS - 90/31 - Joined the club at the end of the season, Inaki will bring some much needed quality to the first team, another that might drop in the next review but even then its still above our average, a key signing and another one that we hope will help us over the next couple of seasons.
CAM
A) MAJER - 89/28 - Replaces Brandt in the CAM role, Majer will be a key component in a new look front four alongside the other new signings of Inaki, Gudmundsson and Yuri Alberto.
LAM
A) GUDMUNDSSON – 88/28 – Bought in towards the end of the season, he has also hit some form over the past few games as an under performing Fiorentina have changed him to LW leading to 4 G/A in seven, linked with Juventus and Roma, perfect signing for the Basel project.
ST
A) YURI ALBERTO - 88/24 - An exciting young striker who has been heavily linked with a number of top European clubs (Lazio, Roma, Everton to name a few). His arrival allowed us to finally move the 39 year old Giroud onto pastures new.
Criteria B
GK
B) BRAZAO – 84/25 – Even though Santos had a terrible season, he has still been putting in strong performances and is heavily linked with Flamengo and Bayern, he has seen his value on transfermarkt nearly double since I bought him.
RB
B) DONOVAN – 77/19 – Celtics young and upcoming RB, he has already put in a few good performances, plays regularly and has already had a +12. Due to his slightly lower than required rating for the B category, Basel look to Paolo Henrique (86/29) for cover, Vascos best player and himself could get a +1 in the next iteration of reviews.
CB
B) AFFENGRUBER – 86/24 – Affengruber has already been linked to a top team (Man Utd) and seems to be a staple in Elches defence, should hopefully grab 87 in next review and a potential move in the summer so happy to hold as we also have Circati.
B) CIRCATI – 83/22 – Circati has come back from injury and been a force in Parma’s back line, I have had multiple PMs about him since the article about him by Jacek the football talent scout but he will stay as I see him as a long term starting CB alongside Affengruber. Would take a very good offer for us to sell this gem.
LB
B) VALERA – 85/23 – A make shift LB but a top player, is playing regularly for an Elche side having a solid season, got a +2 recently and if he continues to start he could be due a couple more rises over the next two reviews, he will plays LB until Lira or Prates rise then he will be moved to an AM position.
CM
B) MARLON GOMES – 85/22 – After only recently turning 22, Marlon has been ever present for Shakhtar, he's had a dip in form recently but he's young enough to figure it out and be a top player, im sure he will be linked with other teams in the future but for now we are happy to see him play.
B) ROMAN – 80/23 – Celta’s new midfield maestro, he is a regular starter for them and looks to be putting in solid performances as Celta push for a top 6 finish, a starter for any team in La Liga is decent enough for Basels B team, let alone a team pushing for top 6.
RAM
B) ANDRE LUIZ – 82/23 – A big rise is coming as he lights up Portugal, heavily linked with Benfica, he has 7 goals and 6 assist in 18 games in the Liga Portugal, at only 23 he fits what we want long term, a switch to Benfica and some regular game time over the next couple of seasons could see him hit a few decent rises.
CAM
B) TANAKA – 86/27 – Although not under 25, we can make an exception for Tanaka, he has had some blinding games for Leeds, scoring against Liverpool and Chelsea, he has already had a +1 and with some more gametime could easily get 87 if Leeds stay up, a solid pick up for just over £2 million.
LAM
B) YEREMAY HERNANDEZ – 85/23 – The diamond of this squad and the player I think has the biggest upside, he has been Deportivo’s best player and in my opinion, will likely get snapped up by a big team in the summer. Basel have an abundance of talent in these AM(RL) positions so we are quite happy with what we have.
ST
B) AREZO- 83/23 - A former wonderkid who hasn't quite lived up to the reputation, last year he finished the year strong for Penarol and scored a bunch of goals in the second half of the season, has gone back on loan to Penarol until the end of 2026 as their first choice striker and should go back to Gremio as their first choice striker. A solid rotation option to partner an already Young and talented Yuri. Until he rises we use GREGORITSCH (88/31) as backup.
Criteria C
GK
C) FAUSKANGER – 70/17 – A starter for Haugesund and the Norway u20 first choice GK, he put in some good performances towards the back end of 2025 so will monitor his progress.
