60 to One

[el sid]

Unlucky WW
Still stable

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Ahhhh balls!


So much for my supposed loyalty to West Brom, haha.

Ah well, at least I can say that I wasn't sacked at least and have given West Brom a great start to their campaign to get back in the Premiership.


Will still follow the thread, hopefully I can save Bolton from relegation.

[PluckaDuck]

Sitting a top of the table in the Serie A, I seem to have built a really good unit at Udinese.

Unlucky Brucie

[Cardiomolester]

That would be my first mention in a manager of the month update I believe

[hasdgfas]

Ugh, I'm way too close to the drop zone to feel safe either in the league or in job

[bermybhoy]

Oh no /o\

This looks very, very bad. Always been consistently mid-table, one bad run and the board start to lose faith. So fickle.

[SCIAG]

Some nice attacking play there, we're into the top four!

Great writing canvey!!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Gutted for Brucie Bonus, why would he leave his club, doesn't the silly boy know we are trying to see how long we can stay at one club?

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom

Top Ten – Goals Conceded (Pr/G = Per Game)

   Pos +- Username          Manager          Club          Gls (Pr/G)
   1st +2 Martin_           Martin Bojangles Hull          226 (1.60)
   2nd  0 IlikeJellybeans   Jellybean Man    Numancia      225 (1.65)
   3rd +1 hasdgfas          Tim Aubel        Fulham        224 (1.57)
   4th +4 SCIAG             Leo Dodge        Tottenham     213 (1.18)
   5th +3 rancer890         Ricky Nakano     Middlesbrough 209 (1.50)
   6th NE Greasy Chip Butty Andy Morton      Sporting      204 (1.52)
   7th -2 el sid            Cool Manager     At. Madrid    203 (1.10)
     -  0 Waghlon           Lars Tommersen   Villarreal    203 (1.08)
   9th NE JSalter           James Salter     Reggina       196 (1.45)
  10th NE ~Ian~             Bryan McGuinness Everton       193 (1.21)

[spartans5]

I call shenanigans on Walcott's Wonderkids. But a decent month for me, hopefully we build on in for the next one

[IlikeJellybeans]

hey canvey I'm really sorry but I have not come on this forum for a really good while I just spend the last 45 minutes catching up

KUTGW I will comment a lot more now since I just got FM10

[canvey!!]

After this update, we’ll pick up the pace, perhaps to an update every three days (that is, two days in between each update). Although, I'm going on holiday very soon so I will then give you a bunch of updates and let you read at your own pace.

Update 41
Years: 3, Months: 41, Days: 1241

Our 25 managers are opening the first windows on their advent calendars, or will be in a few hours at least. That’s right, it is at present midnight on 1st December 2011, and that’s right, we have two managers fewer than when we last met, due to the inconvenience of the professional dismissal of a brace of our managerial minions. Whereas I normally like to keep you waiting for news of who might have found themselves out on the street, this time I’ll cut right to the chase with one, and then leave you waiting for the other.

With 1230 days of service at his club to his name, Lars Tommersen’s employers found that current results were not living up to expectations. And I don’t blame them: the club sat 15th at the end of Tommersen’s reign, in contrast to an expectation of fourth, that being their finishing place in two of the last three seasons. However, Tommersen could have turned things around given some more time; he had already beaten Rapid Bucharest 4-0 and Murcia 4-1 in the month, and had progressed in the Spanish Cup, and then faced a relatively simple game at home to Mallorca. Yet a 1-2 loss away to Recreativo meant the board couldn’t afford to cut Tommersen any more slack, so he becomes the 34th of our managers to leave the competition.

Elsewhere in Spain, Andy Morton’s Sporting find themselves predictably against the wind. They are hanging six points above the drop zone, so are safe for now, but if results worsen from the four points from nine picked up this month, Morton will need to be careful or else he’ll be signing on. The club’s fans will have to grit their teeth as this month they also had to endure a cup elimination by Deportivo. Villarreal, with their newly-appointed manager Juande Ramos, look to encroach upon the 11th place of Maz Armley’s Racing, who could only accumulate four points this month despite much cup success, which we’ll come onto later. Meanwhile, in Spain’s second division, Jellybean Man has fallen off the pace somewhat with an absolutely awful month. Three straight defeats were followed by three straight deadlocked draws, and Man will hope that his Numancia team do not carry that torrid form into merry December.

Now, just a trip through France and a channel crossing away, and we find ourselves in England, where the Carling Cup saw its Fourth Round and Quarter Final this month. The most exciting Fourth Round match for readers will be Liam Ferguson’s Man City trumping Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough 5-3 at the Riverside, with seven different players scoring. Poor Nakano’s month could have been much better: aside from this loss, league losses came to Aston Villa and Sunderland, and a home tie with bottom-placed Cardiff saw just a 1-0 victory. All of our other sides found themselves in the Last Eight, where Arsenal knocked Ferguson’s side out 3-2 after extra time. Sunderland knocked out Man United and Liverpool knocked out Portsmouth, both by 1-0 scorelines, with the big match impending: Everton hosting Tottenham.

Elsewhere in England, it looks like Arnold J. Rimmer will not be alone this season in underperforming in the Premier League and consequently getting fired. Martin Bojangles’s Hull see relegation looming, and they picked up three points this month, with a heavy loss at Fratton Park. They like Middlesbrough, lost 3-5, with the Tigers’ loss coming at home to Galatasaray in the Europa League. So, on the 22nd November, the board decided that they needed more cakes in the boardroom, and no positive or negative outcomes of that have yet been observed. If I’ve written this right I’ll have had you thinking Bojangles was to lose his job. That hasn’t come yet, but he clings on as Insecure. Hull and Middlesbrough make up the lowest two of our sides, but just a place above Boro in 12th are Tim Aubel’s Fulham. The American has had a decent month but not one good enough to break into the top half: four points with the win coming at home to Newcastle.

Over to Italy now, where Cardio Vascular’s Genoa top the league but Theo Stigarakis’s Catania have dropped into the bottom three. Genoa had a solid month: a 2-0 victory at home to Inter, a 4-1 one away to Sampdoria, and an away draw to title rivals Udinese. Sadly, a trip to face Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina in the Italian Cup saw a 2-0 win for Taylor’s team. Down bottom, or 18th to be exact, Catania came pretty close in all three of their games this month but couldn’t grab a single point. Just clear of the drop for the moment, by two points, are Lecce, and above that with a six-point cushion are Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio. They looked set to lose all their games this month, including the Europa League tie in Greece against Panathanaikos, but a 2-0 win over Livorno salvaged the month, or at least Rhodes will hope it did.

The Champions League groups are close to conclusion, and in fact some have already confirmed their two qualifiers. Man City and Porto will progress from Group A, leaving Lawrence Lazewski’s Valencia to challenge for the Europa League. Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk qualified from Group B, with Liverpool and Udinese progressing from Group G and Barcelona and Benfica having secured first or second place in Group H. In the groups in between, Real Madrid, Inter, Roma and Bordeaux have qualified, with Fiorentina being the only team of ours to have yet to do that. In the Europa League, two sets of fixtures were played, with the highlights being, as well as those discussed earlier, Leo Dodge’s Tottenham beating Legia Warszawa 4-0, A.C. Milan beating Sparta Prague 4-0, and Cool Manager’s Atlético Madrid beating Salzburg 5-0. This was in addition to the Englishman’s team sitting 3rd in La Liga, just conceding a solitary goal this month. Valladolid, Valencia and Zaragoza were all beaten, as were Hércules 5-0 in the cup. In the second set of games, which was a mini-set, if you will, Bryan McGuiness’s Everton beat Rapid Wien 5-0 in the match with the biggest scoreline. With two games still to play, we have a number of sides through, but none yet eliminated.

Now, we pop straight back to Italy for a final league report of the update. Of course, you’ve all been dying to hear the identity of the 35th manager leaving us. As I earlier said, Genoa top the table. They have 29 points, a figure they share with Lord Weeman’s Napoli. This month was a very good one for Napoli: three away ties saw seven points accumulated, with the ones dropped being against Juventus. That’s a solid performance and one that Weeman will have been glad to have gotten behind him. Udinese sit behind Napoli with Inter in 4th place, while James Salter’s Reggina are still flying high and are 8th. They won both their home games and travelled to 13th-placed Atalanta for their away game, which they drew 1-1. Slightly lower than Reggina in 10th place are Clark Aitken’s Roma, or should I say Luciano Spalletti’s Roma? A 1-1 away draw to Lecce saw the chairman become impatient with Aitken and sack the Canadian, after the month in which the team had lost at home to A.C. Milan after beating Lazio 4-1 in the same venue. They’ve also qualified for the next round of the Champions League, which will be seen as a proving ground for Spalletti rather than a saving grace for Aitken. The truth be told, the team were sitting eight places below their expected position and the chairman felt he had to act. Spalletti has so far guided Roma into the Italian Cup Quarter Final with a win over Brescia. Inter, Udinese, Atalanta and Fiorentina will also be there, with three more matches determining the other Quarterfinalists.

There is more news cupwise from other countries. The Second Leg of the Spanish Cup Fourth Round saw no spectacular results but saw most La Liga sides progressing comfortably, with Andy Morton’s Sporting being the only exception we’ll take an interest in. In England, the FA Cup Third Round draw is already out, where Leo Dodge’s Tottenham will host Coventry, Grays or Oxford will get their chance to shine against Blackburn, and Middlesbrough will host Brighton. Arsenal will face Swansea, a team I could have sworn they had faced last year, but it turns out I was thinking of Everton having played Swansea this time last year. Still, Swansea fans can feel a bit aggrieved about having tough ties for these two years and in fact the two years prior.

Advent begins, and the aim of the panic-stricken managers will be to make it to Christmas!

Manager of the Update
I swear it is getting harder and harder to give this award.

Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid

takes the November award for having just conceded one goal in an impressive month, but the competition was fierce and broad. Lord Weeman and James Salter were representing the Italian teams, as both had very good months in the face of what could be described as adversity, while Leo Dodge is one of a number of other managers who did well this month.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Very Secure   1241
     - Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1241
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1241
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Very Secure   1241
   5th tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1241
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1241
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Secure        1241
     - Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting    Secure        1241
     - el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid  Secure        1241
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Secure        1241
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1241
  12th ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1241
     - spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia    Stable        1241
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1241
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        1241
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1241
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1241
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Stable        1241
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1241
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1241
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia    Stable        1241
  22nd m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing      Insecure      1241
     - Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull        Insecure      1241
  24th Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Very Insecure 1241
     - bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta    Very Insecure 1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[Cardiomolester]

Top of the league?!?!

[hasdgfas]

Doing pretty well, actually, up to 12th, not too disappointed there.

[super_lampard]

2 points clear of the drop is good enough for the moment

[PluckaDuck]

Moved up to secure now, seem to be continuing my great spell at Udinese, KUTGW Canvey!!!

[IlikeJellybeans]

Im scared that i will be sacked really soon

[el sid]

Manager of the month

Just my second MoM iirc. KUTGW canvey

[rancer890]

Still stable for now...but might be insecure if I don't start winning.

[fergysafc]

Secure 1st time after 5-3 win

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid

Top Ten – Goal Difference

   Pos +- Username      Manager           Club        G.D.
   1st  0 Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   +313
   2nd  0 Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid +245
   3rd +1 tomsmith1989  Tom Smith         Arsenal     +236
   4th +3 BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter       +188
   5th +3 spartans5     Lawrence Lazewski Valencia    +179
   6th  0 fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City    +166
   7th NE el sid        Cool Manager      At. Madrid  +136
   8th NE SCIAG         Leo Dodge         Tottenham   +117
   9th NE PluckaDuck    Tyler Burrows     Udinese     + 99
  10th NE TaylorB       Ben Taylor        Fiorentina  + 74

[canvey!!]

Right, I'm off for a week of skiing in Switzerland! So I will give you the next three updates and it is up to you to read them at whatever pace you wish. For those of you who want to space them out, this update is the one that would have been published on January 13th.

Update 42
Years: 3, Months: 42, Days: 1272

My goodness, what a month! Four of our managers have had to bow out of the competition this month, but only one of them was fired! It’s lamentable now that managers are penalised for moving clubs, but that’s the name of the game and the game is 60 to One. I am still in a state of shock after the pandemonium that awaited me upon returning from my holiday man’s holiday to find an inbox full of managerial casualties and, for want of a better word, suicides.

