BenArsenal

I'll be honest, I've read a few good stories here on FMS, but this feels like it could be written into an actual novel that people would buy. It's that good. Keep going mate. You're doing fantastic.

The subsequent behaviour from the manager, and some of their press pack, indicates that they are unrepentant too. Chuck the whole lot in the bin.

Bringing up a topic of discussion: Bulgaria vs England. What do you think should be done? Clearly, current measures to tackle racism of these sort are manifestly inadequate, and it's just going to keep happening again and again. I'd say, chuck the entire team out of the competition, and ban them for the next two or three tournaments as well. That means Bulgaria will have no competitive football for the next three to four years. That is gonna hurt them badly, and will send a huge message that such behaviour will be extremely severely punished. But of course, FIFA and UEFA will be too gutless to impose such a drastic measure.

I have to say, that is quite excellent writing. Looking forward to more.

Oh wow, a mystery! Consider me intrigued too.

Sorry I'm late! Where's everyone....? *crickets* Seriously though, well done everyone. Great work all round. And especially to @mark wilson27 for the effort to make this happen. Congrats to all winners.

It's OK mate. Everybody has tough times. Just do what you need to do. Take care of yourself.

Just to help Mark a little, please vote in the FMS Awards thread. Every vote is important.

Votes sent and claimed. Actually there's been quite a good selection of stories this year. I genuinely had a very hard time deciding who to vote for (especially Story of the Year), such has been the quality of the stories. Hopefully this continues for a long time yet.

So, Champions League group stage draw is done. No Arsenal this year again of course, but always an intriguing competition to watch. Predictions: Group A Clash of two heavyweight moneybags in PSG and Real Madrid, and it'll be pretty interesting to see how they get on with each other. Club Brugge and Galatasaray to be the poor punching bags along for the ride. 1) Real Madrid 2) PSG 3) Galatasaray 4) Club Brugge Group B Bayern vs Spurs will be interesting, but otherwise again a fairly straightforward group. Olympiakos and Red Star Belgrade away may not be easy, but I think the favourites should have no problems emerging from this group 1) Bayern 2) Spurs 3) Olympiakos 4) Red Star Belgrade Group C Well, well, Man City have really lucked out here, haven't they? Shakhtar I'd argue are probably the weakest second seed team, Dinamo definitively the weakest third seed. Debutants Atalanta are a bit of an unknown quantity but I foresee few problems for City here. 1) Man City (by a mile) 2) Shakhtar Donetsk 3) Atalanta 4) Dinamo Zagreb Group D Could be worse really for Ronaldo's Juve. Atletico are a threat of course, and Leverkusen are a pretty decent team, but Juve should have the quality to win this. They could even afford a small slip up away at Lokomotiv Moscow maybe. 1) Juventus 2) Atletico Madrid 3) Leverkusen 4) Lokomotiv Moscow Group E Like Man City, I think Liverpool got off easy here. Napoli again would be tricky maybe, but Salzburg and Genk? Pfft. OK maybe the Austrian Red Bull team want to put on a good show after finally making it to this stage, but I doubt they'll be much of a threat 1) Liverpool 2) Napoli 3) Red Bull Salzburg 4) Genk Group F Cor blimey, what a group. Barca, Dortmund and Inter all fighting it out. Barca are maybe slight favourites but it won't be that straightforward methinks between these three. Poor Slavia Prague 1) Barcelona 2) Dortmund 3) Inter Milan 4) Slavia Prague Group G On the other hand, here's the weakest group in my view. To be honest, all four teams are about equal quality, with maybe Lyon having a slight edge. Zenit, Benfica and Red Bull Leipzig have the capability to cancel each other out, so anything can happen really 1) Lyon 2) Benfica (just) 3) Red Bull Leipzig 4) Zenit Group H Another tough group, and Chelsea probably have the worst draw out of the English quartet IMO. They'll still progress, but Ajax, Valencia and Lille will give Lampard's men a very hard time. 1) Chelsea 2) Valencia 3) Ajax 4) Lille (this group will be very tight)

Sorry to hear that mate. But you could just come here. I know I do. I don't bother with the other parts of the forum any more.

Good golly, that really came back to bite me, hasn't it?

