The Elimination Challenge: Game Thread

[Pincheh]

Not a good month for me hopefully I can move clubs and get more playing time elsewhere

[WBA4LIFE]

Ahh the dreams over It was fun while it lasted...

[B.W.G]

Good god, I seemed to be doomed. I hope I can join another club on a free transfer

[Dees-Blake]

July, 2016

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So, after this elimination the competition will have been more than halved - 15 players will remain, and now all that are still in the competition after today can commend themselves on being in the top half of players. However, there is still one unlucky player that will be sent home right now in 16th place - and who will that be? Will it be Jerome Hebert, the flukey Frenchman who has managed to survive numerous times from the bottom of the leaderboard, and who was sitting in that spot after January? Or, will Hebert put on yet another memorable comeback and chase down Chip Butty who is not too far ahead of him... or will it be Faustino Perozo, a fair way ahead of them all, but still struggling due to getting no game time at Manchester United?

Well, it was yet another close one - with less than ten points separating the bottom two competitors. Every single elimination seems to be very close at the moment! And, the unfortunate competitor to finish in 16th place is...

...

Chip Butty.

Chip Butty goes home thanks to another great comeback from Jerome Hebert, who managed to just escape and finished barely eight points ahead of Chip Butty. Butty proved to be a one-club man, spending all of his time at the competition at Bury, and seeing them promote from League Two and to now become real title contenders in League One, but he unfortunately wasn't earning enough points by the end to see him survive in this competition. In the 2015/16 season he played 47 games, contributing a handy 20 assists, but he simply didn't earn enough points per match to survive and he becomes the 15th competitor to be sent home from this competition. It is now down to 15 players, and here it gets real interesting!

So, Jerome Hebert is the lucky one surviving by around eight points or so but he cannot relax - he must now turn his focus to the next elimination, as he is sitting last once more. After his move to Paris Saint Germain, he played only one senior game and one as a substitute but it was five matches in the reserves that ended up saving him from elimination. He remains quite a distance away from Perozo though, who is ahead of him, and despite Perozo struggling at Manchester United, Hebert will need a very good performance to survive yet again.

Faustino Perozo went on a short loan move to Cardiff in the Championship which helped a bit, but he still remains in big trouble at Manchester United as he is hardly playing any games at all. With Hebert breathing down his neck I don't think it's possible for him to feel safe at all - Hebert has built his reputation for comebacks and now Perozo will want to have a very good six months if he is thinking of surviving. A move might be in order for him, because he has struggled a lot since moving to Manchester United.

Over these six months, there was not a single transfer - with the exception of Hebert's pre-arranged move to Paris Saint Germain on the 1st of January - which is a big rarity at this stage of the competition. Everyone seemed comfortable at their current clubs - even the previously unhappy Matt Ferguson at Valur, who stayed at Valur for the update. Thankfully he is still unhappy at Valur and with the main transfer window of the season coming up he will be hoping for a move to a better club. It wasn't a great six months for him, as he dropped two places and now finds himself third from the bottom, and not too far in front of Faustino Perozo. Is there still hope for Ferguson in this competition? He is now the only remaining player who has stayed at their original club for the entire time, having played at Valur for 83 months. Only Özkan is close to him, having played at Sheffield United for 78 months, or 6 years exactly.

Speaking of Ferhat Özkan, it was another good six months for him as he rose yet another position, now into 7th. He is starting to loom as a serious competitor after getting some good game time at Sheffield United, and he had another good year, playing 29 competitive matches for the Premier League Sheffield. He averaged 7.07 for the year which is very good, considering the standard of the league - although it is slightly down from last year's excellent average of 7.17. He made another appearance for Belgium, and all in all it has been good times for Özkan since finding his way into the first team, playing in the middle of the park.

The player that Ferhat Özkan overtook over the six months was none other than Will Richardson, whose fall from grace is still continuing after a poor loan spell at AIK in Sweden. He has played all possible games in 2016 for AIK - 14, to be exact, but that isn't a whole lot when you are only in the leagues of Sweden. Richardson really needs to find somewhere else to play, he is not being benefited in the slightest by these continuous loan moves he is going out on from Arsenal. He hasn't played for Wales for quite some time now, and must be thinking about heading elsewhere sooner or later.

Ryan Dunn, the only other Welshman in the competition, isn't having the best of times either at Arsenal. He went on a three month loan move to League One strugglers Peterborough, where he played 14 games at an average rating of 7.11, but going on continuous loan spells is never ideal and he hasn't looked close to breaking into the Arsenal firsts just yet. His loan move was actually enough though to push him up a position - by pure fortune, as he overtook another competitor who after looking good for a while has suddenly fallen away from his previous form.

That player being Ricky Nakano, who is going through a tough time at Hearts. A couple of seasons ago he was a first-team regular, starting every match and being an excellent player for them in the Scottish Premier League - however, now he is struggling. He played only 14 matches over the 2015/16 season which is nowhere near enough to keep the points flowing and as a result he has dropped a place on the leaderboard, although he isn't too far behind Ryan Dunn. Nakano will be hoping to fight his way back into the first team at Hearts, or maybe even find a new home in England - preferably a team around the Championship where he can be assured game time.

The move to England seems to have worked for one of our competitors anyway - not that they were struggling previously. Charles Beams had yet another sensational six months, earning some huge points through bonuses. He became a key player in England's European Championship team and was named the runner up of the 2016 EUROs Best Player award, as well as earning a starting spot in right midfield in the European Championship Dream Team. To add to that, he had a stellar season at giants Manchester City, playing 31 matches with the staggering average rating of 8.00, and 8.05 in the league. City only managed a third placed finish, behind Aston Villa and their local rivals Manchester United, but if Beams continues his wonderful form then they could be real contenders in the 2016/17 season.

Unfortunately for Beams' nearest rival, Ihsaan Ahmed, things didn't fare quite so well. Ahmed found himself left out of the Villarreal squad for some games, and though he managed to play 43 competitive matches over the year he didn't earn any awards or further caps for Spain, unlike Beams who smashed him in that regard. Ahmed had a very mediocre six months in the end, and although the Best Eleven for Spanish teams is named on the 6th of July, which will see him make up some lost ground, he really needs to improve and start winning some awards. Playing league matches is no longer enough for the top competitors, it seems!

Well behind Ahmed are Alex Parker and Adam Kerr, the two Englishmen. They are continuing a fierce rivalry and now only a single point separates them from third and fourth position, with Adam Kerr managing to gain some ground at Sunderland over Alex Parker who is playing at Celtic despite a broken ankle keeping Kerr out of action for three months into 2016. He recovered well from his broken ankle and went on to play a few more matches for Sunderland over the course of the season, playing 23 matches in total and scoring 13 times - all of these matches in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Parker sprained his ankle and was out for five weeks but in all honesty his contributions to Celtic could have been a lot better. He played only 25 league matches, scoring 12 times and providing 4 assists and struggled greatly in Europe for Celtic. In the end, he averaged under 7 for the season and finds himself needing to raise his form if he wants to stay ahead of Kerr - and if he wants to keep his first-team spot at Celtic.

One player who has even started to catch up to Parker and Kerr is Benjani Creigo, who had a fantastic year in the Premier League with Reading. Unfortunately for him, not even his best efforts could save Reading from relegation as they finished 19th, finishing three points away from safety. Creigo, however, was superb in a very mediocre team, as he played 38 matches at an average rating over 7.00. It will be interesting now whether he stays with Reading as they look to bounce back up into the Premier League again - or instead if he searches for a new club, like so many players do once their team is relegated. He is around sixty points away from Kerr, gaining a fair bit of ground from the last update.