In a change from the norm, we’ll commence this report with a look to European football, specifically the Champions League, which played its final game this month. Tuesday 6th December saw the first set of games, in which some notable results were Lawrence Lazewski’s Valencia’s 5-0 win over CFR Cluj which served no purpose, Tom Smith and Arsenal winning 3-1 in Denmark over FC København, and both Real Madrid and Fiorentina winning 3-0 in Group C. The cream of Wednesday’s results were Liverpool’s 6-1 win over CSKA Sofia, while Tyler Burrows’s Udinese beat the other CSKA, from Moscow, 3-0 in the same group. There are no surprises as Valencia remain the only one of our sides to not progress, but the next round holds some juicy ties, including three pairings of our managers. Burrows’s team will play Smith’s, that is Udinese will battle against a team at the opposite end of the alphabet, Arsenal, and Man City and Inter and Fiorentina and Barcelona will also play each other. Real Madrid face a tie against Scottish team Celtic.

We’ll move onto Italy as once again it has upheld its reputation of being very welcoming, retaining so far 11 of its initial 20 managers, while the other nations had, before this update, seven of theirs. Cardio Vascular’s Genoa no longer top the table, and have actually fallen away slightly, and are now fifth, six points behind the leaders. That’s because this month, they picked up just one point from a possible nine. Lord Weeman’s Napoli, who are in 1st place, had a 78% conversion rate, drawing at home to Palermo but beating both title rivals Fiorentina and Genoa themselves away. However, they crashed out 1-3 away to Lazio in the Cup. In between Napoli and Genoa sit Udinese, Inter and Fiorentina. At Ben Cee’s club, all is fine but that drive and ambition for the title seems to be lacking. This month, the team did well, but again they seemed to lack that cutting edge, picking up 7 points with away wins over Lecce and Reggina, but crucially dropping two of them at home to A.C. Milan.

Before I go any further I will have to recount to you the two chains that led to four of our managers leaving their jobs. One was fairly simple, one manager sacked and a new one brought in. The other was more complex, but still only involved two of our managers being eliminated. The first one was kicked into action on the first day of the month. After a trip to Greece saw Hull lose 2-4 to Olympiakos, chairman Paul Duffen decided the fans’ anger had become too strong and that Martin Bojangles was no longer the right man for the job. The Anglo-Italian was given the push after 1241 days of service. Roy Hodgson, Paul Ince, Mikael Schøler and Neppo Monster were all linked to the vacancy so it was a bit of a surprise when Andy Morton showed up at the KC in his new role as Hull manager. He left Sporting on a high having just beaten Valencia 3-2, which is a good time to leave. Perhaps he had worries that his Spanish team would go down, whereas he might have felt more confident at the reins of Hull. If that were true, that confidence was misfounded, as his first few results at Hull were 1-3 at home to Cardiff, 1-2 away to West Ham, 1-4 at home to Sunderland, a stunning 0-6 away to Stoke and a 0-2 loss at home to Newcastle. Sporting hired unemployed Víctor Muñoz and so terminated the chain.

Yet the other reaction went on for longer, and ironically it didn’t actually start with one of our managers, at least not one we like to talk about any more. It was on the 17th that Roman Abramovich sacked Andre da Conceiçao whose Chelsea team were struggling to challenge for the Premiership. Thus far in the month, they had lost to Liverpool, Man United and Fulham, that being all three of their league games. So, as a replacement, where better to look than one of the powerful clubs of Spain, but one that was not so powerful as to be more enticing to a manager than Chelsea. Abramovich looked to Valencia, where he plucked out manager Lawrence Lazewski in compensating the club £800k. Up to that point, Valencia had lost to Sporting, of course, but beaten Valladolid and Racing in the league. Lazewski has had magnificent success so far at Chelsea, thrashing Tottenham 5-0, and beating Middlesbrough 2-1 and Aston Villa 1-0. However, we will have to wave goodbye to the manager. His move left Valencia without a manager, so who better to turn to than former manager Rafa Benítez, who was Jeremy English’s replacement at Liverpool, and who was doing well. This therefore left Liverpool without a boss, and so who better to turn to than once again a Spanish club, this time Atlético Madrid, whose manager had just won the Manager of the Update award. Cool Manager made his way to Anfield for the managerial chance of a lifetime, but following such a dream bars him from his dream of winning 60 to One. Manager had smashed Real Sociedad 6-1 in his first December league game, and also beaten Betis and drawn with Barcelona. He was doing well, but obviously breaking Liverpool’s drought looks an easier task than overcoming both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Flailing Sociedad, by the way, invited Arsène Wenger to be their new manager.

With all of that dealt with, we can go to England without any confusion as to how things are. This season looks like it might be the one for Liam Ferguson and his Man City team, as they sit four points ahead of Cool Manager’s Liverpool. A 0-2 away loss to Aston Villa was a blip this month, where they beat beat Fulham, Tottenham, Middlesbrough and Cardiff convincingly, while drawing with José Mourinho’s Man United. Tom Smith’s Arsenal are looking to stake a claim to the title after a poor start, and their month was a microcosm of their season, or at least they may hope that will be how it will turn out. They started with two draws, the second a dazzling 5-5 with Benitez’s Liverpool, but then beat Man United, Fulham and Middlesbrough. Fulham and Middlesbrough certainly have been in the wars this month, and they have slipped down to 14th and 15th. Tim Aubel’s team have fared worse, in 15th and having lost the last three games by a combined 0-8. Before that, though, the month was going well; a draw at home to Bryan McGuinness’s Everton, and a 1-0 win over rivals Chelsea, interspersed depressingly with that 0-4 loss to Man City. McGuinness’s team, by the way, beat Tottenham to reach the Carling Cup Semi Final, where they’ll face rivals Liverpool. They have also gained 12 points in a tough month in the league.

Over to Spain now, a place which you’ll find barren after the departure of three of its managers, all of whom were poached rather than fired. It’s strange to think it, but we have only four managers left in Iberia, and so I see no reason not to comment on all of them. Of course those managers of the big two teams are among those four, and both of those teams are tied on 33 points. This month, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid did pretty poorly, drawing and losing away, and winning in their home game. Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona did much better; not only did they play three league games and accumulate 7 points, but they travelled to Japan to thrash Shandong 5-0 and then Boca 3-1 to claim the Club World Championship crown. The month of Maz Armley at Racing seems tame in comparison: he got one of each result, beating Recreativo 5-2, drawing 0-0 at Valladolid and losing to Valencia. In the second division, it looks likely that we’ll be down to three managers before long as Jellybean Man’s Numancia lost two and won just one of their games. He is currently Very Insecure: I don’t tip him to make it past January.

Now for news on the Europa League, where two sets of games were played this month. In the first, Bayern Munich beat Roda JC 6-0, Super Lampard’s Lecce beat Aris 2-0, Panathanaikos won 4-3 at Ajax and Zaragoza beat FC Twente 6-1 in some selected games. In the second, the highlights were PSV Eindhoven’s 5-0 win over Dinamo Bucharest and, without a doubt, Bayern Munich’s 12-0 away victory over Latvians Ventspils. Lecce lost to Sporting CP but still progressed in second place, but Jonte Rhode’s Lazio concluded their group stage nicely with consecutive 2-0 wins over Hearts then Ajax. The next round’s draw has been made, and none of our six teams face each other. Palermo host Atlético Madrid, Racing play AEK Athens, Lazio face Braga of Portugal, Lecce play Rangers, Tottenham meet HSV of Hamburg and Everton have a tough clash with Dinamo Kiev.

So, it has been an electrifying month which makes one realise just how close the end may now be. I’m afraid I cannot guarantee a January that is this exciting, but as the transfer windows have opened, it will be something to look forward to. Also, I’d be willing to place a bet that Jellybean Man will see himself out of a job next month. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve written the next update, because a) that would be a paradox, and b) I haven’t. But I am really looking forward to writing it as I write this (03/02/10), and I hope you are looking forward to reading it as you read this!

Manager of the Update
I’ve done it before and I’m going to do it again, giving the award to;

Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia

even though he left his job this month. Some brilliant results at Valencia were followed by some brilliant ones at Chelsea, and Stamford Bridge is a place where the American can be confident of getting lucrative payment for his abilities. It’s a nice career step, and one that could propel him to the next level. Meanwhile, Haowan Madridstas’s performance in the Club World Championship got him close to the award, while Jonte Rhodes, Bryan McGuinness and Tom Smith had solid months without any explosions of fireworks, but making a fundamental groundwork while building up the wins. Even Jürgen Klinsmann could have won the award for truly entertaining us in the Europa League with Bayern Munich. In the end, Lazewski represents hope for many managers, so we’ll give him this as a farewell gift.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Very Secure   1272
     - Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1272
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1272
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Very Secure   1272
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1272
   6th tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1272
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1272
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Secure        1272
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1272
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Secure        1272
     - m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing      Secure        1272
     - bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta    Secure        1272
  13th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1272
     - ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1272
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1272
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1272
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1272
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1272
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1272
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1272
  21st IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia    Very Insecure 1272
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia

Okay, we’re back to the start of the ranking categories, so now is a good time to cut it from a Top Ten to a Top Eight.

Top Eight – Age

   Pos +- Username        Manager           Club       Age
   1st  0 Cardiovascular  Cardio Vascular   Genoa       52
   2nd +1 Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid 51
     - +1 IlikeJellybeans Jellybean Man     Numancia    51
   4th +5 SCIAG           Leo Dodge         Tottenham   50
     - +1 Haowan          Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   50
   6th +3 BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter       49
   7th NE TaylorB         Ben Taylor        Fiorentina  47
     - NE weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli      47
     - NE PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese     47

[canvey!!]

This is for February 16th.

Update 43
Years: 3, Months: 43, Days: 1303

With just 21 managers left, it looks like-

Wait a minute, scratch that.

With just 20 managers left, it looks like we may well see a mad frenzy to the finish line. The past two months have seen plenty of our managers bow out of the competition, and with any luck the next few months will see some more. This month was relatively uneventful, but fascinating nonetheless. Let’s start in Italy, a nation which still refuses to see its managers out of jobs.

Super Lampard’s Lecce are struggling to pick up the points, sitting as they do in 18th place. They picked up only four points this month, mind Theo Stigarakis’s Catania, the team they beat, aren’t much better and hover outside the relegation zone, 17th with two more points than Lecce. The Rossazzurri, as they are affectionately known, won twice and lost four times this month. bermybhoy's Atalanta, who were flying high last season, have been brought back down to earth and are currently 14th. This month, they picked up four points which means plenty of work still needs to be done if relegation is to be avoided.

In England, the FA Cup accelerated into action with its Third and Fourth Rounds taking place. The Third Round gave us three 8-0 victories and plenty more 4-0 or other big ones. Bryan McGuinness was the only one of our managers to win 8-0, with his Everton team beating Plymouth. Aston Villa and West Brom were the other two teams. It will do no good to Tim Aubel’s job prospects to have been knocked out in the Third Round with Fulham, as he was to Sheffield United. Aston Villa’s bubble was burst by Tom Smith’s Arsenal in the Fourth Round, as the Gunners won 5-0 at Villa Park. If Arsenal had played Yeovil, Aston Villa’s Third Round victims, might we have seen a 13-0 victory? West Brom’s bubble was not burst, however. They won 1-0 in a frenetic game at White Hart Lane, knocking Leo Dodge’s Tottenham out of the cup. In the Fifth Round, none of our sides will meet each other: Middlesbrough travel to Blackburn or West Ham, while Man City, Everton and Arsenal will host Hull, Bolton and Leeds respectively. This month also saw the Carling Cup Semi Finals. Everton and Arsenal both lost, meaning Liverpool will face Sunderland in the final.

Over to Spain now, a country which has been a hive of activity. We are perilously close to losing all of our Spanish managers, as this month our already minimal number of four decreased to a precarious three. Once again, there was a chain, but the manager comes pretty early on in the chain unlike some of those last month. Sevilla sacked Joaquín Caparrós, who had joined the club as Jack Browne’s replacement, and for Caparrós’s own replacement they headed to Racing to negotiate terms with Maz Armley. The Englishman took the job on January 17th, after having picked up seven points from nine in the league with Racing. He took Sevilla to a 3-1 away win over Recreativo which was followed by a 0-0 draw at home to Getafe. Either way, he is now out of the competition. Racing, meanwhile, hired Olympiakos’ manager, who then hired Valladolid’s Phill Ewles. Fréderico Canvey then got the chance to manage in his home country as Valladolid let him take the reigns. Jellybean Man has managed to hold onto his job for another month, but he is still far from safe. This month, ten points from a potential 15 makes for a good return, and if he can provide that month on month he will be a lot closer to achieving promotion with Numancia, rather than their current position of 7th.

Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid were the team splashing the cash in the transfer window. Jean Il Makoun joined from Lawrence Lazewski’s Chelsea for £22M, and the same price was accorded to Philippe Senderos from A.C. Milan. The next biggest transfer was Ben Taylor’s import of Thiago Neves from Juventus for £17M. Fiorentina are doing well in Serie A and looking for that extra edge. Juventus also spent a lot, bringing in three high-valued players, including Antonio Cassano for £16.25M from Arsenal. Tim Aubel sent Valeri Bojinov from Fulham for £16M – he joined Portsmouth. Arsenal brought in Henri Saivet as Cassano’s replacement, and the Frenchman cost Tom Smith £14M as he joined from Bordeaux. Tottenham sold Darren Bent to Portsmouth for £13.5M, while Inter sold Lorik Cana for £9M to Lyon.

Back over to Italy now, where we’ve already dealt with those teams in danger at the bottom, but have yet to deal with those excelling at the top. Amazingly, Lord Weeman’s Napoli have carved out a five-point lead atop Serie A, facilitated by an almost spotless month, with wins over A.C. Milan, Lecce, Brescia, Reggina and Lazio. Tyler Burrows’s Udinese, in second place, also did just as well, and added to this progression to the Italian Cup Semi Final with a 1-0 win over Lazio in the Last Eight. Mikey Twigge’s Palermo went out in that round away to Fiorentina, and Fiorentina will face Roma in the Last Four and Udinese will play Inter for their chance to reach the final. The league remains a very tight affair, and if Napoli were to find a banana skin and slip on it, their title ambitions could collapse while any of a number of teams could sneak in and grab the Scudetto.

The English pole position has changed hands once again, with José Mourinho’s Man United now being the team to possess it. Man City have dropped to second, with Leo Dodge’s Tottenham a surprising third-placed team. Spurs won every single game this month, so that juxtaposes their FA Cup Fourth Round misery and makes it so much worse. A 3-1 victory over Arsenal will have been the highlight, for sure, but there were other derbies in that both West Ham and Fulham were beaten 3-0, the former at home and the latter at Craven Cottage. Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough also had a good month, although the expectations were certainly different. Nonetheless, the Teeside team did not lose this month, and that includes the FA Cup. They beat Wigan 2-0 away, but drew all five of their other games. Brighton were beaten 4-0 in the Third Round and Ipswich 3-1 in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, with the latter seeing Boro away from home.

The Spanish Cup lurched two steps closer to its conclusion this month, playing both the Fifth Round and the Quarter Final. In the Fifth Round, Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-1 on aggregate, with their rivals beating Mallorca by one goal better: 4-1. Deportivo, who at the end of the month hired Mikael Schøler as their manager, fell at this hurdle to Valladolid, who lost their Phill Ewles and went on to replace him with Fréderico Canvey. That’s just a friendly reminder, as I’m desperate to make sure Canvey’s second permanent appointment is well-documented. Numancia, of course, had lost two rounds prior. In the Quarter Final, Real Madrid, under the management of Lucas Volman, crashed out to Zaragoza, while Barcelona beat Valladolid to reach the Last Four, where they have their own opportunity to face Zaragoza, while Atlético Madrid play Valencia. While this month Real Madrid did well in the league, topping it, they did badly in the cup and it was the other way around for Barcelona, who are currently 3rd in La Liga.

So, with one manager close to dropping off, and a few more slightly further, and with one fewer after this month, the tension builds and the pressure is on everyone. As far as they’re concerned, they all have the guillotine poised over their neck. Even the tactical geniuses, the Lavoisiers of football, will get the chop sooner or later. The question is: would we rather sooner or would we rather later?

Manager of the Update
This month’s winner is;

Leo Dodge, Tottenham

for winning all league matches despite a blip in the FA Cup. Tottenham have sought for so long to break into the Top Four and Dodge is trying to make this the season that that is done. Lord Weeman and Tyler Burrows also had good months, but Dodge’s was definitely one that could be considered excellent.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Very Secure   1303
     - Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1303
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1303
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1303
   5th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1303
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1303
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Secure        1303
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Secure        1303
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Secure        1303
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1303
  11th Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1303
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        1303
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1303
     - ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1303
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1303
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1303
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1303
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1303
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta    Insecure      1303
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia    Insecure      1303
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham

Top Eight – Highest Fee Spent

   Pos +- Username      Manager           Club          Player               Fee
   1st  0 Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona     Nani             £28.5 M
   2nd  0 fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City      Mikel Arteta     £25.5 M
   3rd  0 BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter         Lúcio            £22.5 M
   4th +1 Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Jean Il Makoun   £22   M
     - -1 tomsmith1989  Tom Smith         Arsenal       Andrés Guardado  £22   M
   6th +3 SCIAG         Leo Dodge         Tottenham     Mario Gómez      £21.5 M
   7th NE TaylorB       Ben Taylor        Fiorentina    Thiago Neves     £17   M
   8th NE rancer890     Ricky Nakano      Middlesbrough Clément Chantôme £11.75M

Lifespan – 1 to 2 Years

   Pos Username             Manager             Club      Days
  41st conners              Sirus Lannock       Málaga     628
  42nd MikaelS              Mikael Schøler      Bologna    613
  43rd Swafe                Saul Goode          Osasuna    551
  44th hamilton162          Tom Hamilton        Mallorca   509
  45th kashmirshazad        Shazad Ali          Newcastle  508
  46th DiscoStu94           Da Hoover Man       Sampdoria  501
     - ScottT!              Scott Tysoe         Sunderland 501
  48th canvey!!             Fréderico Canvey    Stoke      476

Lifespan – Less than 1 Year

   Pos Username             Manager             Club      Days
  49th corinthiano          Mathias Brunckhorst Chievo     327
     - Neilio               Neilio              Almería    327
  51st Robert_296           Robert Boyle        Blackburn  326
  52nd brettney1980         Brettney Joven      Wigan      320
  53rd TigerJoe             Joe Seddon          Getafe     271
  54th jack.browne          Jack Browne         Sevilla    250
  55th NepentheZ            Neppo Monster       Cagliari   236
     - dafuge               dafuge              Torino     236
  57th KiddingChoc          Zach Machios        Portsmouth 235
     - Whoopy D             Whoopy D            West Ham   235
  59th d-machine            David Machine       Athletic   229
  60th PaulHartman71        Jeremy English      Liverpool  204

[canvey!!]

This is for February 19th, and is the last of my surplus. I return late on February 20th.

Update 44
Years: 3, Months: 44, Days: 1332

February has been a relatively quiet month after the frenzy of these past few months, that is, we have seen no complex chains of manager firings and hirings that have seen some old faces back into the game. That is not to say, however, that the firings have stopped. In fact, we have had twice as many eliminated managers this month as during January, and in three fewer days as well. You can probably already guess the two managers that lost their jobs, but I’ll keep you in suspense anyway.

We’ll start off in England, and with the FA Cup Fifth Round. Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough lost away to West Ham, but our other three teams are through. Liam Ferguson’s Man City had the best result of the three, beating Hull 3-1 although only in a replay, while Everton maintained that two-goal margin with a clean sheet win over Bolton. Everton will travel to the Emirates in the Sixth Round for a tricky tie, while Man City also have no easy ride, travelling to Old Trafford for a heated derby match. However, for the moment at least, City have the upper hand, being as they are top of the Premier League. They played five league games this month, winning them all without conceding a goal. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham, who had a good month, are now actually nine points behind. They slipped up once, 1-2 at Anfield, but 3rd place is a good place for them to be right now. A bad place for one of our teams to be is 16th, and it is Tim Aubel’s Fulham that are there. They won once this month, at home to Liverpool. It was a morale-booster, but it was not much of a points-booster.

Lord Weeman’s Napoli are maintaining their five-point advantage at the top of Serie A, and some strong work will now be needed to take that away from them. Napoli dropped just two points from twelve this month, winning two games 3-0, one 3-1 and drawing away to Tyler Burrows’s Udinese 1-1. Udinese are fourth, looking unlikely to secure that desired league title. This month they won once, drew twice and lost once. In second place are Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina. They won all games in all competitions, including a 3-1 away win over minnows Frosinone. Ben Cee’s Inter complete the top four in 3rd place, and they also won all of their games, including a 5-0 win over Empoli.

Into Europe now, with the Champions League to start. There aren’t very many amazing results so far, with just one match having been played this month, but Ben Cee’s Inter lead Man City 2-1 after they won the first leg at Eastlands. Fiorentina lead Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona 2-0 after the first leg in Italy, and if Barcelona do not make the next round it could be dangerous for Madridstas. Arsenal won the first leg in Italy against Udinese 1-0.

The end is sure nigh in Spain, where three have become two. With a team that needed to start winning but a torrid performance at the start of the month, picking up just a sole point from nine, it was absolutely understandable that Numancia show Jellybean Man the door. He and our other fired manager, who lost his job on the same day, will finish in joint 19th place. As well as seeing their Champions League hopes in slight jeapordy, Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona also crashed out of the Spanish Cup 7-3 to Zaragoza, with a shameful 5-0 drubbing in the away leg. They find themselves 3rd in the league and surely nothing but a trophy could keep Madridstas safe? Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid, on the other hand, are having a whale of a time, with the month ending on a 7-0 thrashing of Racing. They won all league games this month and drew 1-1 in Scotland against Celtic, leaving a solid base to build on back in Spain.

Back over to Italy, where Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina added to their exquisite month with a 4-1 win over Roma in the first leg of the Italian Cup Semi Final. Inter lead Udinese 4-2 in the other match. In the league, Genoa’s early form has abandoned them as Cardio Vascular’s team sit 9th. This month they won twice, drew once and lost once. Just below them are Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio, who had the same set of results, including a 4-5 loss away to Atalanta, who were revitalised under their new manager. Yes, that’s right, the board at the Italian club saw fit to relieve bermybhoy of duties, after he lost his first three matches of the month, all 0-1. The team are in 14th, as they were when the Scotsman parted company.

The report shall conclude with a Europa League report. Mikey Twigge’s Palermo crashed out in the Round of 32 to Atlético Madrid, as did Lecce to Rangers. Lazio, Tottenham and Bryan McGuinness’s Everton all progressed, the latter needing away goals to do so. In the Last 16, Tottenham face Villarreal, Everton face CSKA Moscow and Lazio face rivals A.C. Milan. Zaragoza also face Atlético Madrid in the battle of the Spaniards. There’s plenty therefore to look forward to!

Manager of the Update
This month, there is little doubt that

Ben Taylor, Fiorentina

deserves the award. He won every single match, in all competitions, including a Champions League win over holders Barcelona. Liam Ferguson also went through the month without conceding a goal in the league, a formidable record, but proved he lacks some flexibility, in losing the first leg of his Champions League match and in needing an FA Cup replay to beat Hull. Ben Cee did very very well, and came the closest to the award out of all the other competitors, including Lucas Volman.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1332
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1332
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1332
   4th JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Secure        1332
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1332
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1332
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Secure        1332
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Secure        1332
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Secure        1332
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1332
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Secure        1332
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Secure        1332
  13th tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        1332
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1332
     - ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1332
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1332
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1332
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1332
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina

Top Eight – Highest Fee Received

  Pos +- Username            Manager           Club        Player                 Fee
  1st  0 ~Ian~               Bryan McGuinness  Everton     Mikel Arteta       £25.5 M
  2nd +2 PluckaDuck          Tyler Burrows     Udinese     Fabio Quagliarella £19.5 M
    - +2 fergysafc           Liam Ferguson     Man City    Nigel de Jong      £19.5 M
    - NE Lower Leagues Rules Jonte Rhodes      Lazio       Paolo Sammarco     £19.5 M
  5th NE Romanista1994       Lucas Volman      Real Madrid Pepe               £18   M
  6th  0 BenArsenal          Ben Cee           Inter       Nicolás Burdisso   £17.75M
  7th +2 Haowan              Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   Diego              £17.25M
    - NE mikeytwigge         Mikey Twigge      Palermo     Mancini            £17.25M

[hasdgfas]

Oh dear, a bit of a rough patch for me at Fulham. I really need to turn it around.

[Greasy Chip Butty]

Damn stupid Morton! Why go to City Hull you fool?!!!!!!!

Well, at least I can claim that I would have won had it not been for the stupidity of my manager!