OK, here we go then. I will admit I haven't really followed many of the teams' summer activities outside of the top 6, so some of these are just random. 1. Man City - Unfortunately they will have the quality to do three on the bounce, but I don't think they'll run away with it as many have predicted. The other teams will want to do their hardest to stop them, most notably Liverpool. 2. Liverpool - No big changes, a fairly settled squad, and definitely enough quality to mount a challenge. They'll give City a hard time. 3. Arsenal - Optimistic perhaps, but if the front three comes good then we'll have one hell of an unstoppable attack. Sure our defence is still suspect even with the addition of Sideshow Bob, but hey, as long as we outscore our opponent, it's all good. 4. Tottenham - Ugh. I want them to suck like they did back in the 90s, but they have too much quality to do so now. Some savvy buys means that they'll squeeze into the Champions League, again. 5. Chelsea - I don't think they'll be as bad as people make them out to be. Sure they've lost Hazard, but I think they'll still have enough quality to hold the fort. Fifth wouldn't be that much of a disaster with the transfer ban and an inexperienced manager at the helm. 6. Man United - Here's the thing: there's every possibility that Pogba could still leave at the end of the month. And with Lukaku also gone with no chance of replacing either of them, the Red Devils could live to regret their transfer strategy. 7. Leicester - They've bought well (Tielemans is class), and hopefully Brodge will make good use of the quality he has at his disposal to at least cause a few upsets and threaten the status quo. 8. Everton - Another team who've done great business, and if Marco Silva can get all his fantastic new signings to gel, they'll be the team to watch outside of the top six. 9. Wolves - Ordinarily, I love it when a non-big team does well in Europe, and Wolves have the capability to do that. But apparently Nuno is not a fan of rotation, and that could hurt them in the later part of the season. 10. West Ham - Done okay transfer-wise, but The Hammers don't quite have the same quality as the teams immediately above them. Pellegrini is shrewd though, and he'll find enough in the tank for a top half finish. 11. Aston Villa - Of the promoted teams, VIlla is probably the one that have the nous to stay up and do well. They definitely belong in the top flight, and hopefully they stick around. 12. Watford - Not done much, so a season of mid-table consolidation for The Hornets then. That's reward enough I reckon. 13. Southampton - It seems that most of the lower rung teams haven't exactly brought in big changes to their squad this summer. Southampton will probably be safe from relegation, but nowhere near the top half either. 14. Burnley - Same with Burnley. 15. Bournemouth - And Bournemouth. 16. Newcastle - After an utter shambles of a summer, it's hard to see Newcastle do well this season. Perez and Rondon are big losses, and as such there'll be huge pressure on Joelinton and old boy Andy Carroll to deliver up front. Bruce is no Benitez too. 17. Crystal Palace - I don't think it has gone well for Palace. Zaha may have stayed, but he's thrown a strop and his commitment is now suspect (and there could even be an outside chance of a European club coming for him as well). Lacking quality all round. 18. Norwich - I reckon the final relegation spot will be very tight between the Canaries and the Eagles (bird fight?). It really could go either way. 19. Brighton - Sadly, will follow Huddersfield as the next blue and white striped team through the trapdoor. They're a nice romantic team to have around, but they haven't improved, and their time is up. 20. Sheffield United - I think they're completely ill-equipped for the top flight. Back to the Championship you go.

So, the transfer window has slammed shut™. Happy with your club's business? For me I thought Arsenal did alright, but could have done better. - Koscielny is a big loss but he clearly did not want to be there any longer, so best we cut him loose. Such a shame about the way it all panned out though. - I have high hopes for Pepe, slightly less so for Ceballos. But they fill important positions on the pitch so hopefully it all works out. - Tierney will be a good option at the back. Hope he's worth the hype - Iwobi was a bit of a surprise departure, but he was going to struggle for minutes this season, so all the best to him then. Everton are looking strong this season - David Luiz, I'm not sure if he's an upgrade on Koscielny. I was hoping for someone a bit more, consistent. But still, a signing's a signing, and the added bonus of joining from an immediate rival too. Overall rating, 6/10.

Ooh wow, Ahmad Latiff. Talented but a bit of a bad boy. Hope you can get his temperament in check...