Tom Vesters was indeed one of the examples of players who left after their club was relegated - he had a brief stint with Rostock in the 1. Bundesliga before leaving following their relegation to FC Nantes, where he has been faring very well. Playing in a green and yellow strip, Vesters had quite a good six months, overtaking Matt Ferguson and Joe Tompkins. Playing in Ligue 1 over in France, he made 30 appearances for FC Nantes and despite not being anywhere near a standout player he is happily earning enough points in the top flight of France to keep him safe from the bottom of the competition. Still, if he wants to make a move up the leaderboard further he will need to start showing some better peformances - averaging 6.67 from 30 matches isn't quite good enough.

Vesters is still faring better than the struggling Joe Tompkins, who is now fourth from the bottom in twelfth place. He started only 14 games for Portsmouth, making 6 more appearances for them in the Championship. Fortunately - or perhaps unfortunately they won promotion to the Premier League. It raises doubts now over Tompkins - he could hardly get a spot starting in their Championship team, so would he find it now a lot more difficult to play in their Premier League team? He will be hoping that he gets some first-team action in the Premier League, that is for sure, or else he could follow many other players who stagnated in big teams' reserves sides and were eliminated.

Last of all we have the versatile midfielder from Finland - none other than Steveldinho himself. Steveldinho now has a bit of a gap between the player above him, and also the player below him as he sits in a comfortable sixth place. Steveldinho will probably be hoping for a bit more game time - he played only 23 matches for OGC Nice in Ligue 1, but he fared quite well when he did play, averaging 7.27 in the league and 6.98 overall - his rating was dropped by some mediocre performances in Europe. He didn't add to his international tally of 3 caps for Finland, but has looked promising and has been called up to the squad a few times - though he has not yet played for them.

That sums up the players, but there is one big international competition to cover - of course, the European Championships of 2016 in which Charles Beams fared so well. There was also the African Cup of Nations played over the six months - a good tournament with a tense final which was won by Senegal as they held their nerve from the spot to beat Ghana 4-2 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. But - back to the EUROs now, and let's see how the big European nations fared in one of the most important international tournaments around.

Group A was probably the group of death, containing Spain, France, Greece and Turkey. Both Turkey and Greece needed some good results if they were going to qualify for the next round ahead of Spain or France - and so when they drew 1-1 in the first game of their group, it probably wasn't ideal for them. Spain then went on to defeat France 2-0 thanks to a brace from Fernando Torres, but they struggled in their next game as they were shocked 3-0 by Greece, who rose to the top of the group after France defeated Turkey 2-1. From now on, the only way that Greece would fail to qualify from the group was if they lost to France and then Spain beat Turkey - or if they lost to France and Turkey destroyed Spain. Unfortunately for them, the first scenario happened as they went down 4-1 to France, and Spain held on to a 1-0 win over Turkey. Spain and France were through, but it wasn't an easy run for either of them.

In Group B, the Netherlands and Italy would both be hoping to qualify over Slovakia and Serbia, who would need to perform very well if they wanted to qualify. In the opener, Italy managed a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in a match they dominated, with Paloschi scoring just after half-time. Italy had 61% possession and never really looked like losing, as their defence stood up. Slovakia then pulled out an excellent result, beating the higher ranked Serbia 2-1 in a close encounter. Serbia continued their poor form in the next match as they lost to the Netherlands, who redeemed their earlier loss by pulling out a 3-0 win. However, it was Italy who were then shocked by Slovakia who brought out a huge 2-1 upset to move to the top of their group with two wins. Slovakia now had 6 points, with Italy and the Netherlands only having 3 each. But, just as Greece had fared, Slovakia were sent home packing after a 2-0 loss to Holland, followed by Italy beating Serbia 2-0. It was goal difference alone that sent them home, and Italy and the Netherlands progressed to the next round.

Group C saw Charles Beams and England taking on Portugal, Russia and Israel in a very interesting group. Russia would not be easy opponents and Portugal were going to be a very tough match as well for the English, while Israel seemed to be the only easy win of the group. England got their campaign off to an excellent start though, with a goal from Wayne Rooney proving enough to beat Portugal as they won their first game 1-0. Israel then pulled out a very big result as they triumphed 3-2 in an entertaining match over Russia, with three goals in the match coming in the space of three minutes. Russia were then up against England, and a much more determined Russian squad did very well to hold England to a 2-2 draw, with Charles Beams giving English fans a sigh of relief scoring a fantastic first goal for his country in the 89th minute. The unlikely goalscorer for Russia was Welliton, who elected for Russian citizenship after playing at Spartak Moscow for five years. Portugal then won 1-0 over Israel, keeping England still on top of the group. England then recorded a 3-1 win over Israel, while a 90th minute goal from Portugal to earn a 3-3 draw against Russia saw them advance at the expense of Israel.

Group D was the easiest group of all, with Germany up against unlikely heroes Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. In the end the Germans never really looked threatened apart from a tense 3-2 win over Bulgaria early, and they recorded wins in all of their matches to become the only team to go through to the next round after winning every group match. Bulgaria then qualified alongside them - despite being equal on goal difference and points with Croatia, they scored one more goal in the tournament which was fortunately enough to see them through.

In the quarter final, Italy would be up against Spain in the first big clash. However, the match didn't deliver the close contest that many fans were looking for - it was the Italians who looked a class above and defeated Spain 3-0, sending them out of EURO 2016. The next match, however, was far more exciting with a good contest between France and the Netherlands. The French scored very early thanks to a good finish from Karim Benzema and it looked like it might be heading for a 1-0 victory until Klaas Jan Huntelaar pulled out a superb shot to equal the scores in the 80th minute. The match went to extra time where the French stepped up once more, with Mexès and Sissoko scoring in the 102nd and 106th minute to give France a 3-1 win.

The next quarter final saw England taking on Bulgaria, in a match that England fans were expecting a comfortable win. Things didn't start off well either for Bulgaria, as their centre midfielder was sent off in the 20th minute for a second yellow card. However, England failed poorly to break down the Bulgarian defence and then a shock goal in the 57th minute for Miroslav Penev of Bulgaria, a young striker from Juventus with a fantastic international record of 18 goals from 19 matches for his country saw Bulgaria take the lead. Despite England's attempts, Bulgaria managed to hold on to record a massive 1-0 upset - with 10 men. Beams was the best player for England in a losing side but their European dreams were over as they were bundled out of the competition, despite having 22 shots to Bulgaria's 6.

In the last quarter final, over 50,000 fans flocked through the gates in anticipation of a great clash between Germany and Portugal - and that is what they got. Things got off to a good start for the Portuguese, as they pulled 1-0 ahead over the undefeated Germans in the 25th minute, and the scores remained that way until half-time. The German manager gave their team a fired-up speech but it didn't seem to pay off, with 22 year old Stoke striker Jorge Quintal scoring his second goal for the Portuguese to make it 2-0. It looked like it could be hard for the Germans to find a way back into the game now, with their team looking lacklustre, but then quick striker Richard Sukuta-Pasu scored twice in the space of three minutes to restore the spark to the Germans. With the match drawn 2-2 after 90 minutes, experienced forward Patrick Helmes found the net in the 104th minute to complete the comeback, and the Germans were through 3-2.

The first semi-final saw the Germans backing up to play Italy in front of 81,193 expectant fans. Italy got off to the ideal start, though, continuing their good form after their 3-0 win over Spain to take the lead early through a volley from Balotelli. With Germany still trailing 1-0 at half-time, they yet again managed to find a way back into the match through 21 year old attacking midfielder Benjamin Weinecker. The match continued locked at 1-1 through to the end of 90 minutes, and after a tense 20 minutes of extra-time it was Italy who finally broke the deadlock through Mattia Destro in the 111th minute. The Germans looked out of it, but then experienced midfielder Simon Rolfes managed a late goal to send the German fans crazy. After that, it took an epic penalty shootout to decide the winner - Giorgio Chiellini failed to convert his penalty and it was then Benedikt Höwedes who slotted the winner - Germany winning 7-6 on penalties thanks to two equalising goals over the course of the match. Does anybody actually read my international reports? Or am I wasting my time on these.