[tomsmith1989]

Great updates as usual canvey!! A slip in job security down to just stable is worrying me a little. Hopefully I can see out the season, and carry on for a few more years. Not too sure if I condone the £14m purchase of Saivet or not. I suppose only time will tell if he's any good or not. With just 18 left, it's beginning to get very interesting and very nervy. I do hope I can hold out until the end.

[rancer890]

Phew, still safe with Boro...just don't drop down into the relegation zone...

[super_lampard]

Great updates canvey as usual shame Leece aren't doing well in serie A, although despite our exit from europa league i am proud of our performance

[PluckaDuck]

That maiden title for Udinese is looking increasingly unlikely, but I'm still doing very well with them!!

KUTGW Canvey!!!

[ssestig]

Still in \o/ Dangerously close to the dropzone though. KUTGW Canvey!!! and enjoy your break.

[BenArsenal]

Bummer. I NEVER win the Manager of the Month award.

Have fun in Switzerland!

[fergysafc]

great updates there doing better as it gets on

KUTHW

[el sid]

Jesus, Liverpool? This can't be happening

Fantastic updates though canvey, I will keep following this until the end of the sign up, even though my participation has ended.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Wow a great European Cup run going for Lazio, though it may just come to an end against the Italian heavyweights. Hopefully I can pull some sort of trick move out of the bag and continue. Good to see my status move up to secure even though I am behind my finishing spot in the league last year.
A huge set of managers leaving clubs lately, good to see the numbers coming down, will be interesting to see how many can make it to 4 years.

[IlikeJellybeans]

nooooooooooo, oh well 19th out of 60 is pretty good!

KUTGW

[m1234566778]

21st

KUTGW

[canvey!!]

Not an update - that will come on Monday - but a little advertising seeing as my latest sign up is floundering in the sign-up stages. In the style of the Eurovision Song Contest comes the Afrovision Managerial Contest, where 53 managers will control the nations of Africa and decide a winner based on each year's performance. The sign-up thread is here.

[canvey!!]

After this update we’ll move onto an update every two days, that is, one day between each update.

Update 45
Years: 3, Months: 45, Days: 1363

April Fools’ Day is upon us, but there will be no tricks coming from me this time around. This month, Jellybean Man put his Numancia woes behind him to take the vacant position at Mallorca. Other than that, the month was uneventful in terms of the job market, but we’ll see what we can find in terms of football results, starting in England with the Premier League.

Liam Ferguson’s Man City top that particular football competition, and they lead their cross-town rivals by two points, with just five games left to be played. This month, City won two of their games, beating Stoke and second-placed United, but a trip to Anfield saw a 3-3 draw with Cool Manager’s Liverpool. The Sky Blues, however, saw their hopes evaporate in other competitions, but we’ll move onto that in due course. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham are third in England’s top flight, just four points behind Ferguson and his team, and they had an extremely profitable month. Cardiff, Newcastle, Bolton and Sunderland were all beaten without conceding a goal, and a 0-1 first leg defeat in the Europa League was overcome at White Hart Lane to beat Villarreal 2-1 in the Europa League Round of 16. Tom Smith’s Arsenal follow in fourth place, having also won all of their games, with a 4-0 thrashing of West Ham and a 5-0 thrashing of Wigan.

Over in Spain, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid top the table with Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona just one point behind. The two teams drew against each other at the Nou Camp this month, but both teams won all other games. Barcelona overcame that 0-2 deficit against Fiorentina in the Champions League with a 4-0 home victory, while Real beat Celtic 2-0 to seal a 3-1 aggregate progression. There are still nine games for Barcelona to play and ten for Real Madrid, so the league title’s destination is still undecided.

Over in Italy, Lord Weeman’s Napoli are blowing away the competition. They sit top, with 13 points over nearest opponents Udinese. They beat Inter, Parma, Empoli and Juventus this month, and drew 3-3 in a fearsome encounter with their away trip to play Livorno. Tyler Burrows’s second-placed side won three and drew one this month, which included the 3-0 defeat of A.C. Milan and the 2-1 away one of fourth-placed Fiorentina. Udinese are tied with Ben Cee’s Inter on 62 points, but with the Singaporean’s team having lost three matches from five this month, March could not be deemed a success.

A venture into Europe now, starting with the Europa League. I already mentioned Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Villarreal. Fellow English team Bryan McGuinness’s Everton are into the Quarter Final after beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 in Russia, following a goalless Goodison Park match. Racing and Zaragoza progressed to represent Spain, with the other four coming from four countries. Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio overcame their fellow Italian hopefuls A.C. Milan 4-3 to make the Last Eight, where they will be joined by Ajax, Olympiakos and Bayern Munich. The latter will face Lazio, while Everton will play Ajax and Tottenham Zaragoza. In the Champions League, Real Madrid and Barcelona progressed as was already discussed. Tom Smith’s Arsenal beat Udinese 2-1 at the Emirates to seal progression and Man City’s dreams were ended, as previously mentioned, by Ben Cee’s Inter, who won 3-1 at home which coupled with their 2-1 away victory for a 5-2 ticket into the Quarter Finals. There, they will meet Arsenal, who they knocked out in last year’s Round of 16. Barcelona will face Roma and Real Madrid will face Lyon. Chelsea and Liverpool will match up and try to find out which poached the better manager from Spain.

The FA Cup Sixth Round was played in England, and as previously mentioned, Man City were left devastated, this time by rivals Man United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils won 2-0 to progress, and they will face Portsmouth in the next round, after Pompey beat West Ham 5-3 in London. Bryan McGuinness’s Everton are out after a tough battle at the Emirates which Arsenal won 3-2. The Gunners will face Stoke in competition for a final place. In the Premier League, Tim Aubel’s Fulham are still lurking too close to the relegation zone for their own good, in 15th place with 5 points separating them from the bottom three. They drew three times and lost once this month.

Back over to Italy now to conclude the report. Super Lampard’s Lecce are on a knife edge, sitting in 18th place with relegation looming. They did manage to beat Atalanta this month, and collect a further two points, but they will really need to work hard to avoid the bottom three come the end of the season. For Theo Stigarakis’s Catania, the work will be slightly easier, as the Englishman has four points more than Lecce. This month, two wins and two losses will be considered ample, and will be the desired form heading forward. James Salter’s Reggina are in unlucky 13th place, and while they beat Lampard’s Lecce 3-0 this month, those three points were their only three points. But with 14 points between them and Lecce, they are looking safe to avoid relegation.

So, a quiet month. I don’t want to be a fearmonger, but who knows if this is the calm before the storm?

Manager of the Update
There were three very good performances this month, and I will give it to;

Leo Dodge, Tottenham

as my choice out of the three. Him and Tom Smith had very smooth win-full months, and I chose the Tottenham manager over his cross-town rivals as not only does he hold a higher position in the Premier League, but he does so with an arguably worse team. Lord Weeman could feel aggrieved, after his efforts with Napoli this month, but I expect them to claim the title soon, and then perhaps this distinction will be heading his way.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1363
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1363
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1363
   4th JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Secure        1363
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1363
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Secure        1363
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Secure        1363
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1363
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Secure        1363
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Secure        1363
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Secure        1363
  12th fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Stable        1363
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1363
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        1363
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1363
     - ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1363
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1363
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1363
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[hamilton162]

Getting exciting now, down to the final 18. This is/has been phenominal canvey

[super_lampard]

Looks like I could be going down, although would be pretty good if i kept my job especially with so little people left in

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hmmm a great effort in Europe, the Top 8 of the Europa league is nothing to be sneezed about for Lazio, that makes us into the top 24 teams in all of Europe. Surely I will hold my job unless a better offer comes in. Clearly midtable is where I really want to be, achieving targets but never too far above them.

[BenArsenal]

Ooh, Arsenal in the Champions League quarter final...

[PluckaDuck]

Again in with a chance to win the title, during March.

Lets hope that unlike previous seasons, we stay strong and don't lose our way as we approach the end of the season!

[tomsmith1989]

Ooh, Arsenal in the Champions League quarter final...

I wouldn't expect any less.

I was looking forward to being Manager of the Update, but just pipped, and it's fair enough too.

A really solid month.

[el sid]

Only 18 left, I give it another 2 years before all the managers are sacked/move.

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina
  Mar 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham

Top Eight – Players Bought (Number)

  Pos +- Username           Manager          Club       No
  1st +6 ssestig            Theo Stigarakis  Catania    24
  2nd +5 ~Ian~              Bryan McGuinness Everton    23
    - +2 PluckaDuck         Tyler Burrows    Udinese    23
  4th +1 TaylorB            Ben Taylor       Fiorentina 21
  5th NE hasdgfas           Tim Aubel        Fulham     20
    - +2 weeeman27bob       Lord Weeman      Napoli     20
    - NE super_lampard      Super Lampard    Lecce      20
  8th NE Lower Leagues Rule Jonte Rhodes     Lazio      19
    - NE Cardiovascular     Cardio Vascular  Genoa      19
    - -1 BenArsenal         Ben Cee          Inter      19

[ssestig]

Most players bought \o/

Shame none of them are particularly good

[canvey!!]

Update 46
Years: 3, Months: 46, Days: 1393

It was another quiet month in the footballing world, with no managerial dismissals of interest, other than perhaps Charlton sacking dafuge after their relegation to the Coca-Cola League 1. The Englishman lasted 209 days at the London club, which is 27 days short of the length of his tenure at his original club, Torino. Sol Campbell is currently the leading candidate for the job.

Although there are no other managerial changes of interest, there is still plenty of interest, with two league titles secured this month. The first, in England, was done so by Liam Ferguson’s Manchester City who, with one game left to be played, have an unassailable 8-point lead over second-placed Tottenham. These two, as well as Manchester United and Arsenal, will also be guaranteed Champions League football next season. This month, City did not lose, winning three of their five games and drawing the other two. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham, who could finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th, played four games, winning two, drawing one and losing the fourth, with the defeat being the most important game for fans as it was a 1-2 derby loss to Arsenal at the Emirates. A trip to Eastlands against the champions City saw a 0-0 draw.

It does not to be said where the other title was secured and by whom, but I will do it anyway. Lord Weeman’s Napoli finally got their paws on the Scudetto, and hold a mighty 11-point lead with just two games to play. Three wins, a draw and a loss made up their month, but the 1-2 home defeat to Cardio Vascular’s Genoa will not plague fans too much, with the team finishing nine places above its expected position to complete one of the most unexpected Serie A wins in recent history. With the title secured, a lot of attention will now turn to the drop zone. Empoli and Frosinone have already sealed their fate, that fate being next season spent in Serie B, and it is up to four teams to avoid that fate for themselves. Livorno are the current occupiers of 18th place, but Theo Stigarakis’s Catania and Super Lampard’s Lecce occupy the next two places, moving upwards. Brescia are also in danger, although could secure safety by either gaining a point or by Livorno dropping any. This month, Catania beat Empoli but couldn’t grind a win out of their other five fixtures, and in fact only got 1 point from them, and Lecce had a great month, ascending two places in beating Roma, Livorno and Sampdoria. Just a little bit more work will now be necessary for survival. They have a mixed final two games: Empoli at home, which is possibly the easiest tie, and Napoli away, which is possibly the most difficult. Catania have it tougher, travelling to play Genoa and then welcoming A.C. Milan on the final day of the season.

Some great advances were made towards the final in the Champions League this month, with two and a half rounds being played. Tom Smith’s Arsenal won in a triumphant battle at the Emirates, beating Inter 4-2 in the First Leg of their Quarter Final. A 1-0 Inter victory was therefore not enough to stop the Gunners progressing. Barcelona travelled to Roma and won 2-0, adding a further goal to that in the return leg in Spain. Lyon managed a 2-1 home win over Real Madrid, but the Spaniards won on penalties after the reverse was played out in the Second Leg. Chelsea progressed on away goals after drawing 3-3 with Liverpool. Smith’s team continued their good work against top teams, by winning the first leg of their tie with Barcelona 2-0. Real Madrid lead Chelsea 1-0 in the other Semi Final.

Over to Spain now, where the fight for the title is still raging. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid have lost their grip on top spot, after having dropped 7 points this month. They lost away to cross-town rivals Atlético, and had two consecutive 0-0 draws with Getafe and Wobill Luman’s Athletic. Barcelona’s unbeaten league month, with just two points dropped in the form of a 1-1 draw with Athletic, sees Haowan Madridstas’s team rise top with 77 points to Real’s 76. Sevilla were beaten 4-0 and Getafe 4-2 in two of the bigger results of the month.

