Top 120 Division 1 (Division 6) PREVIEW

Mission build a squad of minimum 21 with 40m all under 30Clubs and Starting XI's - Who do you think is the strongest? Who will win?

1. Wolves - Anew Dayo
2. Brighton - DP 91
3. RB Salzburg - Andrew Bailey
4. Union Berlin - Dave Brook 
5. Bologna - Paul Rimmer 
6. Sparta Prague - Daktaras Hausas
7. Real Sociedad - Stephen Partington
8. Young Boys - Hasan Lika
9. Rennes - Chris East
10. FC Midtjylland Dan Wallace 

Top 120 Division 2 (Division 7) PREVIEWMission build a squad of minimum 21 with 40m all under 30Clubs and Starting XI's - Who do you think is the strongest? Who will win?

1. Eintract Frankfurt - MANAGER - Carl Martin
2. Racing Club - MANAGER - Conor Franland (Son of the great Neil Frankland
3. OGC Nice - MANAGER - Stephen Beddows
4. Red Star Belgrade - Paul Masters
5. Fluminense - Shaun Adlem
6. Leeds Utd - Lee Reynolds
7. Palmerias - Pip
8. Rangers - SSG (Dan Innes)
9. Real Betis - Hashir Shakeel
10. RB Leipzig - Ricardo Ferriera

The favourties - appears that Red Star Belgrade is there at 1/5 favs for promotion.

I thought I would share my thought process surrounding the players I have purchased. I think it will be tough going in the early stages for Bologna looking at the excellent job everyone has done assembling their teams. On the whole I seem to have gone with players a little lower in rating but with what I perceive to have a bigger upside.

GK R.SÁNCHEZ 23 years old 85 rated and valued at £2.8M
I spent £3.5 million to secure my number one target for the goalkeeper position. I felt at this sort of price point Sanchez has great upside. Brighton are a team heading in the right direction I feel and Sanchez is nailed on as their number one. He has received call ups from Spain who seem to have a crisis of sorts in the goalkeeping department at the moment and it is not inconceivable that with the wind in his favour Sanchez could grab the number 1 shirt for Spain in the not too distant future.

RB G.MENINO 20 years old 83 rated and valued at £3.0M
Costing £3 million and arriving with his shiny Olympic gold medal is promising young Brazilian Gabriel Menino. A regular for Palmeiras and always being linked with Europe's fines clubs, the boy looks to have a great future and his rating should only go up. His versatility is a bonus as he can play the DMC position which will help me out early doors when the squad is thin.

DC L.BADÉ 21 years old 85 rated and valued at £5.0M
Free agent Loic Bade was captured for £4 million. After breaking into the Lens first team and being a big part of creating a solid defensive foundation in their first season back in league 1, Bade saw a rise from 73 to 85 if just six months. IRL his performances were enough for Rennais to splash the cash and bring his in. They haven't started well but I have high hopes for Rennais this year as they look to have had a great transfer window. Bade has lots of room to grown and will hopefully be a big part of Bologna's future.

DC L.ABRAM 25 years old 85 rated and valued at £2.6M
I have to admit that spending £2.6 million on Abram was a roll of the dice. I can't confess to have ever seen him play but having just signed for a Granada team who have been punching above their weight for a while now, if he settles in well he seemed to have more upside than anything else I could see at this price point.

DL L.PITON 20 years old 80 rated and valued at £1.4M
I was running out of money and needed a left back. I spent just over £400k to take the young Brazilian with an eye on the fact that the Brazilian league was currently being reviewed. He has since had a rating increase from 73 to 80. I will need to upgrade at some stage I suspect but he will have to do for now.

MC J.MODER 22 years old 85 rated and valued at £3.0M
Moder cost me £2.5 million as he was a free agent. I feel Brighton could have a good season this year and Moder was very impressive when I watched him against Man City at the back end of last season. A young player who seems to be in and around the first team should see his rating increase as the season moves on.

MC R.VEIGA 26 years old 85 rated and valued at £2.6M
£3.1 million was spent on the basis of Brazil currently being reviewed and Veiga's stats showing that he should get a upgrade of 1 or 2 ratings points. I don't know much more than what Transfermarkt tells me but I will be happy if he sees an increase so I can at least turn a profit on him once the transfer bans expires.

AML SULEMANA 19 years old 82 rated and valued at £2.8M
Sulemana cost me £3.2 million but seems to have tons of potential. IRL he made the summer move to Rennais after being tracked by lots of the top European giants. Rennais could prove to be an excellent choice at this stage of his career and their attach should be frightening with him and Doku on either side of the attack. He scored on his IRL league debut and I have high hopes for him.