RB
C) MIKIC – 73/18 – Dinamo’s best young RB has finally started to get regular game time in the first team, he started 3 games in December before getting an injury just before the winter break, Dinamo continue their push for the title on the 25th of Jan so we hope to see him play many more games before the season is out. Got a +8 today.
CB
C) HUGHES – 82/22 – By far Hull’s most consistent player as they push for promotion to the Prem and at 22 years old he surely has a solid career ahead. Recently inked to Crystal Palace to replace Man City bound Guehi, if he works on his composure a little he could establish himself as a Premier League regular. Slightly older than the u21 we wanted but not a problem.
C) MBOKAZI – 77/20 – Originally scouted back in September, I sold him to then rebuy him three months later for £30m, a costly mistake that I have to take on the chin, a starter for South Africa, got his move to Chicago Fire, one to watch for sure.
LB
C) PRATES -75/17 - Cruzeiros talented new Left Back has almost sealed his switch to Dortmund. A lot of hype around him so we will see how he develops. Could be a generational Left Back and a future cult hero at the club if he develops in line with his hype. Will hope for the best for this kid, have Santos's first team LB Vincius Lira (73/18) as a backup.
CM
C) ILKHAN– 78/21 – Ilkhan has started Torino’s last seven games in all comps and looks to be an up and coming CM in Serie A, he looks to be a real steal purchasing from external and could quickly move into category B if he keeps playing.
C) DZODIC – 73/20 - A calming presence in the middle of Almerias midfield, a regular and consistant performer as they push for promotion into La Liga, he looks to be a shrewd pickup and if Almeria end up getting promoted, he could be in line for a decent rise.
RAM
C) GOZO – 78/18 – He has been a starter for Salt Lake and put in some fantastic performances towards the end of the year, (including 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games for the USA u20 team back in October). Now linked with Aston Villa, another promising prospect.
CAM
C) TIAN NAI KOREN – 65/16 – I believe this kid could go right to the top, he made his debut for the first team in a friendly game on the 8th of Jan and has made the bench in Brugge's last two games, won’t be long before this guy is known everywhere.
LAM
C) THORVALDSEN – 78/19 – Playing regularly for Valerenga on the Left Wing, he looks very skilful and has bags of pace, another season at Valerenga could set him up for a move away if he keeps up his momentum.
ST
C) ESPI – 80/20 – Hard to pick between him and Mirisola however I think Espi just nudges Mirisola to the best u21 striker at the club as of Jan 2026. He scored his first goal in La Liga recently and is getting regular minutes. Not generational but could develop well and we have enough youths in this position to look promosing.
Overall there has been huge progress over the past season, which to be fair was not hard considering how much of a mess Basel were 5 months ago, we have plenty of talent with potential and only 6 players (5 outfield) above 30 (Kondogbia, Gueye, Gregoritsch, Inaki, Musso and Coufal) and only 1 player in the first team below 88, which is the RB and our main focus for recruitment at the minute, but more importantly some key squad stats over the past 5 months:
Key Season Stats
71% of the squad is aged 25 and under (compared to 31% when I took over)
Average age of first team squad dropped from 29 to 27
Total squad value increase of 10.6% in 5 months
Value of U21 team increased by 362%
Average rating of the starting 11 has increased by 0.1 to 88.4 but the average age has dropped by 1.3 from 30.3 to 29.0
Number of 87 and under players in the first team dropped from 4 to 1.
Next, it's time to analyse the team performance...
Performance
Our sole objective this season to finish in the top 6 and push for promotion, this season there was no expectation in the Cup, Shield, Youth Cup or the World Club Cup as this was the first season for Basel under new management and there were players flying out the door so no consistancy to start with, nevertheless there were some exceptional showings in certain competitions which far exceeded what I wanted from this squad…
Division 4 - Winners!
Truley a momentus achievement considering what shape Basel were in last season. The first third of the season saw Basel put themseves around the top 3, winning a fair few games but getting used to the team and the best use of tactics, unfortunately a lack of quality led to a terrible mid season slump, and what a slump it was. There was a three week period at the end of November where we won only 1 out of 10 games, a complete tactical revamp took place which lead to 11 wins in 13 games including a vital 2-1 win against former league leaders Lille. This late run partnered with Lilles drop off lead to a Division 4 title, winning on the last day by 2 points.
