Today, long suffering Levante manager Tom Parfitt saluted his brave warriors after they made it a club record 6 games unbeaten, and completed a league double over West Brom to hammer yet another nail into Mark Deadman’s coffin.




Afterwards, the gaffer was full of praise for his side. Levante went into the game with five players missing through a combination of injuries and suspensions, including top scorer Leandro Damiao. This meant only a second start for Dieumerci Mbokani and young Argentinean winger Martin Bernitez. The two players were both excellent. Mbokani scored whilst Benitez also chipped in with a couple of assists Youth team centre half Luis Canga also got a start.


The win, which comes off the back of 4 consecutive 1 – 1 draws, and a win against Twente has been reported locally as the greatest achievement in Spanish history. Barcelona winning the Top 100 title and Real Madrid winning the Top 100 cup. Not even close.


Prior to the record breaking run, Parfitt was concerned that he may be in danger of losing his job. After relegation last season, he only held on to it because the Levante board weren’t prepared to lower their standards and take a punt on Stephen Beddows. This season though, with the club flying high in 16th place in division 5, there are plenty of vultures circling to take the job on. So much so that Parfitt was concerned he may have had to ask Lana Del Rey if she wouldn’t mind giving Frank Hirst a blozza just so he could stay on.


The danger seems to have been averted now though, and Parfitt will be looking forward to a relaxing post season break, and unlikely though it may be, perhaps ending up on the receiving end of lovely Lana’s lovely lips himself.


Whilst basking in the glory of this season’s success though, Parfitt laid out a couple more targets for his side. First and foremost, he has challenged his side to finish above PMW’s Anderlecht. This would seem a fairly easy task given that they couldn’t win a raffle if they were the only entrants right now.


The other thing Parfitt wants to see is a player make the TOTW every week for the rest of the season. Levante have been criminally overlooked in this department all season, and the gaffa feels that this is a personal vendetta against him and his by the Top 100 authorities. He claimed that the lack of appreciation is symptomatic of the big club favouritism shown by those in charge.

That hospice in Greece seems to get several nominations every week. Bernard Matthews chicken kievs seem to get people in every week too. The Belgian boys, with one obvious exception are always in there too. It’s a conspiracy to keep my boys de-motivated and leave us struggling.

I’ll tell you exactly who is to blame too. DP, Hurst, Beddows, Keane, Senior and #Barca manager# Every single one of them to a man are running scared because they know exactly what I am capable of as a manager, and what this club can be capable of once the youngsters here make the step up.

It’s all an old boys club, and the ones at the top are scared of us, and more than that, they are scared of the embarrassment that will be caused when we start climbing the leagues and beating them to the pots.

After taking 4 points from the opening three league games, Levante’s form has suffered with successive defeats to second placed Celtic, and then on Sunday a dissapointing 2 - 1 defeat at Club Brugge. It was the Belgian sides first win of the season, and a game that the visitors felt they were capable of winning prior to kick off.


The first goal was scored on 14 minutes. The home side going ahead via a free kick from Guillaume Gillet. The first half was fairly even, Damiao and N’Jie both spurning opportunities for Levante, but Gillet’s free kick split the sides at the break.

At the start of the second half, Brugge came out strongly. Meunier and Vossen bith missed opportunities within a couple of minutes of the kick off, and Levante soon made them pay. Last season’s player of the season, Brazillian midfielder Diego Souza expertly finished after a great ball from Clinton N’Jie.

On 64 minutes though, Brugge were back in front. This time Vormer smashed home to send the home fans into party mood.

In a fairly even game, Brugge took their chances, and Levante’s age old issue of conceding came back to haunt them once again. Brugge manager Davy Vandendriessche will be happy with his side’s win, and Parfitt will have some more homework to do.

It wasnt just the first team that dissapointed this weekend however. The youth side were in action again. This time against Greek side Olympiacos. A

After winning their first game 4 - 2 in Moscow against CSKA’s youngsters, spirits were high in Levantes' youth camp. A drab affair finished 0 - 0 however. Parfitt said afterwards that he was pleased his side had kept a clean sheet, but that the forward players would need to work a bit harder next time.