As well as the Champions League being busy this month, the Europa League was, playing just as many rounds as the top international club competition. In the Quarter Finals, Bryan McGuinness’s Everton overcame a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands to beat Ajax 3-1 on aggregate, while another English team progressed in the form of Tottenham, whose 0-1 defeat in Spain did not deter them, as they beat Zaragoza 3-2 on aggregate. Olympiakos looked all but out after a 0-4 First Leg defeat to Racing, but they won 6-0 in Greece to make the Last Four, where Bayern Munich joined them at the expense of Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio. The Italians lost 1-4 in Germany and 3-4 in Italy which sent Rhodes the message that his defence should probably be looked at. Everton lead Olympiakos 3-0 in the Semi Final, although that means little given the Greek’s performance against Racing, while Bayern Munich ground out a 1-0 win over Tottenham in Germany.

Wembley welcomed four teams to its hallowed turf this month, with each vying for a place in the FA Cup final. Firstly, Portsmouth hosted José Mourinho’s Manchester United, where they fought valiantly but came undone in extra time, losing 2-3 after 120 minutes. The Stoke Arsenal game was just as close, with the London team winning it 1-0. Arsenal once again have a chance to win silverware, even if they couldn’t retain the Premier League. Their final match of the season comes away to Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough, and marks the end of a string of tough games for the Canadian. This month, Bolton were beaten 3-0 but the team could only manage a perfectly acceptable pair of 1-1 draws from a tie at Goodison Park and one at home to Man City. A trip to Stamford Bridge saw a 0-1 loss but Boro are 12th and can concentrate on next season, unlike Fulham, whose three-point cushion leaves a very real chance of relegation.

The FA Cup wasn’t the only cup competition teeing up for its final this month. Although the First Leg of the Semi Final was played in February, the second was played this month, the competition in question being the Italian Cup. Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina lost 2-3 away to Roma but made the final 6-4 on aggregate, while Ben Cee’s Inter also lost away, 1-2 to Udinese, but progressed 5-4 on aggregate. It will be a battle of the Bens in the final. Inter may need a win there, as with his failure to retain the Serie A title and his elimination from the Champions League sees Cee’s Job Security down to Insecure. His Semi Final opponents Udinese, who are also the team above him in the league, are doing positively better, with Tyler Burrows’s having guided them to 12 points this month. Away ties to Lecce, Frosinone and Juventus were stumbling blocks, as they all saw draws, but Brescia were beaten 4-0, Reggina 3-0 and Atalanta 6-2. Although second place isn’t yet secured, Champions League football for next season is.

Another season is close to ending, and all is calm. It can’t stay calm forever, though. Can it?

Manager of the Update
As promised, this month’s manager of the update is;

Lord Weeman, Napoli

for securing the Italian league title, finishing nine places above pre-season expectations. Liam Ferguson also won the league this month, but the sheer overachievement factor of Weeman’s victory sways the award in his favour. Tyler Burrows also had a good month with some big wins, and Tom Smith, Bryan McGuinness and Haowan Madridstas had fair months, but Weeman has had a great season culminating in a trophy, which deserves to be rewarded.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1393
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1393
     - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Very Secure   1393
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Very Secure   1393
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Very Secure   1393
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Very Secure   1393
   7th Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Secure        1393
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1393
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1393
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Secure        1393
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Secure        1393
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Secure        1393
  13th Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1393
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        1393
     - ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania     Stable        1393
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1393
  17th BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Insecure      1393
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Insecure      1393
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[BenArsenal]

Shoot, insecure...

[fergysafc]

Very Secure for 1st time i won league i not a manager of month in that season

KUTGW

[super_lampard]

Outside the relegation places

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Oh well, out of the Europa Cup, but at least I am still Stable and holding my job. Fingers crossed my league performance stays mid table.

[tomsmith1989]

Some good wins there. Managed to knock out Inter and now have the upper hand against Barcelona. Was that 2-0 victory against Barca at home? I'd quite like to move up in security from stable, but I suppose stable is still enough to keep my job. I need a cup.

[SCIAG]

Very secure, another manager of the month, Champions League Football, and a place in the last 18. Excellent news.

[hasdgfas]

Down to Insecure, eep.

[dafuge]

Sacked twice now

I'm not very good

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina
  Mar 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Apr 12 Lord Weeman, Napoli

Top Eight – Players Bought (Value)

  Pos +- Username      Manager           Club        Value
  1st  0 fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City    £231M
  2nd  0 BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter       £226M
  3rd  0 Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   £173M
  4th +1 Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid £164M
  5th +3 TaylorB       Ben Taylor        Fiorentina  £136M
  6th +1 tomsmith1989  Tom Smith         Arsenal     £112M
  7th NE weeeman27bob  Lord Weeman       Napoli      £ 81M
  8th NE PluckaDuck    Tyler Burrows     Udinese     £ 76M

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well I bought a lot of players for Lazio, but I haven;'t spent very much

[fergysafc]

1st 0 fergysafc Liam Ferguson Man City £231M who would of guessed

[el sid]

No mention in this, I want Liverpool to sack me

[canvey!!]

Update 47
Years: 3, Months: 47, Days: 1424

So, another season draws to a close, and with it, another of our managers loses his job. That puts us down to just 17 managers remaining, and it seems all but guaranteed that they will have a clean slate to work with to prove their worthiness of employment. We won’t start in the country of the sacked manager, and we will instead start in Spain, who have just two managers remaining.

I am sure that it will be of great interest to those two managers to find out which of the two claimed the La Liga title for 2011-12. This month, Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona won all four of their games, with 3-0 home victories over Atlético Madrid and Sporting. Therefore, it will not be a surprise to find out that they won the league, with their record far outstripping Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid’s two wins and two draws. Elsewhere in Spain, Atlético Madrid claimed the Spanish Cup on penalties after drawing 2-2 with Zaragoza, and Hércules won the LIGA adelante and will be joined next season by Elche and Málaga in La Liga. Valladolid, Recreativo and Deportivo will make the drop down.

In England, Hull and Bolton were the two teams that joined Cardiff in being relegated, which will come as a huge relief to Tim Aubel’s Fulham. Fulham drew their final game, at home to Blackburn, meaning that they weren’t to be relegated anyway, but Bolton and Stoke lost and Hull could only draw meaning that the Cottagers were safe even if they had lost. Man City, Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal made the Champions League spots, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Portsmouth making the Europa League. Leeds, West Brom and Birmingham will join the Premier League nest next season.

With very few Premier League games played this month, attention in England turned towards the FA Cup Final, where Tom Smith’s Arsenal were due to play José Mourinho’s Man United at Wembley.

Road to the Final – FA Cup
Tom Smith’s Arsenal had no problems in the first two rounds of their FA Cup adventure. They welcomed Swansea to the Emirates in the 3rd Round, dismissing the Welsh team 3-0. If that wasn’t enough, a Fourth Round trip to Villa Park saw the Gunners crush their Birmingham-based opponents 5-0. The Fifth Round was a closer affair, with home advantage securing Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Leeds. The Sixth Round and Semi Final also saw one-goal winning margins, with a 3-2 victory over Everton taking Arsenal into the Last Four and a 1-0 one over Stoke at Wembley sending them into the Final.

José Mourinho’s Man United also won their first two FA Cup matches by a combined score of 8-0. Leicester came to Old Trafford to be beaten 0-2 in the Third Round, and then the Red Devils welcomed Sheffield United, giving them a warm, nay boiling, reception with a 6-0 demolition. Once again the competition then got closer, and for good reason: the Fifth Round saw United beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to make the Last Eight. Cross-town rivals Man City were beaten 2-0 at home to secure a Semi Final spot, where a fearsome tie with Portsmouth needed extra time to send United through, 3-2.

Wembley was literally full for the clash between two of English football’s heavyweights. Arsenal were looking to claim their second consecutive FA Cup, and Man United were looking to claim their first piece of silverware under Portuguese manager José Mourinho. The two Portuguese managers shook hands before the match, where the atmosphere was intense. It took 18 minutes for the nerves to settle, with Eduardo putting Arsenal in front. The lead was doubled just into the second half, thanks to a Emmanuel Adebayor strike. Man United’s hopes then took another blow, with Nemanja Vidic receiving a straight red card in the 64th minute for a foul on Eduardo. Andrés Guardado put the result away for Arsenal with a 78th-minute strike, giving the Gunners the trophy, 3-0.

From one final involving two English teams to another one, the Europa League final. That’s right, Bryan McGuinness’s Everton and Leo Dodge’s Tottenham both made it through to the showdown finale of Europe’s second competition, and will fight for the right to win it.

Road to the Final – Europa League
Everton started their long European haul in July with a tie against Neuchâtel Xamax of Switzerland. A 4-1 win at home was consolidated with a 2-0 win in the Alps to send the Toffees into the Fourth Qualifying Round, where Aberdeen awaited. The Scottish team were knocked out with a pair of 2-0 wins, and Everton were drawn into a group with Palermo, Rapid Wien and Spartak Moscow. Bryan McGuinness’s side made a strong start, beating all three of their opponents in their first three matches. They then struggled away to Palermo, drawing 1-1, but showed that this was just a blip as they thrashed the Austrian component of the group 5-0 at home. A 1-0 win in Russia meant they topped the group, with Palermo coming in second.

Leo Dodge’s Tottenham had one round fewer of qualifying to contend with, as they entered in the Fourth Qualifying Round. They very quickly dispatched their Cypriot opponents Anorthosi 5-0 on aggregate, their away win bettering their home win by one goal. Legia, Stuttgart and Racing made up their group, and they won their first two home matches with ease, beating Stuttgart 2-1 and Legia 4-0. However, they came to a draw in Spain. Yet the return leg against Racing was won 2-0, as was the tie in Germany, and with Legia Warsaw having been beating 0-3 by Spurs, the English team topped the group and were followed by Racing.

Everton faced the tougher Round of 32 tie, with Dinamo Kiev their opponents. A remarkable 2-1 win in Ukraine left the team complacent, and they lost 0-1 at Goodison Park. Away goals saw them through, but they knew they needed more focus in future. It wasn’t what they got, as another trip to far eastern Europe saw an infinitesimally small 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow. Tottenham’s easier Round of 32 tie saw them face HSV of Hamburg, whom they dispatched 4-1 on aggregate. Villarreal came next, and a 0-1 defeat in Spain was overcome by a 2-0 victory at White Hart Lane. They lost 0-1 in Spain once again, this time to Zaragoza, but secured their Semi Final place by winning 3-1 in England. For the third time in a row they lost their first, and away, leg 0-1, this time to Bayern Munich, but this time a 4-0 victory saw them through. Everton, meanwhile, got a good result against Ajax in winning 3-1 on aggregate, and carried that momentum to their match with Olympiakos, winning 3-0 at home. However, they lost 0-3 in Greece, but all five penalties being tucked away saved them from too much embarrassement.

Bizarrely, Romania hosted the final, meaning it was a long distance to travel for fans of the two teams. If it’s any consolation, the stadium capacity was relatively low. The match saw little of interest in the first half, and it looked like it wouldn’t in the second half, until Victor Anichebe slotted past Heurelho Gomes in the 68th minute. That turned out to be the winner for Everton, who picked up their first trophy under Bryan McGuinness, and their first since 1995.

Over to Italy now, where it will sadden you to learn that Theo Stigarakis could not save his Catania team from relegation, and they went down in 18th place. They lost, as expected to both Genoa and A.C. Milan, while Livorno beat James Salter’s Reggina away to secure survival. I have in the past suggested that Catania’s consistency could see Stigarakis into a very high position in 60 to One, but here it has done just the opposite: Catania being consistently bad this season has seen them relegated, and has therefore seen the board lose patience with the Englishman. He lost his job on May 13th, after an impressive 1405 days in charge. Torino, Cagliari and one other team will take up the vacated spots in Serie A. Mikey Twigge’s Palermo were the unlucky team to miss out on European football, finishing in 8th place. They lost to both Lazio and Genoa this month, and in fact Cardio Vascular’s team finished one place below them, although six points did separate the teams. As you should remember, Genoa had a good month, because as well as beating Palermo, they beat Catania. You can’t ask for much more than a 100% winning record.

Italian attention turned to the Italian Cup final, which promised to be a treat, with Ben Cee’s Inter meeting Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina. Both had guaranteed themselves Champions League football next season, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively, but this was an entirely different ballgame.

