60 to One

[fergysafc]

2 goals a game

[canvey!!]

Update 55

Years: 4, Months: 55, Days: 1669

January has passed, and the managers have used the opportunity of the transfer window to strengthen their squads. No chairmen saw fit to strengthen their coaching staff with a new manager, so we beat on with 16 managers, boats against the current, borne forward ceaselessly into the future and the year 2013.

We’ll start with a January progress update on the English leagues. Tim Aubel’s Fulham have done little this month to avoid the drop, winning once, drawing once and losing once. However, Aubel’s combined spend of £21M shows that he is particularly keen to steer clear of next season’s Championship. Benoît Cheyrou joined from Aston Villa for £3.8M, Zé Castro from Spartak Moscow for £6.25M, Gary Glen from Hearts for £4.7M and Massamba Sambou from Monaco for £6.25M. Four transfers outwards raised £5.4M, including the £100k sale of Bobby Zamora to Peterborough. Liam Ferguson’s Man City are top of the table, having won all four of their league games this month, if only by a one-goal margin each time. These two sides face each other in the next game, at the Cottage. Tom Smith’s Arsenal, meanwhile, have climbed back into the top four with three solid wins and a draw. Stoke and Birmingham were beaten 3-0, Wigan were beaten 3-1 and Chelsea came to the Emirates to snatch a 1-1 draw. Tottenham are in 6th and Everton are in 9th.

In Italy, Ben Cee’s Inter are currently level with Juventus at the top of Serie A. However, the Singaporean’s team are 2nd on goal difference (the two teams drew 0-0 in their meeting). The month started well for Cee, thumping Cagliari 4-0 and beating Brescia 2-0, but two consecutive 2-2 draws followed, against Napoli and Fiorentina. They also needed penalties to progress past Mikey Twigge’s Palermo in the Coppa Italia Quarter Final: 2010 World Cup Golden Boot Winner Yannick Djaló scored the winning penalty. Palermo actually had a very good month, beatin Parma, Cagliari and Brescia, the latter two by four-goal margins. A draw with A.C. Milan and the cup eliminations were the only blips. Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio are in 5th, between Napoli and Palermo, and they won twice and drew twice this month, including thrashing Super Lampard’s Lecce 6-1. Cardio Vascular’s Genoa are 8th, winning once, drawing once and losing twice this month, while Tyler Burrows’s Udinese, who were hoping that this year would be the year they would claim the Scudetto title, are in 10th. They beat Cagliari 6-0 at the end of the month but lost every single other league game.

Three of the largest four transfers of the month involved Roma, and the largest did not involve any of our sides. Haowan Madridstas spent a bit of money to strengthen his Barcelona team, but nothing that should raise alarm bells or be seen as particularly exceptional. However, with quite a considerable Real Madrid lead to chase down in the league, some good players may be the necessary solution. Alberto Aquilani came to the Nou Camp for £18.75M from Roma, and Rafael van der Vaart came for £7.75M from Liverpool. Tom Smith’s Arsenal signed Moussa Sissoko from Portsmouth for £16M, and Ben Cee took Marseille’s André Ayew for £13.25M as well as Mallorca’s Gerard van Es for £5.25M. Unsurprisingly, Liam Ferguson also made a big deal, bringing Reimond Manco to the City of Manchester Stadium for £11.75M from PSV Eindhoven. Ferguson sold Felipe Caicedo to Aston Villa for £5.75M. Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio sold Henok Goitom to Fiorentina for £9M and Tyler Burrows’s Udinese strengthened their squad with the £7.5M signing of Carlos Vela from Racing and the £5.5M one of Paolo Sammarco from A.C. Milan. Everton’s prodigious midfielder Dan Gosling joined Leeds for £5.5M.