The next match was much less interesting - Bulgaria had to try and repeat their impossible feats by now beating France. Immediately it became clear this wasn't going to be a contest - France attacked resoundingly time after time, yet somehow they failed to find the back of the net for quite some time. With Bulgarian fans getting hopeful, with the score locked at 0-0, France finally managed to convert a chance in the 78th minute through Benzema and once the deadlock was broken it was Sakho and Sissoko who added to the tally to give France a 3-0 win. France took a staggering 30 shots over the match - meaning Bulgaria had conceded 52 shots over their last two matches alone.

The final saw Germany taking on France, who were in quite good form, and it was immediately the French who took the upper hand of the match, firing in shot after shot to the German keeper René Adler. The match was a drab one though, and with the score 0-0 after 120 minutes. It didn't take long to settle it on penalties either - the woeful Germans sprayed two of theirs and France went on to win 4-1 after keeping a cool head from the spot. The final was a bit of a letdown but overall it was a good tournament, with Charles Beams playing exceptionally well for England.

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Top 5: Weekly Wages

Player              Wages

Charles Beams       £78,000
Adam Kerr           £49,500
Ferhat Özkan        £35,500
Alex Parker         £31,000
Ihsaan Ahmed        £29,000   

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Leaderboard

Player                 Team                 Value      Points

Charles Beams          Manchester City      £15.25M    3576.126
Ihsaan Ahmed           Villarreal           £9M        2439.266
Alex Parker            Celtic               £4.8M      1810.916
Adam Kerr              Sunderland           £6M        1809.727
Benjani Creigo         Reading              £4.7M      1749.876
Steveldinho            OGC Nice             £4.1M      1615.800
Ferhat Özkan           Sheffield United     £5.25M     1496.566
Will Richardson        AIK                  £1.5M      1343.545
Ryan Dunn              Arsenal              £2.1M      1191.490
Ricky Nakano           Hearts               £1.5M      1165.214
Tom Vesters            FC Nantes            £1.7M      1097.726
Joe Tompkins           Portsmouth           £1.1M      1082.107
Matt Ferguson          Valur                £200K      1061.457
Faustino Perozo        Manchester United    £2.5M      1043.510
Jerome Hebert          Paris Saint-Germain  £2.3M      1010.112
--------------------------------------------------------
Chip Butty             Eliminated July, 2016
Fernié                 Eliminated January, 2016
Sam Bellamy            Eliminated July, 2015
Shaneimus Maximus      Eliminated January, 2015
Thomas Weir            Eliminated July, 2014
Mikael Schøler         Eliminated January, 2014
Gelmiro Navarrete      Eliminated July, 2013
Luke Swinson           Eliminated January, 2013
Matt Collard           Eliminated July, 2012
Uffe Johansson         Eliminated January, 2012
Zvonimir Uljarevic     Eliminated July, 2011
Ashley Salisbury       Eliminated January, 2011
Ryan Andrews           Eliminated July, 2010
Pim Park van der Bus   Eliminated July, 2010
Cerneo Quam            Eliminated July, 2010
Tomaldinho             Eliminated July, 2010

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Well in those six months we had another great run towards the top, gained 80pts on Steveldinho, so that only puts us one season from 6th place

Ozkan looks brilliant at Sheffield in the Premier League and looks like it will continue, especially as they are willing to pay him sooo much and he has pulled them up the league from early on.

[Ihsaan]

Oh dear, I'm slowly falling away although I'm still in second.

[MattFergie]

It's now got to the point where i just want to see how long Ferguson's gonna stay at Valur Is he an icon/legend at Valur yet?

P.S. Least valued player! wooo

[hrbfcrule]

Hmmmm I should have stayed at 'boro I was doing all right there

[Charlesbeams]

Over 1000 points ahead now and things still going really well

[B.W.G]

Mid-Table obscurity, it will do for now. Need to bide my time in hope that I move to another cub

[Greasy Chip Butty]

Dees-Blake, phenomenal updates. Haven't been active on the forums for a while and just caught up ... in time to see my player eliminated. I must have known something!

At least Super Chip was a loyal player. Bury till I die!

[Dees-Blake]

July, 2016

The first semi-final saw the Germans backing up to play Italy in front of 81,193 expectant fans. Italy got off to the ideal start, though, continuing their good form after their 3-0 win over Spain to take the lead early through a volley from Balotelli. With Germany still trailing 1-0 at half-time, they yet again managed to find a way back into the match through 21 year old attacking midfielder Benjamin Weinecker. The match continued locked at 1-1 through to the end of 90 minutes, and after a tense 20 minutes of extra-time it was Italy who finally broke the deadlock through Mattia Destro in the 111th minute. The Germans looked out of it, but then experienced midfielder Simon Rolfes managed a late goal to send the German fans crazy. After that, it took an epic penalty shootout to decide the winner - Giorgio Chiellini failed to convert his penalty and it was then Benedikt Höwedes who slotted the winner - Germany winning 7-6 on penalties thanks to two equalising goals over the course of the match. Does anybody actually read my international reports? Or am I wasting my time on these.

I think I might discontinue them for the next update, after all we only care about our own players and to be fair if I was reading an update like this I would probably not read the whole thing.

[Dees-Blake]

At least Super Chip was a loyal player. Bury till I die!

Can confirm Chip Butty has moved to West Ham just twenty-three days after the last update, and he is currently shredding it up in the Premier League..

[Fausto]

great posts Dees-Blake, well im in the line for the next update i hope i can move from Man U

[Elnaith]

I do read your i'national reports, but if no one else does, don't sweat it for me .

I finally moved up a bit, but still too close to dropzone for comfort.

[joetheref]

I read the international updates but really not bothered if you drop them

[Dees-Blake]

January, 2017

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Up to 2017 already! The years really are flying by, aren't they. Our competitors have gone from young, scared and inexperienced 16 year olds in the big world of football to prime 23 year olds, many of them who are playing in the top leagues around the world. There's still a long way to go in this competition, but the number of competitors has been halved already and we will see another player sent home after this update. A reminder to all that when just ten players remain, each elimination will last nine months until there are just five remaining - but let's move our focuses onwards for now.

At the end of last update, Jerome Hebert was dwelling in last place yet again. He was a fairly substantial amount behind Faustino Perozo, and many of the other competitors must surely have been wondering that his luck was due to run out soon. He had escaped elimination from last place so many times that it is borderline absurd, as well as finishing second last around four times and still managing to survive. He is in his favourite last position, can he pull off another miracle effort here?

One of the players out of Hebert and Perozo was eliminated. There was, in fact, almost a twenty point gap differing between the two players. Think you know for certain who is going home this time? Well think again, because

Faustino Perozo has been eliminated.

He earned a pitiful fifteen points over six months at Manchester United after failing to go out on loan or get any first team action whatsoever and it has ended up costing him dearly, with Hebert somehow miraculously escaping elimination yet again. With the elimination of Faustino Perozo, there now remains just one Spanish player left in the competition - that of course being Ihsaan Ahmed, who is going superbly at Villarreal. Faustino Perozo ends up finishing a respectable 15th but it was a long time to spend without getting any action in the Manchester United squad and it has ended up costing him.

Meanwhile, Jerome Hebert wasn't brilliant but did enough to overtake Faustino Perozo but now finds himself in further trouble, in last place once more. He started only two matches, making two more substitute appearances as well as earning one Man of the Match award for Paris St. Germain, and again it looked like he would be sent home going into December but he managed to claim a place in the Ligue 1 Team of the Week which saw him earn enough points to move ahead of Faustino Perozo and earn him survival for at least another six months.