Road to the Final – Coppa Italia
Ben Cee’s Inter had no problem dispatching Frosinone in the 1st Round, doing so with a 4-0 home win. They then faced a tough 2nd Round opponent: fierce rivals A.C. Milan. The match was supposed to be away, so Inter did well to sneak a 1-0 win. This put them into the Semi Finals, where they had a solid start, beating Udinese 4-2 in the first leg. A 1-2 second leg defeat meant little as a 5-4 aggregate progression was theirs. Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina did not have too difficult a path to the final. Firstly, Genoa were beaten 2-0 at home, and then Palermo were beaten 1-0 at home. A dishevelled Roma side were thrashed 4-1 at home in the first leg of the Semi Final, meaning that a close-fought 2-3 away loss did not matter, with Fiorentina advancing 6-4.

Just over 81000 fans came to watch the action, which started pretty promptly, with Alessandro Rosina opening the scoring for Inter after 8 minutes. Fiorentina found it difficult to make a breakthrough, and were punished one third of the way through the match by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. To make matters worse, Riccardo Montolivo received a second yellow 38 minutes in to make the match look all but won for Inter. Fiorentina were weakened further just before the break, when Juan Manuel Vargas was forced off injured. Ibrahimovic added to his first goal with a second in the 67th minute, and then a third in the 75th minute, to complete the rout for Ben Cee’s Inter. The Singaporean manager will be glad of his five title with the club, which should secure his position for the time being after some uncertainty.

Ending the report with the world’s most-watched sporting event, the Champions League final. Two Spanish giants will meet, those being the two Spanish giants who still employ our managers. Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona and Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid will fight for the crown.

Road to the Final – Champions League
Obviously, Barcelona started their campaign in the Group Stages, and they were joined by AZ Alkmaar, Benfica and PAOK in Group H. AZ were beaten 4-1, PAOK 6-0 and Benfica 2-0 at home, and Benfica and AZ Alkmaar were both routed away from home too, by three-goal margins. Surprisingly, Greeks PAOK offered the most resistance, picking up a point in their home match against Haowan Madridstas’s side, but it was Benfica that made it through in second place. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid also started in the Group Stage, having to face Fiorentina, Zenit St. Petersburg and Standard Liège. Trips to Belgium and Russia saw 0-0 draws, but the home games were won pretty convincingly and Fiorentina were beaten 1-0 in Italy, allowing Madrid to top the group, with Ben Taylor’s team coming second.

Celtic were the opponents for Real Madrid in the next round, and it was not as easy as one might at first think. The teams drew 1-1 in Scotland, and Madrid secured a far-from-sold progression with a 2-0 win in Spain. Barcelona, meanwhile, lost 0-2 to Real Madrid’s groupmates Fiorentina in Italy, but won 4-0 at home to sneak slyly through. They then beat Roma in the Quarter Final, 3-0 on aggregate, to make it into the Last Four. Real Madrid joined them by drawing 3-3 with Lyon, 2-1 home wins in both legs, and advancing on penalties 5-3. They needed penalties again in the semi final, but only after Amauri levelled the scores for Chelsea in the 90+3rd minute at Stamford Bridge. 5-4 was the penalty result to put Madrid into the final, with Michael Essien missing for Chelsea. Barcelona also faced an English side, Arsenal, and they did as they did against Fiorentina, losing 0-2 away. But this time they went one better, winning 5-0 in Spain to make it to the Auditorium of Dreams.

Bayern Munich’s stadium was home to the final, and it was packed with just short of 70000 fans. Veteran Raúl, who deserves his legendary status and therefore his appearance on El Aprendiz: Tú eres Despedidos!, struck first 30 minutes in, giving Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid the lead. The match was close and Barcelona could have been said to have had the better of it, but just into the second half, Gonzalo Higuaín struck again to double the lead for Real Madrid, who ended up winning the tie, 2-0. Volman and Madridstas were level for the season in that Madridstas had won the league with Barcelona, but Volman had won Real Madrid’s 10th Champions League title. If you are interested, that is the fourth consecutive Spanish winner of the Champions League, with the last three being Barcelona.

So, an exciting finish to the season that saw one of our managers lose their job. All eyes now turn to Euro 2012, where Poland and Ukraine look to do a good job in representing the hosting capabilities of Eastern Europe. A look-forward will come as the next update, and you will have to wait until then to find out which teams will be involved. Also, in just a few months time, we will see the London Olympics, which have been much discussed in the United Kingdom. That equals one bonanza summer, one for our seventeen remaining manager to savour.

Manager of the Update
There were many good performances this month, but;

Ben Cee, Inter

gets my vote for the best of them. He routed Fiorentina 4-0 in the final of the Coppa Italiana, and not only that, he thrashed Frosinone 6-0 in the last game of the season, a fact I neglected to mention before. Atalanta were also victims to Inter this month, losing 1-3 at home. With some uncertainty surrounding the Singaporean’s job, he did a whole lot of work to reinforce his credentials. Haowan Madridstas probably came closest to matching Cee despite losing in the Champions League final, and Tom Smith and Bryan McGuinness all won finals, although they also had some torrid results. Lucas Volman won the Champions League but saw La Liga slip from his grasp, and Cardio Vascular gets an honourable mention for winning all that he could this month.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1424
     - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   1424
     - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Very Secure   1424
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Very Secure   1424
     - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Very Secure   1424
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Very Secure   1424
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Very Secure   1424
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Very Secure   1424
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Very Secure   1424
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Very Secure   1424
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Very Secure   1424
  12th ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Secure        1424
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Secure        1424
  14th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        1424
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        1424
  16th BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Insecure      1424
  17th hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Very Insecure 1424
  18th ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania                   1405
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[ssestig]

18th overall \o/. Will follow until the end and KUTGW canvey!!!

[Cardiomolester]

And then there were 17...

Manager of the Month mention and very secure AND a 100% record - what more can a manager ask for?

[tomsmith1989]

A great result in the FA Cup final. I'm very pleased with that.

[super_lampard]

We survived again, with me very secure in my job

[BenArsenal]

At last! Manager of the Month!

Still insecure though, although relieved at the cup win.

[PluckaDuck]

Congrats Weeeman, on the title win with Napoli!

Hopefully we will get over the line sooon, been soo close for a number of years now, the time has come me thinks!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Back to Very Secure, gotta be delighted with that and Lazio remain in the top league safely, with only 17 teams left in the battle I am surprised to see 5 of the top teams managers still sticking around. The rest are all mid table really though so I am not surprised by that.

[hasdgfas]

Very insecure, oh dear oh dear oh dear.

[canvey!!]

English Premier League Table
English Championship Table
Italian Serie A Table
Spanish La Liga Table

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina
  Mar 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Apr 12 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  May 12 Ben Cee, Inter

Top Eight – Players Sold (Number)

  Pos +- Username       Manager           Club        No
  1st +1 PluckaDuck     Tyler Burrows     Udinese     38
    -  0 BenArsenal     Ben Cee           Inter       38
  3rd NE Romanista1994  Lucas Volman      Real Madrid 28
  4th +2 Cardiovascular Cardio Vascular   Genoa       25
    - -1 Haowan         Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   25
  6th +1 fergysafc      Liam Ferguson     Man City    22
    - +4 mikeytwigge    Mikey Twigge      Palermo     22
  8th +2 JSalter        James Salter      Reggina     21

[fergysafc]

still very seucure

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Back down to 10th this season, but its the solid mid-table finish that I want.

[weeeman27bob]

\o/

Champions.

[PluckaDuck]

Next year is the year, Champions of Italy!!!!!!

[canvey!!]

Euro 2012 Preview

16 teams travel to Eastern Europe to decide which is the best, for the next Olympiad at least. Many European football fans will focus their attention on the tournament, taking place in Poland and Ukraine, over the next month or so, with plenty of celebration to go around if their team does win. June will see the entire tournament save for the final, which will take place on July 1st.

In Group A, we find one of the hosts, Poland. Obviously, they didn’t take part in qualifying, but they’ve won four of their last five friendly games, since January 2011. This year, they travelled to Andorra but only managed a 2-1 win. They face Brazil in a friendly match before the tournament, which will be a tough tie for the world’s 83rd-best team. Joining them in Group A are the Netherlands, who currently sit just outside the world’s top ten. They topped their qualification group with few difficulties, winning 10 games, but losing away to Georgia and at home to Turkey. They will have Scotland, who sit a place below them in the world rankings, in 12th, to contend with in Group A. The Celtic team only just missed out on top in their group, finishing a point behind Italy. Like the Dutch, they lost just two and won all other games, with away losses to Italy and Greece. Portugal complete Group A, and they are 5th in the world. They finished below Serbia in qualification, with their only loss coming in Belgrade. They also drew at home to the Serbs and away to the Lithuanians.

My Prediction: Poland don’t stand a chance in this group, and aren’t going to pick up a point. Portugal will top the group, with Scotland making it through as the second-placed team.

With Scotland in Group A, the other home nation in the competition, England, find themselves in Group B. They came 3rd in the World Cup two years ago, but are currently 9th in the world. Their qualification was not too strong, and they were level with Belgium on points, but with double the goal difference. Norway and Belgium beat them, and they also suffered three draws. They are joined in Group B by the second hosts Ukraine, who have won their last four friendlies, since March last year. They beat Bulgaria 1-0 at home recently, which is the sort of result they will need in this competition. They face Moldova in a morale-boosting friendly tomorrow. Their 69th-placed ranking is actually not much of a fair indicator, as they are better than that if not world-class. They’ll have to oust Romania to succeed, who are 13th in the world. The Romanians topped their qualification group, against the other team that joins them in Group B, Sweden. The Scandinavians are 16th in the world.

My Prediction: It’s difficult to say what will happen here because there is little indication as to how well Sweden, Ukraine and Romania will do against each other. England would surely be a laughing stock if they failed to top the group, and I’d have to pick Ukraine to edge Sweden out for the second place in the next round.

France are the highest-rated team in Group C. It is impossible for it to be any other, seeing as France are the current World Number 1 team. They were runner up in the 2010 World Cup, and topped their qualification group dropping just two points when drawing away to Russia. Russia actually join the French in Group C, with the global superpower being ranked 15th. Switzerland are also in the group, and are actually just inside the top ten, being the world’s 10th-best team. They qualified in first over Spain due to results between teams, which is no mean feat. Belgium complete the group, and the 18th-placed team finished 2nd behind England to qualify.

My Prediction: France will win the group, with Belgium finishing bottom. Although it is tempting to back the Swiss to continue their form, I think Russia will probably go through in second place.

And finally, Group D, which features two heavyweights. But other than that, Serbia, world number 8, feature in this group after ousting Portugal to the top spot of their qualification group. They beat Malta 5-0 at home and will play in Cyprus to complete their friendlies for the pre-tournament, which will be likely to boost morale. They’ll face 20th-ranked Turkey, who came five points short of the Netherlands in their qualification group, progressing in second place. But both of these two will have to fight against Italy, world number 2s who topped their qualification group, and Spain, world number 6s who came close to topping theirs but didn’t due to a strong Swiss performance. Both Italy and Spain did poorly at the World Cup, and this is their first real chance to make amends.

My Prediction: It will be close between Italy and Spain, and equally close between Serbia and Turkey. I’m going to go with Italy’s higher ranking and give them first place, with the Iberians taking second. I’m going to make a wild bet and say Turkey will finish 3rd, but it is equally likely to be Serbia.

So those are the groups. Assuming that the finalists must come one from Group A and B and one from Group C and D, I will say Italy will beat England in the final. Although France could beat Italy to get there. It will be exciting though, there’s no denying that.

[Greasy Chip Butty]

Still looking good canvey!!

Glad to see Sporting survive despite their talented manager leaving them

Quite happy that Morton - the fool for leaving Sporting - ended the season in the Championship with City Hull. Serves him right the disloyal (but talented) dipstick. Should have stayed in Spain!

Predicting Hollland, Scotland, England, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain to go through in Euros with England winning. OK, maybe not the last bit.

[SCIAG]

I'm gutted to have lost that final.

However, my critical eye picked something out. HSV of Berlin? That's Hamburg SV...

[canvey!!]

Yes it is - silly me .

[canvey!!]

I am away for the next two days: this update is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday 2nd.

Update 48 and Euro 2012 Report
Years: 4, Months: 48, Days: 1454

There is sparse news on our managers in June, so it is fortunate that we have Europe’s premier international tournament taking place in Poland and Ukraine. I’ll be giving you details of how that has progressed as we go along, but I’ll also be drip-feeding you domestic news; what our managers have done instead of taking a summer holiday.