Some of them wont have long to wait however. It is a very busy period for Levante as tonight they face French side Montpellier in the Top 100 Cup. Parfitt has named his side early, and shows 10 changes from Sunday night. Only goalkeeper Jiminez Roberto retains his place.

The back four will be the same one that turned out for Levante’s youth team. Eibar, another of the younsters, will anchor the midfield. Ikechi Anya and Slavoljub Srnic make their debuts tonight. Along with Gambian Modou Barrow they will be expected to create chances for front pair Isaac Success and Adam Szalai.

The Hungarian will be hopeful of a good performance tonight to get himself into the shop window for a move as soon as his TB is up at the end of the week.

It is unlikely to be his only opportunity to shine this week however, as the club have a World Club Cup game tomorrow againts Fenerbahce, they then face table toppers Dynamo Zagreb on Thursday, and Augsburg on Sunday.

Sandwiched in on Saturday is another fixture for the youngsters, as they also head to Germany to face Hertha Berlin. Across all competitions, the Augsburg game will be Levante’s seventh game in eight days. It is a tough time for the playing squad, but it is also an opportunity for those who havent really had an opportunity so far this season to stake a claim for a starting berth.

Off the pitch, Mohammed Rabiu has come in from Kuban Krasnodor. There wasnt really any plans to bring in any more first team players, but Mozambique international Mate Simao, the only player still at the club since Parfitt’s arrival, picked up a knock in Belgium and will be out for a couple of weeks.

At this moment, no more first team players are expected in, the focus will be more on shifting a few out of the exit door. There may be a few more youth players that sign however. Pre contract agreements have been made with players at another club, and both sides are happy with the agreement. There is also a bid in for another potential youth arrival.

Young goalkeeper Felipe Carvajal has also left on loan. He is in Italy with Hellas Verona, and was Verona’s MOTM in last Saturdays game against Genoa. Levante also have a couple of other youth players available on loan, and would like to see thm go and get a few minutes game time somewhere if at all possible.

Season 2 transfers out

If Levante have been struggling in one area this season, it would have to be at the back. The club have shipped 50 goals this season, which is the second worst in the division. Only fellow relegation candidates Hellas Verona have conceded more, with 66.


If they have struggled in two areas, you can add scoring goals. Going into last night’s game against Chievo Verona, Parfitt’s side had managed 28 goals in 28 games, with young Cameroon attacker Clinton N’Jie’s 7 representing 25% of the total.

To try and solve this issue, Parfitt this week brought in N’Jie’s compatriot and Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o from Espanyol for £1m. Parfitt revealed that a bid from Levante for Eto’o had been rejected a few weeks ago, so once he became available, they were only too pleased to offer him a new home.


Also joining the club is Hungarian striker Adam Szalai from Sunderland in a straight swap for full back Conservo Fagner. The Brazillian had struggled since his close season arrival from Corinthians, so Parfitt was happy enough to let him go.



The new additions were paired up for last night’s encounter against Verona despite having not trained together previously. This meant a change of formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-1-3-2, so Clinton N’Jie was relieved of the pressures of being the loan front man and dropped in behind the two strikers.

Alejandro Gomez, the experienced Argentinian who has been disappointing so far this season was dropped to the bench, and replaced by young Dutch prodigy Bart Ramselaar. The 19 year old being rewarded for some strong performances in the youth cup this season. He will be hoping to get an extended run in the side now.


With Fagner’s departure, Adriano switched from left back to right back, and Jean Beausejour, who has spent most of the season enjoying an attacking role, was pulled back to the left back position.


Things started brightly for the new boys. Adam Szalai forced a fine stop from Rafael after just 10 minutes. After another 10 minutes, Samuel Eto’o played in his strike partner, and it paid dividends with Levante taking a deserved lead.


As the half drew on, Verona forced John Ruddy into a couple of bread and butter saves, but the home side went in a goal to the good at the break.


A minute into the second half though, and last season’s player of the year for Levante John Ruddy made a schoolboy error. A shot from Ibisevic was fumbled and found its way into the back of the net.