Despite their new signings, Barcelona have not managed to close any of the gap on Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid, but they have prevented it from growing any larger. Both teams won twice, drew once and lost once. Real Madrid thrashed both Racing 5-0 and Betis 7-0 while drawing with Málaga. Haowan Madridstas’s side beat Tenerife 4-1, drew with Racing and lost to Sporting. The two sides met at the Nou Camp, where Barcelona won an exciting match 2-1 with a Thierry Henry brace. Both teams also played in the Spanish Cup, where Real Madrid made the Quarter Finals beating Racing 1-0 on aggregate, and Barcelona by beating Espanyol 5-3 on aggregate. Real Madrid’s progress was halted in the Last Eight when cross-town rivals Atlético beat them on penalties after a 2-2 draw (2-0 in each leg), and Barcelona made the Final Four by beating Cadiz 5-2. Barcelona and Atlético meet to contest a final place.

The Spanish Cup wasn’t the only cup being played this month. I’ve already mentioned one result from the Italian Cup, but here are some more. Udinese welcomed Juventus to Friuli and beat the table-toppers 2-1. Sampdoria knocked out Napoli 1-0 after extra time, and A.C. Milan beat Roma 2-0. Sampdoria and Inter will meet, as will Udinese and A.C.. In the Carling Cup Semi Finals, Manchester United beat Cool Manager’sLiverpool 2-1 at home, before finishing them off 2-0 at Anfield. Tottenham and Everton drew 1-1 at White Hart Lane, with another 2-0 away victory sending Leo Dodge’s Spurs into their second final in two years. Two rounds of the FA Cup also took place. Tom Smith’s Arsenal smashed Birmingham 6-1, but Man City went one better against Exeter, annihilating their opposition 9-0. Tottenham went out to Manchester United, an ominous sign for March’s Wembley final, but Everton beat Preston 3-0 to go through. Tim Aubel’s Fulham only just made Round 4 by beating West Ham 3-2 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. But they weren’t even close to Round 5 when Arsenal beat them 6-0 at the Emirates. Liam Ferguson’s Manchester City squeaked past Southend 1-0, while Everton host Southampton in a replay for the Fifth Round place. Arsenal will play Bristol City, Man City will play Newcastle and Southampton or Everton will play Portsmouth.

So there’s plenty of action still to come. While none of our managers are currently in danger, there’s every chance that that danger could come as the end of the season approaches. In the meantime, though, there’s plenty of delectable cup and league action for readers to sink their teeth into.

Manager of the Update

I’m torn between two people but I will give;

Tom Smith, Arsenal

the award this month following his two very big cup wins: 6-1 and 6-0. As well as this, he won three league games very comfortable and was matched only once. Liam Ferguson was the other contender, he also made it through both FA Cup rounds with just the one immense victory, 9-0 over Exeter, but he reclaimed first place in the Premier League without dropping a point. However, while narrow wins are sometimes important, they are not too inspirational and they have slipped the award in Smith’s favour. Mikey Twigge and Jonte Rhodes also get a mention but both were some way off our winner and runner-up.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1669
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Secure        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Secure        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [/font][font=Courier New]hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1669
 [/font][font=Courier New]17th rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro                1614
 [/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]

Still stable, down to 5th spot which is exactly where we want to be. a great run in from lazio and Jonte Rhodes, now we just need to hold out over the rest.

[el sid]

Being Liverpool manager is bad enough, but losing to United

[tomsmith1989]

Manager of the Month!!

Two brilliant cup wins, and some good league results. Pretty happy with that. Splashing £16m on Moussa Sissoko seems a little much, but hopefully he will prove his worth.

[super_lampard]

Losing 6-1 along with a probable bad month has taken me back down to stable

[fergysafc]

close to getting manager of update and a 9-0 win

[tomsmith1989]

close to getting manager of update and a 9-0 win

Not close enough though!

[fergysafc]

Not close enough though!

dam you

[canvey!!]