We’ll start in England where fans are looking forward to the new season. Liam Ferguson’s Man City are the bookie’s favourites to win the league, and the Citizens will be looking for that consecutive title. Arsenal could run them close, and are predicted to finish 2nd, with Man United the 3rd place team according to pundits, and Chelsea returning to form to finish in the Top Four. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham are tipped to fall back out, with the media saying they will finish 6th. Cool Manager’s Liverpool are expected to fill the gap between Spurs and those Champions League spots. Leeds are predicted to crash back down in 20th place, with Birmingham also being tipped to drop again. Stoke are the bookie’s odds-on for the 19th place position, with Tim Aubel’s Fulham being predicted to just miss the yawning chasm of relegation once again. In the Championship, dafuge’s Bolton are expected to win the title, for the second time in four years, but given that their new manager isn’t extremely competent, it may not happen, and Hull, who are predicted second, could take that top spot.

Matchday 1 in Euro 2012 saw little unexpected in Group A. Portugal beat Poland 2-0, and Scotland and the Netherlands battled to a 1-1 draw with James McFadden and Arjen Robben scoring. In Group B, which opened the tournament, hosts Ukraine narrowly beat Romania 1-0, in a game that reflected the relative strengths of the two nations. England started their campaign very well, thrashing Sweden 5-1 thanks to goals from Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Theo Walcott. Group C was dull and exciting at the same time: France and Switzerland drew even, 1-1, and the game wasn’t too exciting although the result was. Switzerland could have been said to have had the better of it, also. Russia’s 0-0 draw with Belgium was also not hugely interesting, but then fans were kept in suspense as to when Igor Akinfeev would finally snap and concede against the barrage of Belgium shots. He didn’t, in the end, perhaps due to a Man of the Match performance from defender Alexandr Anyukov who, domestically, has just won Serie A with Lord Weeman’s Napoli. Group D was another group with two draws: Turkey played well and managed to hold Spain, while Serbia fought out a gritty match with Italy, drawing despite being down to ten men for two-thirds of the game. Both matches finished 1-1.

The groups for the 2012 Olympic Games have been drawn, and London is the host city for these games. In Group A, Spain and Mexico will look to progress ahead of Australia and the Ivory Coast. Group B sees the Netherlands and the United States wanting to win against Japan and Gabon. You may laugh at Gabon, but their Senior team did win this year’s African Cup of Nations. In Group C, Brazil and France will not want to be embarrassed by either Croatia or the United Arab Emirates, and in Group C, Italy and Cameroon look the likely winners out of their group with Paraguay and Vanuatu. Italy are the holders, after they beat the Ivory Coast in Beijing. Argentina, who won it eight years ago, did not qualify this year with Paraguay doing so ahead of them.

Back to Europe now, with Matchday 2 of Euro 2012 Poland/Ukraine. England’s fine form came to pieces when they squared up to the hosts, as Ukraine beat them 3-1. It’s a fine performance to be commended by the Eastern Europeans, with an Andriy Shevchenko hattrick tearing apart the Three Lions. Joe Cole scored for the visitors, but all in all England played terribly. As was to be expected, Sweden beat Romania in the other game of the group, the result being 2-0. In Group A, the Netherlands beating Poland was not as easy as the Dutch first thought. A 2-0 lead was squandered as the hosts brought it back to 2-2 in the 51st minute, but 8 minutes later Arjen Robben silenced Poland with a winner, his second goal of the tournament. Portugal, on the other hand, won easily, dispatching wasteful Scotland clinically, 2-0. In Group C, France were spared any blushes when they beat Russia 2-1. The Russians had a lot of shots but the French restricted their possession and kept their opponents away from their own goal…mostly. Switzerland and Belgium drew 2-2, with Johan Vonlanthen scoring a brace for the Alpine nation. And in Group D, Serbia and Turkey drew 0-0 while Spain and Italy faced each other in the biggest match so far. The action was all over very quickly, with Italy opening the scoring just two minutes in with a penalty. Only four minutes later, Spain levelled, and only 16 minutes had elapsed when Daniele De Rossi scored Italy’s winner. Italy only just had the upper hand, in performance and in the 2-1 scoreline.

So Italian fans were buoyed while Spanish fans were not so happy. And the pain or delirium is intensified, as Italian fans have a new season to look forward to as well, while Spanish ones have to wait a bit longer for their season reset date. But in Italy, the bookmakers and newspapers are already making their prediction, and they tip Ben Cee’s Inter to win the league, a prediction that I think is an accurate one. Napoli are predicted second, meaning there are thoughts that their sudden flash-in-the-pan was not as much of a one-hit-wonder as it seemed. Juventus and Fiorentina are believed to be capable of completing the Top Four. Cagliari, Mantova and Livorno are predicted to be relegated, in 18th, 19th and 20th respectively, with the first two having just been promoted and the latter just missing out on relegation last season. Torino, who also came up, are tipped to finish 17th, while Super Lampard’s Lecce are believed to be capable of finishing one place above that. In Serie B, Catania aren’t expected to top the table, that honour instead going to Empoli.

Back to the European action now, with Matchday 3 of the Group Stages. In Group A, Scotland were well and truly humbled by hosts Poland, who beat them 3-1. Darren Fletchered levelled the scores at 1-1 but Robert Lewandowski scored a brace before the break to give the Poles the win. Portugal and the Netherlands couldn’t settle the debate over which of them is better as they drew 0-0. Both of them progress, with Poland finishing 3rd and Scotland bottoming the group. In Group B, Romania proved their resilience once again by holding England to just a 1-0 victory. Steven Gerrard’s 29th-minute goal was enough for England but the match was very close and England fans and players alike cannot be too confident about the next round. Ukraine won their 3rd match in a bonanza against Sweden, which finished 3-2. Obviously, the hosts therefore topped the group, with England beating Sweden to second. Romania finish last. In Group C, France thrashed their neighbours Belgium 3-0 to finish top, while Switzerland still were not able to win, but they got another draw, this time against Russia. There were two braces in this game, one from Yury Zhirkov and one from Alexander Frei, with the Swiss striker being given Man of the Match honours. So the Swiss finished as group runners-up on 3 points, with Russia missing out and Belgium missing out even more. Just like Switzerland, Serbia, who are in Group D, could not win any of their matches, but again just like Switzerland, did not lose any. They drew their third match with Spain, holding the Iberians to 1-1. This meant, courtesy of the Serbian result against Italy being better than the Spanish one, that the Serbs qualified ahead of Spain. Italy won their final match, although only with an 80th-minute goal from Giuseppe Rossi could they silence Turkey.

Having to be the ones to do everything first, Italy opened their transfer window on the last day of June, but there isn’t much to write home about. There was one major move, with James Salter’s Reggina paying £18.5M to acquire Brazilian defender Dalton from A.C. Milan. However, once again I think this is a co-ownership thing, with Reggina already having the player. Other transfers involving our managers saw Cardio Vascular earning £275k in selling Arturo De Falco to Bari. Again, Bari already owned him and it was co-ownership being bought out or something like that. Super Lampard’s Lecce sold Luca Nardi to Vascular’s Genoa for £120k, and this one wasn’t a co-ownership deal but was intended to replace Arturo De Falco in Vascular’s team. If you are wondering who these two players are and why you don’t know them, don’t, seeing as they are both newgens, and Nardi will look to be a key fixture in Genoa’s youth team.

So, Euro 2012 progressed to the Quarter Finals, and England wanted to play well to sneak into the Semi Finals after a relatively poor Group Stage. However, Portugal, their Last Eight opponents, played out of their skins, and led 2-1 at the break. After half time, they doubled their goal count to win 4-1, and leave England thoroughly frustrated. Ben Cee’s Yannick Djaló scored two goals and got the Man of the Match award. He is a quality player, the owner of the Golden Boot Award for the South Africa World Cup two years ago. This Quarter Final was the only one that did not go to extra time. Host Ukraine almost took it to penalties with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, but Robin van Persie struck in added time on the second half of extra time, that is the 120+1st minute to send the Dutch into the Last Four. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scored Holland’s first on the stroke of half time, got the Man of the Match award. Serbia had snuck into the knockout stages and even looked to be sneaking into the Semi Finals, with a 1-0 lead over France until the 78th minute, when Nemanja Vidic became Serbia’s second player of the tournament to be sent off. Six minutes later, an own goal saw France level, and Serbia’s hopes seemed to evaporate. Sure enough, extra time saw the French score three goals, routing the Slavs, with Tom Smith’sSamir Nasri, who scored the fourth cherry-on-top goal, taking the Man of the Match award. But in the last Quarter Final, those looking for an upset were finally made content, as Italy and Switzerland finished their 90 minutes level. The first period of extra time looked to be finishing level too, but Johan Djourou scored for the Swiss in the 105+1st minute. They held on to win the match 1-0, and sure enough, Djourou got the Man of the Match award.

Next up, however, Switzerland faced the behemoth of Portugal. The Alpine nation were completely outclassed, but still managed to keep the scoreline close, with Portugal winning 2-1 and their first goalscorer, Miguel Veloso, who actually had to level the match for the Iberians, taking the Man of the Match award. Arjen Robben struck again in the Netherlands’ match against France, in which the French were the stronger side and were searching throughout to make a comeback from Robben’s 23rd-minute opener. With the dismissal of Jérémy Toulalan, another Tom Smith player, in the 63rd-minute, the task became so much more difficult and in the end it proved impossible, with the Low Country advancing 1-0, and Robben, of course, being chosen as Man of the Match. So Portugal and the Netherlands will face oft in next month’s final. Given their power and prowess so far, I predict Portugal will have a comfortable but not extravagant win. Plenty to look forward to, then.

Manager of the Update
I’m not exactly spoilt for choice this month. I will choose;

Cardio Vascular, Genoa

as the inheritor of this title, seeing as he did a little bit of transfer tinkering by bringing in a replacement defender for the one whose co-ownership he sold. He made a profit in doing so, too. Super Lampard didn’t play the Europa League this year, but still did something and gets a little mention, as does James Salter who has some sort of plan but spends a lot of money to fulfil it, therefore doesn’t deserve the award. Vascular is the best choice in this barren domestic month.

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1454
   2nd fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1454
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1454
   4th weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        1454
     - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Stable        1454
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1454
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1454
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1454
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1454
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1454
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1454
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1454
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Stable        1454
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Stable        1454
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        1454
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1454
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1454
  18th ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania                   1405
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina
  Mar 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Apr 12 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  May 12 Ben Cee, Inter
  Jun 12 Cardio Vascular, Genoa

Top Eight – Players Sold (Value)

  Pos +- Username      Manager           Club        Value
  1st  0 BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter       £127M
  2nd  0 fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City    £116M
  3rd +1 PluckaDuck    Tyler Burrows     Udinese     £ 97M
  4th +1 Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   £ 93M
  5th -2 ~Ian~         Bryan McGuinness  Everton     £ 88M
  6th +1 mikeytwigge   Mikey Twigge      Palermo     £ 77M
  7th NE Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid £ 70M
  8th NE SCIAG         Leo Dodge         Tottenham   £ 57M

[fergysafc]

down to secure

great updates canvey KUTGW

[rancer890]

No mention is a good thing! KUTGW canvey!!

[Cardiomolester]

A slightly generous Manager of the Month award! \o/

Great work canvey, kudos to you for continuing this and making it a great sign-up whilst others dropped out.

[super_lampard]

I hope the player i sold wasn't too important too me as we didnt seem to get to much money for him, although we are predicted to stay up

Great stuff again canvey

[dafuge]

Wow, someting good happening to me, surely not?

[bermybhoy]

I can't quite recall whether I got round to expressing my disgust at the Atalanta board for their knee-jerk, short-sighted decision. But still, not a bad innings all things considered.

Have suspicions this could really run and run for those left in.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Hmm still stable, and no mention with only 17 left, looking good for Lazio.

[PluckaDuck]

Made the top 17, things are looking bright for Udinese

[BenArsenal]

Probably the only time I'm glad the season's over, for it means I'm back to stable.

[tomsmith1989]

Now up to secure!! That's more like it.

[el sid]

Congratulations to all the winners, specially Real Madrid's Lucan Volman
fantastic updates canvey

[canvey!!]