Top 100 Cup – 1st Round Knockout
Knocked out in the first round by Chris’s strong CSKA side, the team was still in the rebuild stage which is evidenced by 10 of the starting 11 no longer playing for the club.
Top 100 Shield – Semi Finals
A real charge into the latter stages of this competition gave us an actual chance of silverware, coming up against a strong Malaga side in the semi’s was always going to be an uphill fight and a 2-1 loss saw us go home with our heads held high, Málaga then went on to win the competition (congrats Dave) so it was probably the right result.
Notable Wins:
- Quarter final - Leverkusen (4-2)
- Round 3 - Barcelona (2-1)
- Round 2 - Arsenal (2-0)
World Club Cup (WCC) – Round of 16
There was no expectation here, participation was going to be more of an experience to learn the format, however Basel really pushed their performances to the limit, FC Basel finished 1st in Group A, going undefeated in a group that had Sporting and Sao Paolo. We then beat Division 3 Sampdoria in the Round of 32 only to lose to Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Notable Wins:
- Group Stage – Sao Paolo (A) 2-1
- Group Stage – Sporting (H) 2-1
Closing Thoughts and Future Plans
Overall, it’s been a successful first season in Top 100, winning Basel's 2nd ever trophy (not counting play offs) was incredible and no matter what happens now, Basel and I will share that first season success.
Everyone always think's their team is the one thats going to break the mold, so im not getting carried away at all, Division 3 will be tough but at the very least the free falling mess that used to be Basel is stable, avoiding relegation is the only focus for next year, we would love another cup run like the Shield but it's best to base expectations in reality.
Thank you to all those that have taken the time to organise everything, Hopefully this blog and many others like it will show how much some of us love the grind of GWs like Top 100.
The Football Manager (FM)
Lokomotiv Moskva: End of Season 26 review
It’s been almost 2 years and 3 months since I took over at Lokomotiv Moskva. Time really does fly and I thought it would be nice to make a detailed blogpost about our journey during this period.
We just recently ended Season 26, which didn't quite go as I expected. We ended up in a messy relegation fight, had to make some concessions in the market to bring in ratings, but managed to achieve safety in the end. It was one of these classic SM seasons where everything goes wrong but we didn't get relegated anyway, so no harm was done and next season we can try for promotion again.
In the meantime I would like to go back to the beginning of my adventure here in Moscow and then make a small analysis of our current team:
When I took over in November 2023 the team was in shambles to say the least. Old players in freefall, little to no assets for trading (with the exception of Raphael Veiga, who after all was a 28 year old playing in Brazil) and also quite the weak youth setup. Here is how the team looked like when I was appointed at Lokomotiv (P.S. for the life of me I can’t remember who my starting CBs were, I simply remember they were so awful I had to immediately replace them, so in their place I’ve added Ramalho and Saiss who I both bought for cash at the time. Other than the CBs, the lineup is 100% correct and reflects the state of the team at the time).
As can be seen above, the average age of our lineup was 31.36 years and the average rating 87.45. To add to this there were basically 0 decent squad players, I had to get rid of 10-15 players aged 30+ and rated sub 84, which I can only assume were left there out of negligence, as no one has any use for such players. Basically the team looked like a midtable div 5 team.
To illustrate the declining state of Lokomotiv, here’s how the lineup would look today if no changes were made. 9/11 players have dropped in rating since then, with Terraciano and Bruno Henrique barely holding to their 87.
In contrast, here’s how the team looks nowadays:
Average age of 28.54 and average rating of 89.36. We’ve lowered the average age of our lineup by about 3 years and increased the rating by about 2 points. Should be mentioned that the average age is skewed by a couple of players who are being used as a short term solution such as Muslera 39 years old. On top of this our squad now mostly consists of players on the rise, not on the decline. Below I’ve made a summary of our team:
Goalkeeper
Muslera 88 is the player who guards our goal. At 39 he’s certainly a short term solution but a solid one nonetheless considering his team just won the Clausura in Argentina and Muslera’s rating remained unchanged in the Argentinian review few days back. His 88 should be fine for most of 2026 and by then I hope our reserve gk Agkatsev 85 has reached at least an 87 rating. Agkatsev is the starting GK of top Russian club Krasnodar and also a frequent starter for the Russian national team so I do expect him to follow Safonov’s track rating wise. Nevertheless chances are we’ll be in the market for a new GK shortly.