AMC PAULINHO 21 years old 83 rated and valued at £3.0M
Another Olympic gold medalist, Paulinho joins for £3.1 million. Paulinho hasn't really established himself at Leverkusen yet but I am hoping this could be his break out year. I have only ever seen him in 10 or 15 minute substitute appearances but seems to be a classy, skilful player who if he finds his feet could really make an impact at a team like Leverkusen.

AMR MOUKOKO 16 years old (or is he haha) 78 rated and valued at £2.8M
£5.5 million was a lot to spend and I had to think long and hard about this one. I decided it was worth the gamble on the basis he is already seeing minutes for one of Germany's top teams and his goal scoring record at youth level is silly. This will be boom or boost. I either have a future 90+ rated forward to build around or he is the second coming of Jan Fiete Arp.

FC KOITA 21 years old 83 rated and valued at £3.0M
£2.3 million seems cheap but I think a lot must have been put off by his injury and drugs ban. If Koita can get back playing and the cruciate ligament tear doesn't affect him too badly I have a player all the top clubs were monitoring and could be next of the RB Salzburg production line. A gamble but one I felt was worth the risk.

Outside of the starting lineup are the following mixture of potential, quad fillers and risers I can flip for profit.

GK TEIXEIRA - back up goal keeper and hoping for a rise in the current Brazilian review.
DC ORTIZ - hopefully will see a rise and value increase in the current Brazilian review and I can flip for a profit.
DC - AL DAKHIL dirt cheap and playing first team football in the Belgian top flight. Could be a riser or long term project depending on how he gets on this year.
DL VICTOR - hopefully will see a rise and value increase in the current Brazilian review . May even step into the starting LB spot if he gets above Piton's 80 rating.
AM PALAVECINO - Getting plenty of minutes for River Plate. Should see a rise in rating when they get to Argentina.
FC LOPES - hopefully will see a rise and value increase in the current Brazilian review and I can flip for a profit.
DC WOOH - Bought as a replacement for Loic Bade IRL and I am hoping he takes a similar career path. Started well and could be a hidden gem.
DC DEBAST - Anderlecht produce good young players and are not afraid to give them a chance in the first team. Hoping he can get minutes this season.
DC MBAMBA - over the moon to land this lad. Very exciting talent who is starting games and getting rave reviews at just 16 years old.
DM VARELA - can't say I know too much about him other than he has been getting minutes for Boca Juniors. Got to be worth the £300 spent.
DR HÉLIO - Cost £100, can play in lots of positions and will hopefully get a rise in the current Brazilian review.
FC ÁLVAREZ MARTÍNEZ - Young Uruguayan striker catching the eye and scoring lots of goals for Penarol. Hoping for a move to Europe at some stage. Can he be the next big thing from Uruguay.
FC SIRI - see above but replace the word Penarol with Danubio haha.
AM HENRIQUE- hopefully will see a rise and value increase in the current Brazilian review and I can flip for a profit.

A surprise whatsapp from Stephen Beddows was the catalyst for a return albeit in the feeder league Top 120. After taking a break from Top 100 it is true like Nick Wheels said in the recent Top 100 TV you find yourself drawn to coming back so here I am again.

Onto the squad build at Leeds, a very different challenge. £40m, to bring in at least 21 players and none aged over 30, a tricky task. Do you go with the balance of youth and some experience or for those wonder kids that one day may make it big or not? A balance was decided so Leeds could have a crack at getting out of Division 2. Moving on to the squad.

Goalkeepers

Aaron Ramsdale- top target in this position fought off competition for his signature. Linked with Arsenal in RL.

Marcelo Pitaluga- young 18 year old reserve keeper with Liverpool IRL. Talented young stopper one for the future.

Defenders

Liam Cooper- experienced CB brought in for £1.9m as a free agent.

Kristoffer Ajer- can play right back/centre back or in a defensive midfield great versatility which is always useful in a small squad. Moved to Brentford IRL and had a decent debut at home to Arsenal.

Max Kilman- can play CB/left back and as a left wing back. Bought as a free agent to add yet some versatility and a cheap option for an 82.

Ruan Tressoldi- just signed by Sassuolo and loaned back to Gremio. Only 73 rated CB and should get some sort of increase.

Matias Vina- 86 rated left back, can play CB and in a left midfield role. Recently moved to Roma IRL, a solid addition who again can play a few positions.

Ismael Doukoure- young 18 year old who again can play CB and LB, plus left wing back. Highly rated linked with Arsenal IRL and one for the future.

Ben Johnson- a player I like and rate. Hope he can get more chances at West Ham IRL. Can play in either full back position and slightly higher up.