Update 49
Years: 4, Months: 49, Days: 1485

In the heat of the summer, managers haven’t been able to give up their labour for a minute in order to get in some relaxation. The temperature in summer 2012 has been off the charts, and in the big cities in particular people could be seen walking around with fans, or makeshift improvisations with books or napkins, actively fanning themselves to repel the unsympathising monster of the penetrating heat. Everton felt more like Egypt, Middlesbrough felt more like Morocco, and Tottenham felt like Trinidad and Tobago, yet our managers were not allowed any time to stop working and catch some rays. Okay, well maybe that’s an exaggeration: the heat was as stifling, but the managers did get time off. In fact, they got quite a bit of time off. More often than not you could see the managers wallowing in a fountain at the local park, a la the opening sequence from Friends. That’s not to say the managers were all together; they were all wallowing in different fountains, although Cool Manager and Bryan McGuinness did end up sharing a Merseyside afternoon together.

Even though the football side of things was downplayed in England this summer, there were of course still things going on. For instance, Michael Essien left the parched lawns of Stamford Bridge for the parched lawns of the City of Manchester Stadium, for Manchester City manager Liam Ferguson bought the Ghanaian midfielder for £26.5M. City haven’t been highly active in this transfer window; aside from the Essien purchase, their only other appraised activity was selling midfielder Mahamadou Diarra to Valencia for £8.5M. Actually, it was Essien’s former club, Chelsea, under the guidance of Lawrence Lazewski, who were the most active in this arid transfer window. John Fleck joined from Rangers for £19.75M, Giampaolo Pazzini from Roma for £14.5M, Joe Mattock from Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough for £11.75M, Taras Mykhalyk from Bordeaux for £10M, Allan McGregor from Rangers for £5.25M and James McArthur from dafuge’s Bolton for £4.8M. Two other London clubs also made big transfers: Leo Dodge’s Tottenham brought in attacking midfielder Diego from Juventus for £14.75M, as well as free transferring Aaron Lennon. Tom Smith’s Arsenal made a number of signings: Stefan Radu from Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio for £18M and Ricardo Faty from A.C. Milan for £12.5M, as well as allowing Yaya Touré to join his brother, sealing the Barcelona player’s capture for £9.25M. Denílson was transferred out: £5.5M to Mikey Twigge’s Palermo. Middlesbrough strengthened their defence after Mattock’s departure by bringing in Sokratis Papastathopoulpos for £3.6M from Cardio Vascular’s Genoa. Upon arriving in sweltering England, Papa-, I won’t say the name, you know who I’m talking about – he said “I feel like I’m back in Greece”.

Dropping down a few degrees, let’s go over to Spain, where the league has now reset. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the final of Euro 2012, we’ll get there in due course. All three sides promoted from la LIGA adelante are expected to drop back down: Hércules in 20th, Elche in 19th and Málaga in 18th. Sevilla, who used to be consistent top-halfers, could replace one of them, having only just missed the drop last season. Mallorca, Sporting and Murcia all achieved less than the magical forty points barrier. But what our managers in Spain will be interested in for this coming season will be the prediction of who will win the league, and therefore who will fall by the wayside. Having won the last two titles, it’s no surprise that Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona are favourites once again. This does of course mean that Real Madrid are expected to finish 2nd. However, Barcelona have partaken in some heavy spending to bolster their position, which suggest that absolutely no complacency exists in their camp, the Nou Camp. And it shouldn’t do, given that their title rivals humiliated them 0-2 in last year’s Champions League final. Madridstas’s four major transfers in cost him and the club £68.1M. Versatile Dutch international John Heitinga joined from Atlético Madrid for £37.5M, and Marat Izmailov, a Russian midfielder capable of playing right across the park, joined for £15.75M from Sporting CP. Brazilian striker Victor Irineu joined from his home club Internacional for £10.75M and Sergio Asenjo joined from Valladolid for £4.1M. Roughly 15% of the fees were offset by Yaya Touré’s transfer to Arsenal. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid were not spending anywhere near as much. They made one token transfer: Christian Maggio from Lord Weeman’s Napoli for £12.75M, and a couple of smaller ones: Brazilian newgen Andrade from Real Sporting for £4.75M and goalkeeper Eduardo from Portsmouth for £1.3M.

Now, over to Poland for news on that Euro 2012 final. Portugal were facing the Netherlands, and 47201 fans came to watch, with many more millions watching back home. Incidentally, that attendance figure is the lowest since Euro 1992. Unfortunately for the Dutch, the Netherlands got their match off to a bad start, with Rafael van der Vaart being sent off in the ninth minute. Surprisingly, despite being completely outplayed, the Dutch kept the scores level until the 40th minute, when a Miguel Veloso shot from 20 yards found the back of the net. Portugal maintained their 1-0 lead until the break, and they doubled in 12 minutes after the restart, João Moutinho capitalising when Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg came to the ground early searching for a ball he had long since lost. Fair enough, the Netherlands were hammered, managing just three shots, only one of which was on target, but with a better goalkeeper they might have been able to stop both those goals. English referee Mike Dean officiated the match, so if there are any Liverpudlian readers who sympathise with van der Vaart, you can pay Dean a visit in his home of Birkenhead. Birkinhead, by the way, feels more like Bolivia right now.

In Italy, it feels like A.C. Milan are having a fire sale, having made a lot of money selling some players. Dalton of course left for Reggina, as mentioned last month. I’ve also mentioned Ricardo Faty’s departure to Arsenal. In addition, Marco van Basten has sold Kaká to Valencia for £29M, and Angel Di María to Catania. Those four players combined gain Milan £62.4M, and there were no incoming transfers either. Tyler Burrows has been wheeling and dealing with a number of transfers this month. The Udinese manager signed both Fabio Quagliarella from Roma for £7.5M and Brazilian ‘keeper Renan from Botafogo for £6M. Francesco Bolzoni left the club for Ben Cee’s Inter, earning Burrows £8.75M, and Sakir Mattila joined Perugia for £1.4M. Lord Weeman’s Napoli, after having sold Christian Maggio, brought in Aleksandr Kolarov from Parma for £7.75M and “Oh! That guy!” Charles Itandje from Atalanta for £700k. Super Lampard made two relatively cheap signings: Amr Zaki from Catania for £3.5M and Benito Nicolas Viola from Empoli for £1.7M in a Player Exchange with Francesco Dettori. That’s not Frankie Dettori, before you ask. Our two other managers in Italy (not Jonte Rhodes who was mentioned earlier) made a few outgoing transfers.

Enjoy the sweltering summer weather while you can, English folks! My goodness, I’m perspiring just writing this update!

Manager of the Update
Obviously, there was not a lot of guidance this month for my choice.

Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough

gets the award this month, mainly out of goodwill. He made just over £8M profit this month from a simple exchange. There were a few tinkerers operating this month, their footballing brains going wild. Tyler Burrows and Tom Smith did some wheeling and dealing, while Haowan Madridstas displayed a lack of complacency, and a lack of complacency is good. Jonte Rhodes made an eighteen and a half million pound profit but I gave it to Nakano as he has not won the award before. I know, that’s not how the award should work, but you can’t complain in a threadbare month like this one. Besides, I’m far too hot and sweaty from this roasting English summer to think too hard about this one!

Job Securities

  Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days
   1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1485
   2nd fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1485
     - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1485
     - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Secure        1485
   5th weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        1485
     - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Stable        1485
     - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1485
     - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1485
     - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1485
     - rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro  Stable        1485
     - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1485
     - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1485
     - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1485
     - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Stable        1485
     - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        1485
     - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1485
     - hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1485
  18th ssestig              Theo Stigarakis     Catania                   1405
  19th bermybhoy            bermybhoy           Atalanta                  1320
     - IlikeJellybeans      Jellybean Man       Numancia                  1320
  21st m1234566778          Maz Armley          Racing                    1288
  22nd el sid               Cool Manager        At. Madrid                1263
  23rd spartans5            Lawrence Lazewski   Valencia                  1259
  24th Greasy Chip Butty    Andy Morton         Sporting                  1244
  25th Martin_              Martin Bojangles    Hull                      1241
  26th clrkaitken           Clark Aitken        Roma                      1237
  27th Waghlon              Lars Tommersen      Villarreal                1230
  28th Walcott’s Wonderkids Brucie Bonus        West Brom                 1210
  29th Almondo              Arnold J. Rimmer    Bolton                    1208
  30th Neji                 Neji Hyuuga         Deportivo                  999
  31st Jack Rudd            Lisa Jeffries       Juventus                   925
  32nd pnefc22              Wobill Luman        Betis                      889
  33rd AtilasMiserly        Will de Mote        A.C. Milan                 882
  34th JoeLatics            Joe Gleeson         Espanyol                   873
     - Blanco               Cristobal Blanco    Recreativo                 873
  36th ian_1982             Maurice Jobson      Man United                 852
  37th Ridleys              James Ridley        Siena                      843
     - Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
     - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
     - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well constantly selling players is not going to keep my job, but 18M was worth it.

KUTGW Canvey loving this.

[rancer890]

Woohoo I won an award! I'm not going to complain about this one.

I think this will be my first and last award though...

[PluckaDuck]

Nakano wins??? I demand an inquest

Goood to have bought a former Udinese star back home though, I sold Q-Man a few years ago for a masssie sum but have now bought him back a couple of seasons later for less than half the price.

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

  Update Winner, Club                
  Jul 08 James Salter, Reggina
  Aug 08 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Sep 08 Clark Aitken, Roma
  Oct 08 Clark Aitken, Roma 
  Nov 08 Leo Dodge, Tottenham 
  Dec 08 Maurice Jobson, Man United
  Jan 09 Bryan McGuinness, Everton
  Feb 09 Robert Boyle, Blackburn
  Mar 09 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Apr 09 Neji Hyuuga, Deportivo
  May 09 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Jun 09 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio
  Jul 09 Wobill Luman, Betis
  Aug 09 Liam Ferguson, Man City
  Sep 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Oct 09 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Nov 09 Lisa Jeffries, Juventus
  Dec 09 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Jan 10 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Mar 10 bermybhoy, Atalanta
  Apr 10 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  May 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jun 10 Will de Mote, A.C. Milan
  Jul 10 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Aug 10 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Sep 10 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
  Oct 10 Mikey Twigge, Palermo
  Nov 10 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  Dec 10 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jan 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  Feb 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Mar 11 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
  Apr 11 Tom Smith, Arsenal
  May 11 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
  Jun 11 Super Lampard, Lecce
  Jul 11 Mark Cator, Aston Villa
  Aug 11 Bryan McGuiness, Everton
  Sep 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Oct 11 Brucie Bonus, West Brom
  Nov 11 Cool Manager, Atlético Madrid
  Dec 11 Lawrence Lazewski, Valencia
  Jan 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Feb 12 Ben Taylor, Fiorentina
  Mar 12 Leo Dodge, Tottenham
  Apr 12 Lord Weeman, Napoli
  May 12 Ben Cee, Inter
  Jun 12 Cardio Vascular, Genoa
  Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough

Top Seven – Trophies

  Pos +- Username      Manager           Club Trophies
  1st  0 Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona  11
  2nd  0 Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid 8
  3rd  0 tomsmith1989  Tom Smith         Arsenal     6
  4th +1 BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter       5
  5th NE ~Ian~         Bryan McGuinness  Everton     1
    - NE fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City    1
    - NE weeeman27bob  Lord Weeman       Napoli      1

Lifespan – 1 to 2 Years

   Pos Username             Manager             Club      Days
  41st conners              Sirus Lannock       Málaga     628
  42nd MikaelS              Mikael Schøler      Bologna    613
  43rd Swafe                Saul Goode          Osasuna    551
  44th hamilton162          Tom Hamilton        Mallorca   509
  45th kashmirshazad        Shazad Ali          Newcastle  508
  46th DiscoStu94           Da Hoover Man       Sampdoria  501
     - ScottT!              Scott Tysoe         Sunderland 501
  48th canvey!!             Fréderico Canvey    Stoke      476

Lifespan – Less than 1 Year

   Pos Username             Manager             Club      Days
  49th corinthiano          Mathias Brunckhorst Chievo     327
     - Neilio               Neilio              Almería    327
  51st Robert_296           Robert Boyle        Blackburn  326
  52nd brettney1980         Brettney Joven      Wigan      320
  53rd TigerJoe             Joe Seddon          Getafe     271
  54th jack.browne          Jack Browne         Sevilla    250
  55th NepentheZ            Neppo Monster       Cagliari   236
     - dafuge               dafuge              Torino     236
  57th KiddingChoc          Zach Machios        Portsmouth 235
     - Whoopy D             Whoopy D            West Ham   235
  59th d-machine            David Machine       Athletic   229
  60th PaulHartman71        Jeremy English      Liverpool  204