Matt Ferguson will definitely have to be watching out though as he finds himself in a bit of trouble - he is only twenty or so points ahead of Hebert, and of course with Hebert's reputation that is nowhere near enough if he wants to be safe. To make matters worse, Ferguson was dropped from Valur after refusing to sign a new contract with them and currently finds himself unemployed. He is not earning any points at all at the moment so he will want to find a new club very fast - this might be his last chance to survive in the game. He will need a big effort but at least he won't be eliminated while still at Valur.

Ahead of Ferguson is Tom Vesters, who was one of a few players this update to move clubs. He decided enough was enough at FC Nantes, and he has made a £1.8M transfer to Sevilla where he will be hoping he can shine. Sevilla was also the hunting ground of Faustino Perozo once upon a time before he ended up moving to Manchester United, but now it will be Vesters who hopes to prosper at the big Spanish club. Unfortunately for him he hasn't started off the best at his new club, making just one appearance in five months which is not good enough at this stage, but he will be hoping that he can prove himself very shortly.

Ricky Nakano was another player to move, and it seems he has made the right decision this time as well. After a great couple of seasons at Hearts it has started going downhill in Scotland with Hearts dropping him frequently and game time being rather limited as a result. So, Nakano decided to pack his bags and head back to his home country, signing for Championship contenders Derby for £4.5M, in their attempt to push onwards back to the Premier League. It turned out to be a great move for Nakano, as he has played 22 appearances for his new club Derby County with the season only halfway through. He has been averaging 7.08 per match and as a result rose a place in the competition, to ninth position.

Benjani Creigo also decided to move, although his wasn't as successful as he ended up dropping two places down the ladder over the six months. Creigo, who was previously at Reading, decided to leave them following their relegation from the Premier League which looked to be a foolish move. He decided to head over to Stoke, who were still in the Premier League, but since joining them he has made only 7 appearances and one must wonder whether he would've fared far better playing consistently for Reading in the Championship. Still, he must sort himself out for Stoke if he doesn't want to drop too much further because his new position isn't ideal.

The last player to make a move this update was Steveldinho, who is also this update's biggest riser after he propelled himself three positions forward into third place after an inspired move to Torino in Italy. Steveldinho, after a very brief stint at OGC Nice in France, received an £8M offer from Torino in Serie A and OGC Nice simply could not refuse. Steveldinho saw it as a good opportunity and off he went, and from there the rest has been history. He has already played 18 matches for Torino, winning four Man of the Match awards and averaging 7.34 in the Serie A, and his international form for Finland has been just as good - he has made three further appearances with an assist and a Man of the Match to his name. As a result, he was named in the Finnish Yearly Best XI and won the Best U23 Finnish Player for the second time.

Steveldinho has moved into third but he still has a long way to go before he catches Ihsaan Ahmed in second place, who managed to make up some ground on Beams over the six months. Ihsaan Ahmed had a very good half-season, finding some good form and playing 19 matches at left back, averaging a superb 7.29. He also made three appearances for Spain, taking his cap tally to 8, and two La Liga Team of the Week awards as well as being named in the Best XI for Villarreal and Spain over the six months alone has seen him fight his way back and gain a bit of ground.

Charles Beams himself, though, is still sitting very pretty in first place and truth be told it is going to take a fair bit now to catch him for Ahmed. Charles Beams struggled a bit for game-time, although Manchester City seem stupid not to play him - he averaged over 8 for them last year from 31 matches and despite playing only 14 games so far this year he is already averaging a fantastic 7.72 per match, continuing his reputation as one of the best attacking midfielders going around in the world. Beams struggled a bit on the awards scene and despite a spot in England's Best XI he lost a bit of his lead to Ahmed. Still, he is over a thousand points ahead and won't be complaining too much.

Adam Kerr has managed to pull ahead of Alex Parker, who he has been competing against for some time although due to the rise of Steveldinho he effectively hasn't moved anywhere at all on the leaderboard, remaining in fourth position. Kerr made possibly the right move by staying in the Premier League and has been in some good touch for Sunderland, finding the net 12 times from 19 matches so far up to January. He, unfortunately, didn't win any awards over the six months but despite not being brilliant he performed better than Parker, who isn't having the best of times at Celtic.

Alex Parker also played 19 matches, but due to only being at Celtic and competing in the Scottish Premier League he isn't earning quite as many points per game as opposed to Kerr in the Premier League. Parker only scored 9 times for Celtic, which he might be a bit disappointed with. Just like Kerr, he also failed to win any awards over the six months and he ended up dropping two positions on the table, after being overtaken by Kerr and Steveldinho. Alex Parker will want to find some better form for Celtic and start scoring and winning some awards. An international debut might not hurt his chances now either.

Closing the gap on Parker is now the Belgian Ferhat Özkan, who is starting to loom as a serious threat. Once an elimination candidate, Özkan has suddenly found his way back up the leaderboard and he continues his rise further with another position gained, this time moving ahead of the Welshman Will Richardson. Özkan has been in great form for Sheffield United, playing 21 matches already up to January and averaging 7.29, starting in centre midfield. He made a couple more international appearances for Belgium too, taking his tally now to 7 caps and if he continues this form the pair of Parker and Kerr might have to watch their backs.

Will Richardson isn't faring the best on the other hand, although he manages to hold on to his position in 8th after a quiet spell at Arsenal. He went on loan to Swedish giants AIK, playing 30 matches and averaging a solid 6.92, but since returning to Arsenal he has made only a single cup appearance and he has been falling down the leaderboard recently. Richardson has now been transfer listed at Arsenal, which might be the best thing for him, but he has shown a reluctance to leave the club which could seriously dent his chances.

Ryan Dunn has also been transfer listed by Arsenal and he will surely need a move if he wants to go anywhere as well, having dropped another position to 10th now where he sits, quite a way behind Richardson. There seem to be quite a few clubs interested in his services - Hull, Nottingham Forest, PSV, Düsseldorf, Xerez and Almería - and he will definitely want to look into moving because he has had a torrid time at Arsenal, much like Richardson. Dunn has never really been a challenger in this competition as of yet but if he can find the right club he definitely has the potential to start a charge up the ladder.

One place below Ryan Dunn is Joe Tompkins, who actually moved up a position into 11th over the six months. Tompkins only made the five appearances for the recently promoted Portsmouth, playing atrociously in all of those matches as well, but Tom Vesters struggled equally at Sevilla so Tompkins now holds a lead worth only a few points over him. Portsmouth are actually faring quite well in 13th place this season, which might not be the best thing in the world for Tompkins - if they were relegated he could at least look to find a new club or get some more game time in the Championship. As it is though, he isn't going brilliantly.

There were no reasonably-sized international tournaments at all over the six months so it looks like I won't need to worry about the international write-up. But the real focus is definitely Jerome Hebert - can he survive the clutches of elimination for the n-teen-th time?

---

Top 5: Risers of the Update

Player              Rise   Pos.