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][font=Courier New]Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 12 Liam Ferguson, Man City
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal[/font]

Top Eight – Goals Conceded (Pr/G = Per Game, Chnge = Change in Goals/Game)

[font=Courier New]  [b]Pos +- Username      Manager          Club  [/b][/font][font=Courier New]       [b]Gls (Pr/G) Chnge[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+2[/color] hasdgfas      Tim Aubel        Fulham       320 (1.61) [color=red]+0.04[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New]2nd NE super_lampard Super Lampard    Lecce        293 (1.33)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]3rd [color=green]+7[/color] ~Ian~         Bryan McGuinness Everton      276 (1.13) [color=green]-0.08[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New]4th  [color=blue]0[/color] SCIAG         Leo Dodge        Tottenham    271 (1.05) [color=green]-0.13[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New]  - NE tomsmith1989  Tom Smith        Arsenal      271 (0.96)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]6th [color=green]+3[/color] JSalter       James Salter     Reggina      268 (1.43) [color=green]-0.02[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New]7th NE fergysafc     Liam Ferguson    Man City     254 (1.03)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]8th NE TaylorB       Ben Taylor       Fiorentina   240 (1.05)  n/a[/font]

Lifespan – 1 to 2 Years

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

Lifespan – Less than 1 Year

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

[rancer890]

Sacked.

Lasted around 1613 more days than I probably should have though. Nothing to complain.

[canvey!!]

Being ebullient following a Fulham conquest over Juventus, canvey!! gave his 60 to One readers one free update.

Update 56

Years: 4, Months: 56, Days: 1697

Yet another month has passed in the 60 to One world, with our 16 managers beavering away at their work. We’ll start with an overview of the European scene, as the prestigious European competitions restarted this month.

First, the Champions League, where each of the 16 teams still involved played their First Knockout Round First Leg. Benfica hold a formidable 3-0 lead over Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina, which the Italians are unlikely to overcome even in the return leg. José Mourinho’s Manchester United hold a more tentative lead: 3-2 over Barcelona with every chance that the Spanish giants might knock out the English giants in the next game. Lord Weeman’s Napoli hold a 2-1 lead over Tottenham but another English team, Arsenal, find themselves 3-2 up after winning by that scoreline at Udinese. Man City look likely to fall once again, with Bayern Munich beating them 1-0 in England, and Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid are also 0-1 down after their trip to Porto. Sporting CP and Inter drew 0-0 in Portugal. In the Europa League, Bryan McGuinness’s Everton achieved a magnificent 3-1 win over A.C. Milan at Goodison Park, compounding that with a 1-1 draw in Italy. Next, they face an arguably easier opponent in the form of Marseille.

In Italy, Juventus have finally dropped off the pace and tombstoned to 4th place, leaving the way open for Ben Cee’s Inter to stake a claim on the top spot. Inter did exactly that, winning four out of four games in a solid month worthy of a title winner. Lord Weeman’s Napoli are in second after they won three of their four games, drawing the month opener. They played four fellow managers of ours this month, drawing against Mikey Twigge and Palermo, who are in 5th, beating Lecce 3-0 and Reggina 4-0. Aside from that draw, Twigge’s team drew again, making two 0-0 away draws for the month, but they beat Fiorentina 2-0 at home and Roma 1-0 away. Tyler Burrows’s Udinese are not doing very well in any attempts to push themselves up the table. They were the third team that Napoli beat, and they picked up five points from their other three games this month, only just beating Brescia in the game they won. Moving down the table, there is some danger for Super Lampard and Lecce, but not too much. They are in 16th place but are actually nine points ahead of the relegation zone. They lost three of their four games this month but won 2-1 at Cagliari.

In an interesting outcome, Haowan Madridstas’s attempts to chase down the gargantuan lead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga have failed so much that his Barcelona team have dropped to third. Valencia have overtaken Madridstas’s team despite him dropping just the two points this month. Both Betis and Elche were beaten 3-1 but a 2-2 away draw to Málaga and the fact that one of their games looks to have been postponed seems to be Barça’s undoing. The team also started their Spanish Cup Semi Final tie strongly, drawing 1-1 at Atlético Madrid. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid also dropped two points, but gained a three-point advantage on Barcelona seeing as they played an extra game. Unlike their rivals, Real beat Elche 4-0, and they also won against Villarreal and Murcia. They drew away to Athletic but still hold a 10 points lead over Valencia.