Eto’o forced a good save after about an hour, but an improved Levante performance was undone in the 89th minute, with Ibisevic’s cheeky flick beating Ruddy at full stretch.


The club look destined for division 5 football next season, with a recovery even more impressive than last season’s effort now required.

As per the table below, a Herculean effort will be requirde to get Levante anywhere near safety.

14		Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	29	-4	35
15		Montpellier HSC	29	0	33
16		West Bromwich Albion	29	-7	33
17		Celta Vigo	29	-9	31
18		Hellas Verona	29	-32	30
19		RCD Espanyol	29	-16	28
20		LEVANTE UD	29	-21	25

With the other club from Valancia rooted at the bottom of division 4, manager Tom Parfitt was hauled over the coals at the press conference before his side face Espanyol this evening.




Reporter: Towads the end of February, the club were mid table. Today, bottom. Why?

Parfitt: Well obviously because we havent won enough games. We are struggling for goals, but we have agreed a deal for a striker who will be in the stands tonight all being well.

Reporter: When relegation is confirmed, will you be walking away?

Parfitt: If we go down, I would hope to stay. I turned down Bayenr Munich to stay here, and I would like to see the board repay that loyalty should the situation arise.

Reporter: So you still believe you are the right man for Levante?

Parfitt: Absolutely. I know times are hard at the moment, but we are not in a financial position to go out and get the superstars, so I have tried to bring in players who I believe will improve and have a future in the game.

Reporter: Who has dissapointed you the most this season?

Parfitt: I wont be naming and shaming anybody, that isnt going to help team spirit in any way. I will say though that I am hoping to have a bit of a shake up of the squad at the end of the season, but only if I can bring on the players that I want.

Reporter: At what point do you think some of the so called futire stars will be ready?

Parfitt: Someof them have already had a chance or two in the first team, and tonight will see a few changes again.

Reporter: Do you not think you should just fall on your sword & do one?

Parfitt: If there is anybody who can do a better job, then they would be here already

Good day guys and it is time for another Fannie Licker interview where the well enhanced, yes enhanced is probably a good word for her, Fannie gets to meet a manager from the Top 100 Game World. Once again Fannie has been going all out to improve her looks and this week she got what we have all been waiting for. Yes she has had boob implants and after a lot of persuasion and a lot of vodka and Red Bull, Fannie has agreed to get her tits out for the boys. We have an exclusive photo that she has kindly given us of her (  o  Y  o  ) and to cap off a great week for Fannie, she has been offered a contract to work for Babestation, whatever that is :/  Anyway lets get things started and here is Fannie Licker to introduce us to her guest.



Hiiiii guys, and welcome to another interview chaired  by little meeeee. Before I introduce you to this week’s manager, I have agreed to show a photo of my new boobs that I had put in this week. At first they didn’t look great but now that everything has settled and the swelling is away I am happy to show them and here they are:



Ohhhh I love them and I am so happy I spent £7500 to get them done and what do you think of my new hair colour :) . So, let’s get on with today’s guest. Today’s guest is the manager of a small Division 4 club and he has had to work hard for this club to succeed. The club play their home games in the Spanish city of Valencia where they live in the shadow of their bigger local rival. It’s a tough job but someone has got to do it and the manager that is doing this difficult job is Tom Parfitt of LevanteUD.

Welcome Tom, I love your beard xx

Let’s get started then and before the questions we can find out a bit more about Tom

TOM PARFITT - PERSONAL PROFILE

Full Name:  Thomas (but only to my mum) Parfitt
Born:  8th Sept 1978
Height:  5ft 10"
Marital Status:  Engaged to Zoe. Getting married in Cyprus in 2018
Nickname:  Loads over the years. Marxy, Parf Daddy, Thomas the Tank
Favourite Sports teams:  Peterborough Utd, and Ferrari in the F1
Favourite food:  Indian, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Italian. All really, that’s why I’m fat
Favourite drink:  Coffee, JD, Pedigree Ale, most beers with the exception of Budweiser to be honest
Favourite band/singer:  Tame Impala, Temples, Lana Del Ray & Kasabian, but again, I could go on for hours listing names.
Favourite Colour:  Blue
Favourite animal:  Flamingo, not very manly, but I think they are stunning creatures.
Favourite film:  Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Hobbit
Your Car:  As befits the manager of a Spanish La Liga football club, I have a 10 year old Fiat Punto. I have an old (1966 vintage) Land Rover project as well.
Best Friend:  Paddy  (ed - Power?)