Midfielders

Todd Cantwell- a player with a really bright future and a player I really like was the main reasons we beat a few clubs to sign him. 86 rated and will be a key player for Leeds.

Manuel Ugarte- recently moved to Sporting IRL, currently rated 82 so hoping he can push into the first team and push that rating up.

Ivan Ilic- can play all central midfield areas and turned his loan move to Hellas into a permanent one recently IRL. Dynamic midfield player only 20 another target.

Amadou Onana- defensive midfielder moved to Lille recently IRL. Can operate as a CB as well so give us more cover.

Bruno Iglesias- young 18 year old Madrid midfielder, brought in with one eye on the future.

Strikers/Wingers

Yoane Wissa- winger come striker moved to Brentford recently. Decent season with Lorient in Ligue 2 IRl last season

Kaoru Mitoma- signed by Brighton IRL and sent on loan to Royale Union in Belgium. Decent stats in Japanese league rated 82 only £1.6m for 82 rated player.

Keane Lewis-Potter- Highly rated young winger come striker. Watched high closely in league one last season IRL and looks a decent player. Certainly a player for the future, hopefully

Roberto Massimo- can play anywhere down the right and as a left winger. Made a number of appearances last season and started at the weekend IRL. Only 20 and hoping he can get more games and rise in rating.

Nico Williams- young 19 year old winger brought in for the future.

Miguel Rodriguez- young 18 year old winger come striker. Has made some brief appearances IRL for Celta.

Armando Broja- 19 year old striker loaned to Southampton IRL. Had decent season with Vitesse last season hoping for more this season to boost his 82 rating

Sydney Van Hooijdonk- 21 year old recently moved to Bologna. Bought as a free agent hoping for a little rise only rated 77.

This was quite a challenge - build a 21 man squad with just 40million, and with no players over 30.

With 10 teams per division the seasons are quite short - Season 1 will kick off on Aug 22nd and the last turn will be on Oct 21. To me these dates were crucial, as they meant that any players bought could not be transferred out during the season due to the 10week transfer ban period. So whoever we buy now, that's our squad for S1.

In SM there are are 2 ways of adding value to a squad - via transfers, or prizemoney. My plan was to attack both of these. Build a first 11 that would be very competitive in the division for S1, then try to maximise potential profit from the squad. For the latter part I tried to pick a number of options from the Free Agent list, so at least I am guaranteed the 25% extra as I bought the for less than CV to start with. Because the squads all start empty it meant there were some very good value players available on that Free Agent list, and with 2 Brazilian teams involved a chance for a quick profit with their review in progress at the moment.


Below is a summary of the squad I have assembled. I would be interested in opinions!

My first 11 will average 86 rating / 26 years old / 3.6m value.

The squad will have an initial value of around 46.2m, boosted by the free agents that were picked up for less than their CV.

***
Goalkeepers

Jose Sa (87/28yrs) - New GK at wolves and was a free agent. Should last me a while and so a bargain at 3m

Dayne St Clair (78/24yrs) - young MLS keeper who has recently been added to the Canadian squad. Just a cheap option for 2nd GK really!

Defenders

Stuart Dallas (88/30yrs) - Very versatile, can play all over midfield and cover both fullback options. Another free agent so very decent value (and right on the 30yr old limit!). Will start at fullback for S1.

Omar Richards (84/23yrs) - I pick him up in as many GWs as possible at the moment. Now at Real Madrid in a back-up capacity, but he has already impressed in pre-season and I hope to see him get some game time at least in cups. A future talent for sure.

Nayef Aguerd (86/25yrs) - Another free agent. 2.6m, for an 86 CB was a bargain. Currently being pursued by West ham, so we might get to to see him in the PL this season.

Marcilio Nino (83/24yrs) - Yet another free agent! The Brazilian recently put in some very decent performances for Brazil at the Olympics and is touted as a long term option for the national side. May also get a small rise when SM finally get around to finishing the brazilian reviews!

Lucas Calegari (78/19yrs) - Another Free agent. Picked up due to the brazil reviews and chance of a rise and some profit!

Oliveira Vanderson (70/20yrs) - As above - Free Agent and Brazilian reviews in mind.

Levi Colwill (70/18yrs) - Another player I have picked up in a few game worlds recently. The young Chelsea defender is highly regarded, and is out on loan to Huddersfield this season, so hopefully he gets good game time there.

Midfielders

Rani Kheidra (87/27yrs) - Another solid free agent. Can cover D/DM/M and cost just 2.9m for an 87 rating.

Martin Hongla (85/23yrs) - Hongla made a decent impression last season but has now gone on loan to Hellas Verona and I hope that will further boost his profile (and rating) in the winter reviews.