Defense
Starting from the left side we have Lewis Hall 88, a player who I’ve been after for quite some time. In my opinion Hall has a really high ceiling and he’s very likely to be the future of the English NT at LB. He’s an integral part of our team and one of the players who I plan on keeping for a long time, part of my Division 1 vision.
The centre of our defense consists of Lacroix and Gomez both 89 rated. We’re very happy with Lacroix, he’s been a standout performer in the Premier League at 25 and I think he’s still far from his ceiling. Gomez while older (32) is a safe 89 as he captains Palmeiras, one of Brazil’s top clubs. Of course he’s already reached his ceiling at 89 but he’ll keep that rating for around 2-3 more years imo.
Right side of our defense is covered by Gross 90 who’s finding a second life irl at Brighton. Not much to say here, we need the ratings in our goal for promotion and a 90 rated RB isn’t something many teams (if any) have the luxury of fielding in div 4.
Most notable subs: 1. Kevin Mac Allister 88 (can play all positions in defense, really solid defender for Union St Gilloise and also called up for the Argentinian NT). 2. Marcos Alonso 88, not the youngest but still a versatile defender in 0 risk of dropping. 3. James Hill 83, young defender who has started every game so far for Bournemouth in 2026 and has really impressed with his performance. Only 83 at the moment but expecting a nice rise for him in the next review if he keeps starting games.
Midfield
Since we usually play 4-2-3-1 formation we only need 2 central midfielders. As of now these midfielders are Locatelli 91 and Tyler Adams 88. Locatelli doesn’t need much introduction, Juventus captain who is really shining under the management of Spalletti. He’s the backbone of our team, always puts him in a shift. Tyler Adams on the other hand is a recent acquisition who we got from Hamburg in exchange for Pasalic. Has quite strong links to Manchester United irl with rumors of a potential 40 million move, but remains to be seen.
As for midfield subs we mostly use our versatile players who can play M(C): Gross 90, Hall 88, Mcginn 91, depending on the needs of the team.
Attack
On the right side of the attack we have the absolute gem of our team, Rayan Cherki 22/91. In my opinion he’s a generational talent who will reach the very top and we’re delighted that he’s part of Lokomotiv. Sky is the limit for Cherki and there are 0 plans to move him to another squad.
Left side we have Aston Villa’s captain Mcginn 91. He joined us near the end of last season and made huge impact right from the start. I expect him to be vital in our quest for promotion next season, 91 rating is quite the firepower in div 4.
Behind the striker plays Isi Palazon 88, who isn’t a long term solution for our team but he’s a very safe 88 for the upcoming seasons and always puts in a shift.Up front we have Illiman Ndiaye 25/90, recently crowned African champion with Senegal. He just joined our club recently and we can’t wait to see his goals and impact next season.
Our subs in attack consist of a mix of experienced players like Cordoba 88, Fekir 88 and younger players with a lot of room to grow such as Summerville 86 and Igamane 86.
Youth Squad
We’ve used most of our young gems (who we found external) in deals to gain more first team players. Unfortunately with the team I was given I had no choice but to sacrifice a lot of wonderkids to fix my first team, and I will still have to do the same for about 1-2 years. Once I have a solid first team consisting of 11 division 1 worthy players such as Cherki and Hall, we can start hoarding youth and patiently waiting for them to grow. During our tenure here we have scouted a lot of talent external, most notably: Batrakov 20/88, Bazoumana Toure 19/84, Jauregizar 22/89, Biereth 22/88, Epolo 21/84 etc. The next batch is already being cooked at our youth squad and they will be the foundation for our new first team players.
Conclusion
I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made at Lokomotiv and the future seems bright. End goal is to turn Lokomotiv into a div 1 regular and hopefully we can throw the first step next season.