What phone do you have:  The Nokia Windows one. Lumia maybe….?
Best sport to watch:  F1 for me. Love it.
What scares you most:  Not really scared of anything. Just a very easy going individual really.
Phone, iPad or laptop to play SM:  Desktop as preference, and phone in an emergency.
Embarrassing moment:  Many. One time in Liquid nightclub in Peterborough, I went to the mens. We’d been out all day, and it was about 1.30 in the morning. Of course I fell asleep on the throne, got thrown out by a couple of bouncers and found myself in the street with me keks around my ankles.
Ever won anything on the lottery:  A little, £10 a few times, but I once won £500 on the Lucky Stars variation
If you could have any job in the world what would it be:  Rock Star, Sportsman or Astronaut. Essentially anything that could be considered a hobby, and didn’t involve the general daily grind.
Who would you most like to meet (dead or alive):  Depends what we’d be getting up to. If I can get to ‘know’ them, Fearne Cotton or Lana Del Ray. More seriously, I would love to meet Neil Armstrong, Keith Richards and Barrak Obama.
If you could attend any sporting event in the world what would it be:  The Indianapolis 500. As a race fan, it’s one of the events on the bucket list.

Thanks Tom and now let’s get down to business (chuckle)

FL:  Tom, life at a small club like Levante is always going to be hard and it takes a manager of patience and an understanding that a club like this will forever be in the shadow of the Barcelonas and Real Madrids of the world. What is your aim for the club and what constitutes a successful season?

TP:  Something as big as planet Earth spends half its time in the shadows, so Levante will not be forever in the shadows of Barcelona, the Madrid boys, or any other pretender. Success at the moment is survival. As time goes by, success will be winning promotion, and eventually one day, success will be going a whole div 1 season without dropping a point, crushing the trophy collectors in Madrid & Barcelona, showing the likes of Beddows how it gets done.


FL:  Last season seen you manage to consolidate in Division 4 but this season has seen the team struggle and they lie in the relegation places. What is the difference from last season that has seen the club going through a tough stage?
TP:  Honestly, we were in a tighter spot last season. The thing is, my chairman invested none of his pile of escudos in the club, so I had to wheel & deal to bring in the right faces. I am confident we will survive though, and start planning for a better finish next season.



FL:  The acquisition of Adriano from Barcelona was a huge signing for Levante. Do you feel he has been a disappointment and that you expected him to do more for the team and be a leader on the park?

TP:  Funnily enough, we have had a club looking to sign him just this week. That said, his presence in the dressing room is massive to the younger players at the club. You could say he maybe hasn’t had the best of starts, but on the other hand you could say that leaving Barcelona for Levante is quite a culture shock. We are happy to have him around, and are happy with what he brings to the club.


FL:  Do you think your job will be in danger should Levante be relegated to Division 5 or are the board prepared to give you time to finish the job that you started here? 
TP:  No, I don’t think my job would be in danger. As it happens, I think that managers at clubs like Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus etc should be more in fear for their jobs. Anybody should be able to win with those clubs, even somebody like Frank Hirst would get AC to the top. The managers of those clubs should be ashamed really. Levante pound for pound are outperforming all of those sides mentioned on almost every match day.


 FL:  How do you see your own future? Do you agree that if Levante are relegated that it might give you a better chance to show what you can achieve with a small club in the lower division? What I mean is, Division 5 would probably give you a better chance to show that you could guide a team to promotion.
TP:  Maybe, but I’d rather be promoted from a group of superior teams. There are clubs in div 5 who should be further up the ladder but aren’t. If we were down there I am confident we could win the league, but id rather get out of the div 4 sunroof rather than the basement.