Ui-Jo Hwang (86/28yrs) - 2.5m for a very decent winger/forward player. I don't expect a rise from him but will do a job in S1.

Emile Smith-Rowe (86/21yrs) - The jewel in my squad. we took a risk and invested 8m, which is a big chunk of our initial budget. However, seeing he has the #10 shirt at Arsenal he seems in line for a lot of game time this season and should be nailed on to see a rise or two over the next few PL reviews and significantly increase in value. The plan at the moment is to raise a lot of £££ from him in a few seasons time.

Guelor Kanga (86/30yrs) - I felt we should have at least one real CZ player in the squad and he was cheap and a free agent! 1.6m for an 86 rating in S1 makes good financial sense. Most likely will sell him on for a small profit once his TB is up, but gives us a good rating in S1.

Jens-Lys Cajuste (82/22yrs) - Young midfielder from FC Midtjylland but picked up as a free agent. Newcastle and a few championship teams have been rumoured to be looking at him, so worth a punt I though.

Matheus Martinelli (75/19yrs) - A free agent and a Brazilian. should get a rise when Fluminese get reviewed I would hope.

Andre Trindade (73/20yrs). Copy and paste - young/brazilian/free agent/brazil reviews pending!

Omari Hutchinson (67/17yrs) - This is now the 2nd GW where I have both Emile Smith Rowe and Hutchinson, who is another youngster from Arsenal who is highly regarded. At 67, his rating and value can only go up, surely!!

Miguel Azeez (70/18yrs) - ..and a third young arsenal talent (and no, I don't support them!). Azeez did impress in preseason and it will be interesting to see what Arsenal do with him this season. Would be good to see him get a run in the cups.

Forwards

Miguel Borja (87/28yrs) - Columbian international currently playing for Gremio in Brazil. 87 rated and bought for just 2.8, as a free agent. what's not to like?!

Roko Simic (75/17yrs) - the next Erling Haaland apparantly! just signed with Salzburg and gone out on loan. one for the future.
***

So there we go, thats what Crvena Zvezda will look like for Season 1. Really looking forward to this challenge, and now with business done I head off on holiday for a week and will return in time for kick off!

Good luck to all my fellow 120'ers.

After lots of hard work / PMs and conversations we (myself, Dan P and Dan W) would like to announce the creation and birth of the Top 120.

20 next biggest clubs in the world outside of the Top 100

2x Divisions of 10 - 18 game seasons. 3 relegated and 3 promoted. This means TWO Top 120 seasons inside every Top 100 season. If we launch this week then the two will run side by side momentarily for next 6 months or so.

Empty squads - 40 million budget to start. Squad cap of 30 players. Normal Economy.

There is an expectation that people will join some aspect of the social side of the gameworld (GW) - WhatsApp the priority option, otherwise FaceBook (FB) or Discord.

The purpose of this is as an add on to Top100 - also to help us make the right appointments when opportunities arise.

RULES

30 player squad limit. There is no Youth Cup (Top 100 has had a seasonal Youth Cup since Season 1 back in 2015) so there is a 20 player reduction from the Top 100 squad limit. Players loaned in or out will count to overall squad numbers.

1 month transfer ban alike to T100 for breaching squad cap. Sales when TB can only be to external. These deals should only be to drop below the 30 man limit.

No cancelling agreed or accepted deals, 5 minute limit again in T120 like T100.

Transfer Banned (TB) managers can agree future deals. Agreed future deals to be posted for the GW to know, either via the NewsFeed or posted onto the Blog alike to T100.

Bids to be undisclosed. All free agent / new Database (DB) player bids to be disclosed.

Player rating cap, none alike too T100.

Age Limit of 30. No signings over the age of 30 will be permitted.

T120 Clubs

Here is a breakdown of the two divisions - clubs and managers to start, clubs assigned per division to start on a stadium capacity basis.

Division 1

Division 2

At the beginning of Season 16 we will be launching Top 100 Divisions 6 and 7. This will be a feeder league for Top100 with success in Divisions 6 and 7 being used to earn you preference for jobs in Top100 at the end of seasons etc.

This is in response to a growing waiting list and our inability to give them clubs.

Likewise people in Top100 could be asked to drop down to Division 6 and 7 at the end of a season if sacked etc.

The provisional format will be TWO divisions of 10 teams - so 18 game season. Clubs could be preference OR a live draw to assign clubs etc.

Same rules as Top100 will apply and blog will be used to update weekly TABLES.

Starting with a £50m budget and squad cap of 50. Over time your ability to increase squad value and being astute in the market will help you stand out.

The clubs will come from: