60 to One

canvey!! · February 23, 2010

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

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

Top Eight – Players Bought (Number)

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

ssestig · February 23, 2010

Most players bought \o/

Shame none of them are particularly good

canvey!! · February 24, 2010

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

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

BenArsenal · February 24, 2010

Shoot, insecure...

fergysafc · February 24, 2010

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

KUTGW

super_lampard · February 24, 2010

Outside the relegation places

Lower Leagues Rule · February 24, 2010

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 · February 24, 2010

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 · February 24, 2010

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

hasdgfas · February 24, 2010

Down to Insecure, eep.

dafuge · February 24, 2010

Sacked twice now :mad:

I'm not very good

canvey!! · February 25, 2010

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

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

Top Eight – Players Bought (Value)

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

Lower Leagues Rule · February 25, 2010

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

fergysafc · February 25, 2010

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

el sid · February 26, 2010

No mention in this, I want Liverpool to sack me

canvey!! · February 26, 2010

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

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

ssestig · February 26, 2010

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

Cardiovascular · February 26, 2010

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 · February 26, 2010

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

super_lampard · February 26, 2010

We survived again, with me very secure in my job

BenArsenal · February 26, 2010

At last! Manager of the Month!

Still insecure though, although relieved at the cup win. :o

PluckaDuck · February 27, 2010

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 · February 27, 2010

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 · February 27, 2010

Very insecure, oh dear oh dear oh dear.

canvey!! · February 27, 2010

English Premier League Table

English Championship Table

Italian Serie A Table

Spanish La Liga Table

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

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

Top Eight – Players Sold (Number)

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

fergysafc · February 27, 2010

still very seucure

Lower Leagues Rule · February 27, 2010

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

weeeman27bob · February 27, 2010

\o/

Champions.

PluckaDuck · February 27, 2010

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

canvey!! · February 28, 2010

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 · February 28, 2010

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 · February 28, 2010

I'm gutted to have lost that final.

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

canvey!! · February 28, 2010

Yes it is - silly me :o.

canvey!! · March 1, 2010

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

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

canvey!! · March 1, 2010

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

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

Top Eight – Players Sold (Value)

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

fergysafc · March 1, 2010

down to secure

great updates canvey KUTGW

rancer890 · March 1, 2010

No mention is a good thing! KUTGW canvey!!

Cardiovascular · March 1, 2010

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 · March 1, 2010

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 :thup:

Great stuff again canvey :thup:

dafuge · March 1, 2010

Wow, someting good happening to me, surely not?

bermybhoy · March 2, 2010

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 · March 2, 2010

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

PluckaDuck · March 2, 2010

Made the top 17, things are looking bright for Udinese

BenArsenal · March 2, 2010

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

tomsmith1989 · March 2, 2010

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

el sid · March 2, 2010

Congratulations to all the winners, specially Real Madrid's Lucan Volman :thup:

fantastic updates canvey

canvey!! · March 4, 2010

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

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

Lower Leagues Rule · March 4, 2010

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

KUTGW Canvey loving this.

rancer890 · March 4, 2010

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 · March 4, 2010

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.

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