FL:  In the alternate competitions, it was always going to be tough in the Regional Cup with teams like Barcelona involved but in the Youth Cup, Levante have put up a good performance. Do you think this augurs well for the future? How difficult would it be for Levante to hold on to their youths?
TP:  Yes, I think we have a lot of young players at the club. We have a lot of interest in several of them. Matt Miazga for one. We got him in quite a while back, and we have rejected offers of £4m+ for him already. I think the young players here are happy as they know that we are happy to let them play in the first team rather than bringing in a loan player. They will be given a chance to improve, and wont be just another squad player. We wont have any issues keeping the ones we want to keep.


FL:  If you are to escape relegation, what players are going to have to stand up and lead the way forward and take responsibility on the park?
TP:  You have to look at the experienced players. The likes of Adriano, Alejandro Gomez, Diego Souza and Gareth Barry. These are the leaders when the boys cross the line, and they do what they can. It is difficult, we are a provincial club with no money, but we are battling hard, and as stated previously, we will eventually be like the Hulk & smashing everybody

FL:  The final question is standard for all managers. If you could manage any club in the Top 100 who would it be?

TP:  Honestly, nobody. I turned down the Bayern job a while ago, and I am happy where I am. Maybe one day Santos, because it’s Pele’s club, but not until Levante have won all of the pots there are to win. I just want to say this, Keane, Beddows, DP, Kinnear, Fox, every single one of you. Take note, Levante are coming, and one day they will crush each and every one of your clubs.

Erm, ok Tom. And there we have it. A very confident Tom Parfitt. A man on a mission, representing the little pishy clubs of the set up. Oh sorry, I meant the smaller clubs that are just as important to the league as the Barcelona’s, the Bayern Munichs and the Argentina’s. Will we be seeing Levante climbing the leagues until they take the Division 1 title. Hahahahaha pmsl, who writes this stuff. Come on get a grip, we all know that only big teams like Liverpool, Juventus and Brazil will ever win the title.
So that is it for another interview and I would like to thank Tom for coming along and letting us into the life of a manager at a tiny club.

Next week is the Thursday blog with Gino and then I will be back for interview number 5 with another manager facing my questions and trying to answer without staring at my boobs. You hear me Tom Parfitt, do you hear me!!

Remember and look out for the PM that invites you to be the next manager to be interviewed.

Thank you for taking the time to read

Slaters

As the first round of friendlies got underway to open up season 2 of the Top 100, Levante fans were rewarded for their patience last season with a glamour frindly at home to city rivals Valencia.

It was a lively opening full of end to end stuff, with both keepers making several saves, and both sides missing the target with various efforts as well.


The first goal came on 30mins, young Spanish sensation Paco Alcacer putting the away side ahead after Muniain put him through. From there on in, it was all Valencia for the remainder of the first half, although the hosts did have an opportunity from a set piece at the very end of the first half. Unfortunately though, Robert Snodgrass couldnt find the target.

Right at the start of the second half, it was a role reversal for Valencia, as Alcacer put Muniain in to make it 2 - 0. And then on 68, the same Valencia duo combined yet again, as Alcacer notched his 2nd, and Valencia’s 3rd of the night.

Then with 5 minutes to play, Munaian yet again put Alcacer in for the youngster to complete his hat-trick, and leave the home fans massively disgruntled already.

Even though it was only a friendly, Parfitt took time out after the game to apologise to the fans for the result.

It has already proved to be a difficult pre season for Levante. The club had three senior targets in mind, and missed out on the first one when Balazs Dzsudzsak joined Hertha for £14.7m. Levante simply couldnt get close to that figure, and so the deal was lost.

The second target was a young right back playing for a club already in Top 100, but the players current club refused to even entertain a bid for the un-named defender. The club now find themselves locked in a battle with Fenerbache for their third target, Brazillian Conserva Fagner of Corinthians. The player is in talks with both clubs, and a decision should be made within the next 2hrs.

Levante have also missed out on a loan target, with a young midfielder not being allowed to leave his club by the chairman.

Not only have the club been rebuffed in all afforts to bring in first team targets, they have also sold Ibrahima Balde to Olympiacos for £5m.

There has been a couple of small chinks of light though, with the club announcing the signing of 2 17 years olds. Brazillian Matheus Pereira joins from Corinthians, and Mali born Sidiki Maiga came in from AS Korofina. Both players came in for fees of around £300k.

Division Four Odds/Table Predictions
CHAMPIONS	Southampton	1/2
PROMOTED	Genoa CFC	5/2
PROMOTED	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	4/1
PLAY-OFF	Torino	4/1
PLAY-OFF	Atalanta BC	6/1
PLAY-OFF	West Ham United	9/1
PLAY-OFF	Udinese Calcio	9/1
	SC Internacional	14/1
	Dynamo Moskva	20/1
	1. FC Köln	25/1
	RCD Espanyol	33/1
	Celta Vigo	40/1
	West Bromwich Albion	50/1
	Málaga CF	50/1
	AZ	50/1
	River Plate	85/1
RELEGATED	Montpellier HSC	100/1
RELEGATED	Chievo Verona	175/1
RELEGATED	Hellas Verona	250/1
RELEGATED	Levante UD	500/1

Parfitt though is aiming higher, and will be looking at a tactical tweek tonight with the aim of having the team in a position to push for the top 10, and maybe even sneak into the play offs come the business end of the season.

Player in	Club from	Fee
Sebastian Bassong	Norwich	Nikos Karabelos & Acosta Deyverson
Baroni Christian	Corinthians	£320K, Aranda Tono & Josi Mari
Marcus Maddison	Peterborough	£530K
Angel Romero	Corinthians	£400K & Rafael Martins
John Ruddy	Norwich	£300K, Martinez Ruben & Marti Roger
Robert Snodgrass	Hull	£300K, Javi Jiminaz & Jesus Fernandez
Leandro Da Silva Lopes	Peterborough	£10k
Clinton N'Jie	Real Madrid	Season Long Loan / made permanent for £2.75m
Jean - Armel Kana - Biyik	Toulouse	£100K, Pedro Lopez & Angel Trujillo
Jose Villarreal	LA Galaxy	£400K & Keita Karamokoba
Dilon Serna	Colorado Rapids	£610K & Remeseiro Jason
Daniel Bentley	Southend	£410K & Alejandro Zagala
Matt Miazga	New York Red Bulls	£1.1m
Diego Souza	Metalist	£3.8m & Joes Morales
Jean Beausejour	Colo Colo	£1.3m, David Navarro & Juan Delgado
Moses Odubajo	Hull	£2.4m
Ibrahima Balde	Kuban	£6.6m
Lee Angol	Peterborough	£10k
Roberto Trashorras	Rayo Vallecano	£2m & Jordi Xumetra
Jelle Vossen	Burnley	£1.2m & Victor Casadesus
Alejandro Gomez	Atalanta	Victor Camarasa, Ivan Lopez & £2m
Gareth Barry	Everton	£11m
Odisseas Vlachodimos	Stuttgart	£3m
Ben Godfrey	York	£10k
Gonzalo Jara	Universidad Catolica	£10k
Nikola Moro	Free Agent	£50k
Tibor Halilovic	Free Agent	£98k
Filip Kubala	FC Slovako	£10k
Inigo Cordoba	Free Agent	£8k
Jon Aguirrezabala	Free Agent	£8k
Nacho Buil	Free Agent	£8k
Alvas Powell	Porto	£1m
Hideki Ishige	Shimzu S Pulse	£2m
Jordan Graham	Wolves	£320k

**********

Levante have made some significant moves in the transfer market recentley. Belgian utility man Jelle Vossen has come in from Burnley for a fee of £1.2m, plus Victor Casadesus. The other men to have joined Les Granotes are Alejandro Gomez from Atalanta, and Gareth Barry from Everton. Gomez' arrival saw youngsters Ivan Lopez and Victor Camarasa head to Italy, whilst Gareth Barry arrived for a club record £11m.

With all the money leaving the club, some had to be brought in, and so the club found itself accepting a £10m offer from Aston Villa for Ruben Garcia. Garcia was the man that ideally the future of the club would have been built around, but given the league position and the need to improve other areas, he had to be sacrificed.