Steveldinho         ^ 3    3rd 
Ferhat Özkan        ^ 1    6th
Ricky Nakano        ^ 1    8th
Joe Tompkins        ^ 1    11th
Jerome Hebert       ^ 1    14th

---

Leaderboard

Player                 Team                 Value      Points

Charles Beams          Manchester City      £13.25M    3910.320
Ihsaan Ahmed           Villarreal           £10.5M     2893.036
Steveldinho            Torino               £8M        2167.706
Adam Kerr              Sunderland           £5.75M     1943.367
Alex Parker            Celtic               £4.8M      1913.426
Ferhat Özkan           Sheffield United     £5.75M     1808.606
Benjani Creigo         Stoke                £2.9M      1779.740
Will Richardson        Arsenal              £2.2M      1522.025
Ricky Nakano           Derby                £4.5M      1485.422
Ryan Dunn              Arsenal              £1.1M      1210.440
Joe Tompkins           Portsmouth           £1.6M      1150.434
Tom Vesters            Sevilla              £2.2M      1144.673
Matt Ferguson          N/A                  £0         1098.853
Jerome Hebert          Paris Saint-Germain  £2.2M      1077.337
--------------------------------------------------------
Faustino Perozo        Eliminated January, 2017
Chip Butty             Eliminated July, 2016
Fernié                 Eliminated January, 2016
Sam Bellamy            Eliminated July, 2015
Shaneimus Maximus      Eliminated January, 2015
Thomas Weir            Eliminated July, 2014
Mikael Schøler         Eliminated January, 2014
Gelmiro Navarrete      Eliminated July, 2013
Luke Swinson           Eliminated January, 2013
Matt Collard           Eliminated July, 2012
Uffe Johansson         Eliminated January, 2012
Zvonimir Uljarevic     Eliminated July, 2011
Ashley Salisbury       Eliminated January, 2011
Ryan Andrews           Eliminated July, 2010
Pim Park van der Bus   Eliminated July, 2010
Cerneo Quam            Eliminated July, 2010
Tomaldinho             Eliminated July, 2010

[MattFergie]

I don't understand FM sometimes, Ferguson plays week in week out at a club for 7 years, then is suddenly let go ah well, at least it gives him a fresh chance

[joetheref]

Can see Tompkins failing to make the top 10 unfortunately and when will Herbert go out

[Fausto]

Well im officially out of the competition..... Well was a fun run..... KUTGW

[Elnaith]

Why do I keep moving D:

[B.W.G]

Still hanging on in there...lets hope I can move away from Arsenal at last

[Ihsaan]

Nice to gain a little ground, although it's still looking very unlikely that I'll catch Beams.

[hrbfcrule]

Moving to Celtic was a huge mistake

[Charlesbeams]

Still in the lead but had a bad season, might take some time before i get caught up (knowing me it'll be the next update now)

KUTGW!

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Lets go Ozkan...A huge effort here and he can make it into 5th or even 4th by the next update. I have to say after a slow start he seems to be one of the most consistent players in the competition right now.

Keep up the awesome updates, loving this sign-up.

[Dees-Blake]

Thanks for the support everyone, nice to know the write-ups are being appreciated.

[Dees-Blake]

Sorry everybody that I missed the update today, I've been super busy with schoolwork but tomorrow afternoon I am free so I will definitely do one, maybe even two updates to make up for the lack of one today. Sorry about that guys. :|

[Elnaith]

's okay mate. Take your time, rather have you missing an update then postign a rushy and no-fun one ^^

[Ihsaan]

Sorry everybody that I missed the update today, I've been super busy with schoolwork but tomorrow afternoon I am free so I will definitely do one, maybe even two updates to make up for the lack of one today. Sorry about that guys. :|

No problem at all. Like I said earlier, you've been extremely reliable in terms of your updates and shouldn't feel like you have to rush one to meet a deadline or anything like that.

[Dees-Blake]

Unbelievable.

The second time this has happened, I do not even believe it. I wrote up the entire update, posted it and it said something about me needing to refresh the page and go back. I copied and pasted it into a notepad to be sure, copied it into quick reply and pressed post. Eventually two hours later I turned off my computer and closed the notepad without saving.

I come back today and the update hasn't posted.

Wow, I fail at this.

[canvey!!]

I would advise writing up all your updates in a Word document (that you do save). That's what I do (my 60 to One one is currently 843 pages), and as well as avoiding technical issues, it allows you to write ahead so that you a) have a backlog in case you lose your motivation to write and b) can treat people with a bonus update now and then if your surplus gets too big.

[Loojay]

Loving how Steve is up to third. A sign up I'm doing well in for a change!

[creigo]

Unbelievable.

The second time this has happened, I do not even believe it. I wrote up the entire update, posted it and it said something about me needing to refresh the page and go back. I copied and pasted it into a notepad to be sure, copied it into quick reply and pressed post. Eventually two hours later I turned off my computer and closed the notepad without saving.

I come back today and the update hasn't posted.

Wow, I fail at this.

Bloody hell, keep going Dees. Superb work do far, however i can imagine how annoying that would be.

[Dees-Blake]

I would advise writing up all your updates in a Word document (that you do save). That's what I do (my 60 to One one is currently 843 pages), and as well as avoiding technical issues, it allows you to write ahead so that you a) have a backlog in case you lose your motivation to write and b) can treat people with a bonus update now and then if your surplus gets too big.

That's a good idea Canvey, and one that many logical people do use when writing stories. However, I've always just been too disorganised and downright stupid to do that and it's resulted in two updates being lost.

From now on though, the Elimination challenge is going into a word document before it is posted. And I will rewrite this update and post it in a few hours.

EDIT: Pasted all of the updates into Word - a total of 49,923 words through all of the updates. Not far from the magical 50K

EDIT 2: Just needed a bit of a break from this, have been taking some time off FM recently but I will definitely get back into it soon.

[Dees-Blake]

The Elimination Challenge has returned!

July, 2017

Trialling a new system of updates that includes player stats. This will only last until we have ten players remaining, when I will then resort to using screenshots each update.

---

Rewrite time, but I guess I can’t really complain because it is through my own incompetency that this happened. The forum didn’t help matters, but when I can barely even get through an update on my own when something else goes dodgy it gives me almost no chance of getting through the update.

So, it is July 2017 and after this elimination only thirteen competitors will remain in the competition. No more is the top ten something that players aspire for, and even the top five isn’t held in such a great regard anymore. In fact, it isn’t too long before the competition will be extended to nine months per update and elimination – that of course will occur once ten players are left remaining.

A familiar face in Jerome Hebert was facing up to elimination yet again, but he definitely won’t have minded the challenge. Fortunately for him, he had some other competitors struggling and it looked like it could be the perfect occasion for him to make yet another miraculous comeback. Matt Ferguson was the player in the nearest vicinity of him, and with Ferguson unemployed following his lack of willingness to sign a contract with Icelandic minnows Valur, he will definitely be under the pump to find a new club quickly before it becomes too late. A fair way ahead of Ferguson was Tom Vesters, who is also struggling a bit over at Sevilla after failing to start in perhaps quite as many matches as he would have liked.

Matt Ferguson was under the most pressure though clearly, and with the comeback king Jerome Hebert on his tail it was never going to be easy... well, perhaps it was this time as

Jerome Hebert has finally been eliminated.

After countless escapes from last place and numerous survivals from the closest of situations, Hebert has finally been eliminated from the challenge but has definitely left his mark on it after a fantastic effort in his attempts for survival. Unfortunately for him, he was not even close to a competitor this time and was eliminated by over one hundred points. He had a very poor year with Paris Saint-Germain, it had to be said, and in the end played just ten matches, with only seven starts for the top flight French club. It is game over for Hebert, who finishes in 14th place.

2016/17 stats (Jerome Hebert, Paris Saint-Germain):

Appearances: 7 (3)

Goals: 0

Assists: 2

MoM: 1

Average: 6.83

Matt Ferguson looked to be almost certainly the one who would be in the elimination zone for the next update after being unemployed and quite some distance away from Vesters, who was ahead of him. However, with the threat of a comeback from Hebert, Ferguson found a suitable club after just one month unemployed and on the 31st of January, 2017 he signed for Notts Co. It proved to be quite a good move for the Scottish defender, who managed to move narrowly ahead of Tom Vesters on the leaderboard.

2016/17 stats (Matt Ferguson, Notts Co, Jan 2017 – Jul 2017):

Appearances: 15

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

MoM: 2

Average: 7.04

Tom Vesters was the one who now occupies last position going into 2018, despite a reasonable few months at Sevilla. He can’t really complain, getting some game-time at the big Spanish club as he ended up making quite a few appearances over the recent six months after a very slow start. However, due to the excellent run from Matt Ferguson it is Tom Vesters who is now in trouble and he will need a good six months to fight his way out of last place.

2016/17 stats (Tom Vesters, Sevilla):

Appearances: 10 (1)

Goals: 1

Assists: 0

MoM: 0

Average: 6.77

There is clearly a distinct bottom four players though who are all quite close to each other and quite far away from anyone else. In third-last, but only a couple of points away from Matt Ferguson is now Ryan Dunn, who is really struggling at Arsenal. Fortunately for his sake, he has been transfer listed and a huge amount of clubs are showing interest in him, with well over 25 different teams looking to add Dunn’s services to their lineup in their quest for a title or promotion. He will be undoubtedly welcoming this interest with open arms after a shocking time at Arsenal.

2016/17 stats (Ryan Dunn, Arsenal):

Appearances: 0 (1)

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

MoM: 0

Average: N/A

Rounding off the bottom 4 is Joe Tompkins of Portsmouth, who hasn’t been having the best ever time either after another quiet year. He remains only ten points or so ahead of Dunn after overtaking him this update, thanks to a poor showing from Dunn. Tompkins didn’t have a great year or six months though himself, making just thirteen struggling appearances for Pompey who finished comfortably in the league. Relegation might have been the best thing for Tompkins though, who will now struggle further getting a place in the first team for Portsmouth.

2016/17 stats (Joe Tompkins, Portsmouth):

Appearances: 13

Goals: 1

Assists: 2

MoM: 0

Average: 6.35

Back up to the top now where we have Charles Beams further extending his lead after a reasonable six months at English giants Manchester City, helping them on their way to a third league title in four years. Beams wasn’t always a certain starter but made twenty-seven appearances over the year and played superbly in those games. Still, despite it being a downhill season from last year where he played a casual thirty-one games and averaged an even 8 over the year, Beams managed to extend his lead thanks to a few handy Best Eleven awards and some international appearances.

2016/17 stats (Charles Beams, Manchester City):

Appearances: 26 (1)

Goals: 2

Assists: 7

MoM: 3

Average: 7.58

Ihsaan Ahmed must surely be wondering what he needs to do now to catch Charles Beams, who has established a huge lead at the top. But he has new problems of his own, with Steveldinho suddenly hot on his tail and not too far away. For Ihsaan Ahmed it definitely wasn't the best year as he faces a struggle now to maintain his second position, despite starting 38 matches as well as making one sub appearance at Villarreal over the 2016/17 season. He has a fair bit of work to do now, as it seems that just playing isn't enough to guarantee a survival. He needs to start excelling and winning some awards in order to chase down Beams and fight his way back into a respectable position to challenge for the lead.

2016/17 stats (Ihsaan Ahmed, Villarreal):

Appearances: 38 (1)

Goals: 0

Assists: 3

MoM: 3

Average: 7.18

So, it is Steveldinho who is now chasing down Ihsaan Ahmed, and it has been all uphill in recent times for Steveldinho who is enjoying his spot up as one of the genuine challengers in this competition after an excellent move to Torino, in Italy. Steveldinho had a fantastic debut season in Italy and the Finnish midfielder continues to rake in the awards. Steveldinho will definitely be hoping for another similar season next year, and if he can recreate this year's feats he might be able to even overtake Ihsaan Ahmed by the end of the year.

2016/17 stats (Steveldinho, Torino):

Appearances: 39

Goals: 7

Assists: 6

MoM: 8

Average: 7.37

Another player on the rise is Ferhat Özkan, who has risen another place on the leaderboard and now moves into fifth place, ahead of Alex Parker. Özkan enjoyed another good six months as he continues to pass competitors every update and on the back of this form he could find himself as a serious challenger for this competition before too long. He continues to add to his appearances tally for Belgium, and his value rose yet another £1.25M this year as he becomes the equal third-highest valued player in this competition. Can Özkan continue this great form at Sheffield United? It sure looks like he can.

2016/17 stats (Ferhat Özkan, Sheffield United):

Appearances: 40

Goals: 4

Assists: 7

MoM: 3

Average: 7.24

Adam Kerr better watch out in fourth place, because he isn't safe with Özkan in the form that he is. Still, he has a fairly comfortable points buffer over Özkan for now, thanks to his performances at Sunderland where he has been going quite well as of late. The 2016/17 season was Kerr's best by far at Sunderland, as he finally became the clear first choice striker and began to terrorise some of the Premier League defences with his dazzling dribbling, pace and creativity. He was rewarded justly for his services; winning the 2016/17 Fans' Player of the Year award at Sunderland and things are definitely going quite well for him.

2016/17 stats (Adam Kerr, Sunderland):

Appearances: 42

Goals: 27

Assists: 4

MoM: 4

Average: 7.22

Meanwhile, dropping a place after Özkan's good form is Alex Parker, who has been slowly going downhill after his move to Celtic which has proved to be a bad one. Alex Parker definitely didn't have his best ever year this time, and despite being reasonably solid that is no longer good enough for the top challengers of this competition. Alex Parker didn't win an entire award all season and wasn't brilliant in the league either, although he wasn't terrible. On the bright side, he still remains very close to Özkan and if he can produce a rise in form then a move back up the leaderboard isn't impossible.

2016/17 stats (Alex Parker, Celtic):

Appearances: 33

Goals: 15

Assists: 2

MoM: 1

Average: 6.97

Before Alex Parker can entirely devote his focus though to re-catching Özkan, he might have to watch out below him on the leaderboard, where Benjani Creigo sits just over a hundred points away. However, a hundred points is no longer a safe margin and if Benjani Creigo can produce a good season at Stoke then Parker might find himself really in trouble. For Benjani Creigo, it was a much better six months as he improved on his poor start with Stoke to finish as one of their first-choice midfielders. He did get off to a slow start, partially due to a couple of minor injuries keeping him out of form and match fitness, but things seem to have taken a turn for the better and Benjani Creigo can now look to push onwards in the competition.

2016/17 stats (Benjani Creigo, Stoke):

Appearances: 28 (1)

Goals: 5

Assists: 2

MoM: 1

Average: 7.00

Benjani Creigo doesn't have much to worry about though, with the next two competitors a long way behind him on the leaderboard. In 8th place, moving up a position on the leaderboard is now Ricky Nakano, who is contesting a fierce battle against Will Richardson. The two remain separated by just fourteen points with over three hundred points separating them on either side of the leaderboard from any other competitors. Nakano has taken the lead though at Derby, after he had quite a good first season in the Championship. Unfortunately for him, Derby missed out on automatic promotion by a single point and then, despite finishing 3rd they lost out in the playoff final to Newcastle and so they will be remaining in the Championship for the next season. It may have been a good thing for Nakano though, who isn't guaranteed a spot if they moved up to the Premier League.

2016/17 stats (Ricky Nakano, Derby):

Appearances: 39 (1)

Goals: 1

Assists: 3

MoM: 1

Average: 7.11

Finally we have Will Richardson, the other half of the battle that is going on at the moment for eighth and ninth place. He had a woeful six months after returning to Arsenal, where he started one match and came on as a substitute in another. Birmingham, Lech, Zaragoza and Cardiff are all interested in a transfer but Richardson has expressed his desire to stay at Arsenal - although why, nobody knows. He seriously needs a move or things could get even worse for him, with a drop outside the top ten a real threat.

2016/17 stats (Will Richardson, Arsenal, Dec 2016 –):

Appearances: 1 (1)

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

MoM: 0

Average: 6.55

And, just before I leave you with some international results and the leaderboard, here's a little spoiler for a major event that will be occurring in this competition, once we are down to ten players. So, this event will be taking place on January, 2019. I'm not going to reveal what it is, but I'll leave you with this clue to ponder over:

Homeowners buy surge protectors to protect their possessions from unexpected surges of what?

A: Electric current

B: Water flow

C: Air pressure

D: Buyer's remorse

International Results

2017 Confederations Cup

Group Stage:

Spain and Senegal qualified from Group A over U.S.A. and Tahiti

France and Italy qualified from Group B over Chile and Australia

Semi Final:

Spain 2 (Mata 47, Fábregas 76) def by Italy 5 (Giovinco 30, 43, 100, Rossi 111, Marchisio 112) in extra time

France 2 (Benzema 69, Saivet 90+2) def Senegal 1 (Gomis 71)

Final (Italy v France) and Third Place Playoff (Spain v Senegal) yet to be played

---

Top 6: League Team of the Week

Player              TotW   League

Charles Beams         9    English Premier League
Ihsaan Ahmed          9    La Liga
Steveldinho           8    Serie A
Adam Kerr             4    English Premier League
Ferhat Özkan          2    English Premier League
Alex Parker           2    Scottish Premier League

---

Leaderboard

Player                 Team                 Value      Points

Charles Beams          Manchester City      £17.5M     4390.995
Ihsaan Ahmed           Villarreal           £10.5M     3094.256
Steveldinho            Torino               £7M        2614.878
Adam Kerr              Sunderland           £7M        2340.707
Ferhat Özkan           Sheffield United     £7M        2108.831
Alex Parker            Celtic               £5.25M     2094.573
Benjani Creigo         Stoke                £4.1M      1989.423
Ricky Nakano           Derby                £3.2M      1592.492
Will Richardson        Arsenal              £1.7M      1578.582
Joe Tompkins           Portsmouth           £1.7M      1257.330
Ryan Dunn              Arsenal              £800K      1247.321
Matt Ferguson          Notts Co             £900K      1245.747
Tom Vesters            Sevilla              £2.1M      1223.447
--------------------------------------------------------
Jerome Hebert          Eliminated July, 2017
Faustino Perozo        Eliminated January, 2017
Chip Butty             Eliminated July, 2016
Fernié                 Eliminated January, 2016
Sam Bellamy            Eliminated July, 2015
Shaneimus Maximus      Eliminated January, 2015
Thomas Weir            Eliminated July, 2014
Mikael Schøler         Eliminated January, 2014
Gelmiro Navarrete      Eliminated July, 2013
Luke Swinson           Eliminated January, 2013
Matt Collard           Eliminated July, 2012
Uffe Johansson         Eliminated January, 2012
Zvonimir Uljarevic     Eliminated July, 2011
Ashley Salisbury       Eliminated January, 2011
Ryan Andrews           Eliminated July, 2010
Pim Park van der Bus   Eliminated July, 2010
Cerneo Quam            Eliminated July, 2010
Tomaldinho             Eliminated July, 2010

[joetheref]

Joe Tompkins has to try and scrape into the top 10, not going to get very far though

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Wow Ferhat Ozkan just seems to get better every single update, delighted to crack into the top 5, but it is going to be tough to get any further than this...not really sure that I can ever catch the top two, but 3rd could be possible before the end.

[B.W.G]

Things are not looking good for Richardson, I really have to leave if I am to stand a chance

[Ihsaan]

Oh dear, it looks like my challenge is rapidly waning.

[MattFergie]

Hooray, Ferguson is still in there

[Dees-Blake]

January, 2018

---

Welcome to January, 2018 as we are here to reduce the numbers to just 12 competitors. Also, I'll just remind everyone about the big event that will be taking place once we hit January, 2019 and when just ten competitors remain. This is going to be a huge shake-up and it should be very interesting to see.. but I won't reveal what will be happening just yet.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand and that is the job of eliminating the 19th player. This elimination also promised to be quite an interesting one - Tom Vesters was probably the favourite for elimination after struggling for game time at Sevilla and in last place by around twenty points, but he has plenty of rivals near him - Matt Ferguson and Ryan Dunn are both also struggling; particularly Dunn who is finding game time extremely hard to come by at Arsenal and then just ten points up further is Joe Tompkins at Portsmouth, who isn't playing brilliantly but with a reasonable six months he should be fairly safe. However, things don't always work out the way they are supposed to and this time it is

Joe Tompkins who is heading home in 13th place. After being fourth-last at July he seemed to slacken off and that was his downfall, as he was dropped to Portsmouth's reserves and ended up playing only two cup matches in the senior team. Joe Tompkins will be disappointed but a reasonably good career now comes to an end with the Englishman sent home, just over twenty points off the pace from the next competitor.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Joe Tompkins, Portsmouth):

Appearances: 2

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

MoM: 0

Average: 6.90

So, with Joe Tompkins gone there are just twelve players remaining - but the competition is as serious as ever. Now in last place is Matt Ferguson, who will need to fight hard to stay alive. After moving to Notts Co in England he started to revive his career but surprisingly has moved on - to another League One club in Hartlepool. It hasn't done him too many favours though, and despite a reasonable league campaign so far he is still struggling for points. Can Ferguson survive?

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Matt Ferguson, Hartlepool):

Appearances: 19

Goals: 0

Assists: 4

MoM: 2

Average: 7.33

Ferguson's move to Hartlepool wasn't the only transfer over the transfer window though, with the struggling Ryan Dunn finally ditching Arsenal in favour of a move to Lecce, in the Serie A. Still, it wasn't the best move ever with game time still quite hard to come by but it has definitely been an improvement for Dunn - he made five starts for Lecce and will be looking to build on that in the second half of the season. He has a reasonable lead over Ferguson but if he picks up an injury or struggles for game time then there could be some problems.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Ryan Dunn, Lecce):

Appearances: 5

Goals: 0

Assists: 0

MoM: 0

Average: 6.97

Meanwhile, Tom Vesters has made a superb move out of last place rising three places up to 10th after a sensational six months at Sevilla. He finally became a clear first-choice for Sevilla in La Liga and although he hasn't been playing brilliantly he has played nearly every single game possible so far for Sevilla which is a great achievement. On the back of his form he also received a callup from the Netherlands and made his debut as well as playing three other matches, resulting in him earning some huge points and giving himself a huge margin from the bottom. The clear riser of the update.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Tom Vesters, Sevilla):

Appearances: 24 (1)

Goals: 1

Assists: 4

MoM: 0

Average: 6.73

There was one other transfer of the update too - the out of favour Will Richardson finally ditching his dream at Arsenal in prospect of a move to Newcastle, which has turned out to be a great move. Although Newcastle's reputation is nowhere near Arsenal's, Richardson has already easily made up those points with the amount of Premier League matches that he has played and is looking a lot happier at his new club. Richardson also found his way back on to the international scene, making a few appearances for Wales to take his caps to 15.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Will Richardson, Newcastlel):

Appearances: 20

Goals: 0

Assists: 1

MoM: 0

Average: 6.84

From Richardson upwards proved to be quite a stagnant bunch on the leaderboard, with no players moving or dropping in the top 7 for the first ever time. Still, it was clear who had the best update of those top 7 players - and it was easily Adam Kerr who is now pushing Steveldinho's third position after a superb six months. The English striker was in fine form for Sunderland in the league but most impressive was his performances for England - he made his debut and played a total of three games over the six months, scoring no less than five goals and proving to be a real handful for the opposition's defence. His value rose over a million pounds as a result and his wage was almost doubled - Kerr is on the way up.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Adam Kerr, Sunderland):

Appearances: 18

Goals: 10

Assists: 2

MoM: 2

Average: 7.16

Steveldinho did well enough to retain third place though, particularly after being named the 2017 Finnish Player of the Year for the first ever time. However, he struggled a bit at Torino - being dropped in place of some other midfielders for a few games and he definitely didn't make as many appearances as he would've liked - starting only 10 games for the Italian Serie A club. He made a few more appearances for Finland as well but wasn't brilliant, and if it weren't for his award his position of 3rd might have already been taken by Kerr.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Steveldinho, Torino):

Appearances: 10

Goals: 1

Assists: 1

MoM: 1

Average: 7.15

Back to the top now where Charles Beams had his worst six months in a long long time, struggling badly at Manchester City and opening the door for the rest of the competition. Beams had a horror six months, breaking his foot in September after playing just four league games and the Englishman has given up some ground in the competition, though he still has a huge lead. He has just recovered from the broken foot but is severely lacking in match fitness and it will be interesting to see how he recovers now for City.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Charles Beams, Manchester City):

Appearances: 4

Goals: 0

Assists: 2

MoM: 0

Average: 7.53

In second place, Ihsaan Ahmed didn't have an ideal six months either with a broken hip keeping him out for two months. He managed to play thirteen games and gain a bit of ground over Beams but he will now have to start watching as both Steveldinho and Adam Kerr draw near. On the bright side, he played two sensational matches for Spain and as a result earned yet another starting spot in their international Best Eleven team to earn some quick points. He has also recovered from his injury and will be looking for a good six months now if he wants to stay clear of Steveldinho or Adam Kerr.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Ihsaan Ahmed, Villarreal):

Appearances: 13

Goals: 0

Assists: 2

MoM: 1

Average: 7.13

In a comfortable fifth position is Ferhat Özkan, who moved well clear from Alex Parker after a good steady six months at Sheffield United. Özkan was in excellent form once more in the league and with Sheffield United comfortably in mid-table life is going well for him at the moment. He also added 7 caps over the six months to his tally for Belgium and looked very impressive in those games. In the process, he also became the most-capped player in the competition with his 17 caps - narrowly ahead of Ihsaan Ahmed's 15 for Spain and Will Richardson's 15 for Wales.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Ferhat Özkan, Sheffield United):

Appearances: 20

Goals: 1

Assists: 3

MoM: 0

Average: 7.20

Dropping well into sixth place is Alex Parker, who is starting to really struggle at Celtic. The past six months proved to be testing times for Alex Parker, as he suffered from a variety of minor injuries to play just the ten matches for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. He didn't win any awards and failed to win a cap for England - he is really starting to struggle now. Creigo isn't too far behind him and if he keeps up this form then he could be dropping down the table quite quickly.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Alex Parker, Celtic):

Appearances: 9 (1)

Goals: 4

Assists: 1

MoM: 1

Average: 6.92

Benjani Creigo, Parker's nearest competitor, isn't going brilliantly himself at Stoke. After looking to have found his way into the first team at Stoke in the last half of the year he is seemingly back out of it as he made just five starts and a further five substitute appearances for Stoke over these six months. The central midfielder didn't play too badly with the limited opportunities that he had but he must make getting back into the first eleven for Stoke his main priority if he ever wants to challenge this competition.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Benjani Creigo, Stoke):

Appearances: 5 (5)

Goals: 2

Assists: 1

MoM: 0

Average: 7.13

Finally we have Ricky Nakano at Derby who has dropped a place following the rise of Richardson at Newcastle. Nakano couldn't have done anything more at Derby after playing 24 matches for them over the six months and the news is looking good for Derby as they sit in second place of the Coca-Cola Championship. Unfortunately, a similar incident happened last season and they slipped late to 3rd where they subsequently missed out on promotion through a playoff loss. Nakano will be hoping that doesn't happen again but with a tight league table he needs to keep performing very well if he wants Derby to move up to the Premier League.

Jul 2017 - Jan 2018 stats (Ricky Nakano, Derby):

Appearances: 24

Goals: 0

Assists: 6

MoM: 2

Average: 7.15

International Results

2017 Confederations Cup

Final:

Italy 0 def by France 3 (Benzema 4, 7, 66)

Third Place Playoff:

Spain 2 (Silva 16, Bojan 23) def Senegal 0

FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualification

Africa: Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Senegal qualified

Asia: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Iran qualified

Europe: Ukraine, England, France, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain qualified

North America: Mexico, USA, Honduras qualified

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay qualified

Notable absentees: South Africa, Egypt, Australia, Portugal, Serbia, Russia

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017

Final:

Costa Rica 0 def by Honduras 1 (Thomas 40)

Third Place Playoff:

Jamaica 1 (Johnson 63) def by USA 3 (Garcia 58, Gaven 115, Tracy 118) in extra time

Under 20 World Cup 2017

Final:

Saudi Arabia 1 (Ghulam 29) def by Argentina 2 (Lemos 9, Basta 96) in extra time

Third Place Playoff:

USA 1 (Shaw 55) def Brazil 1 (Rodrigues 28) 5-3 on penalties

---

Top 5: Current League Appearances

Player              Apps    Team         League

Ihsaan Ahmed         170    Villarreal   La Liga
Adam Kerr            131    Sunderland   English Premier League
Ferhat Özkan         126    Sheff Utd    English Premier League
Alex Parker           75    Celtic       Scottish Premier League
Ricky Nakano          63    Derby        Coca-Cola Championship

---

Leaderboard

Player                 Team                 Value      Points

Charles Beams          Manchester City      £16.25M    4424.930
Ihsaan Ahmed           Villarreal           £10.5M     3507.483
Steveldinho            Torino               £8M        3063.855
Adam Kerr              Sunderland           £8.5M      2901.114
Ferhat Özkan           Sheffield United     £7M        2421.626
Alex Parker            Celtic               £4.9M      2164.049
Benjani Creigo         Stoke                £4.2M      2063.227
Will Richardson        Newcastle            £1.4M      1774.987
Ricky Nakano           Derby                £2.3M      1700.522
Tom Vesters            Sevilla              £3.1M      1580.555
Ryan Dunn              Lecce                £1.5M      1362.652
Matt Ferguson          Hartlepool           £750K      1326.467
--------------------------------------------------------
Joe Tompkins           Eliminated January, 2018
Jerome Hebert          Eliminated July, 2017
Faustino Perozo        Eliminated January, 2017
Chip Butty             Eliminated July, 2016
Fernié                 Eliminated January, 2016
Sam Bellamy            Eliminated July, 2015
Shaneimus Maximus      Eliminated January, 2015
Thomas Weir            Eliminated July, 2014
Mikael Schøler         Eliminated January, 2014
Gelmiro Navarrete      Eliminated July, 2013
Luke Swinson           Eliminated January, 2013
Matt Collard           Eliminated July, 2012
Uffe Johansson         Eliminated January, 2012
Zvonimir Uljarevic     Eliminated July, 2011
Ashley Salisbury       Eliminated January, 2011
Ryan Andrews           Eliminated July, 2010
Pim Park van der Bus   Eliminated July, 2010
Cerneo Quam            Eliminated July, 2010
Tomaldinho             Eliminated July, 2010

[Charlesbeams]

Still at the top despite a bad few months

[Elnaith]

Things are finally looking up Was fearing for my safety there.

[joetheref]

Gutted to go out

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Damn the break up to 4th got bigger this 6 months not smaller, I really need to have Ferhat Ozkan pull out a bit more now and crack into the top and go for the podium.

[hrbfcrule]

should never have moved to Celtic I was really starting to do well at boro

[B.W.G]

Least I'm playing regular football now, just need to start closing the gap down on those above me

[Pincheh]

Why must I continue to move to teams that don't play me

[Ihsaan]

Not the worst few months with Beams getting injured, I need to close in quickly to have a chance.