Good news for Fulham fans, including me, as Tim Aubel has managed to break the club out of the bottom three. It was a brilliant month with just a solitary loss from four games. The month started in style with a 2-0 win over leaders Man City at Craven Cottage. Sunderland were then beaten in an 8-goal thriller by the narrowest margin possible from that many goals. A trip to White Hart Lane saw a valiant effort fail to be rewarded after Leo Dodge’s Tottenham won 3-2, but a trip to the Hawthorns saw such a valiant effort get its just desserts as the Cottagers won 1-0. A flash of inspiration has pulled the London team up to 15th. Despite their loss, Man City are still top, after beating Wigan 3-1 and Everton 3-0. They also drew 0-0 at the Stadium of Light. Tom Smith’s Arsenal follow in 2nd, having not lost this month. The Gunners beat Man United, West Ham and Newcastle but drew in a home tie with Liverpool. Manchester United follow them in 3rd, and then come Dodge’s team. His Fulham win was one of five this month, with a 4-0 victory over West Brom being the biggest one. Bryan McGuinness’s Everton are in 10th, and they played three games this month, losing to Tottenham and Man City but drawing with Wigan.

The FA Cup played its Fifth Round this month, but before that was possible, Everton had to win their Fourth Round Replay. They beat Southampton 2-0 to set up a tie with Portsmouth, whom they beat 3-1. Man City also find themselves in the Last Eight after beating Newcastle 1-0, and Arsenal beat Bristol City 2-0 to secure their place in the next round. Sunderland meet Everton and Arsenal meet Arnold J. Rimmer’s Middlesbrough, but all eyes will be on Old Trafford, where Man United will host Man City, with a few on Anfield, where Liverpool will host Chelsea. It’s all part of next month’s delectable line-up, which is not to be missed!

Manager of the Update

There are five excellent candidates for this award. As a result, I have looked at past history to even out the managers who have won the award. This month’s goes to;

Tim Aubel, Fulham

after the American lifted his team out of the relegation zone with some good wins. None of the managers managed a perfect month, so I gave the award to Aubel for doing so well after just having been beaten 0-6 last month in the FA Cup. It is very hard to choose, but Leo Dodge, who won every game save for that in the Champions League, was probably second in line. Tom Smith, Lord Weeman and Ben Cee also won all but one of their games, drawing their final game. It was such a hard choice to make, but based on the fact that all of these managers have won the award, the scales tip just into Aubel’s favour.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1697
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [/font][font=Courier New]hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham      Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton     Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1697
 [/font][font=Courier New]17th rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro                1614
 [/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]

[PluckaDuck]

Things could potentially get grim here

[hamilton162]

When will it end?!?!

[hasdgfas]

Manager of the Month in addition to Fulham's win and great March Madness games! Great day!

[canvey!!]

What a day for Fulham, real and virtual!

[super_lampard]

Not a good month for me again, fortunately it seems i am far enough away from relegation for the moment

[el sid]

Down to 16 now, although I predict atleast 2 more sackings by the end of the year

[tomsmith1989]

A really good month there. Just pipped to a consecutive Manager of the Month award, but I can live with that.

Great stuff as usual!

[canvey!!]

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][font=Courier New]Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 12 Liam Ferguson, Man City
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 12 Tim Aubel, Fulham[/font]

Top Eight – Goal Difference

[font=Courier New]  [b]Pos +- Username       Manager           Club  [/b][/font][font=Courier New]      -[b]GD-[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Haowan         Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   +437
 [/font][font=Courier New]2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] Romanista1994  Lucas Volman      Real Madrid +363
 [/font][font=Courier New]3rd  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989   Tom Smith         Arsenal     +344
 [/font][font=Courier New]4th  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal     Ben Cee           Inter       +282
 [/font][font=Courier New]5th [color=green]+1[/color] fergysafc      Liam Ferguson     Man City    +249
 [/font][font=Courier New]6th [color=green]+2[/color] SCIAG          Leo Dodge         Tottenham   +196
 [/font][font=Courier New]7th [color=green]+2[/color] PluckaDuck     Tyler Burrows     Udinese     +146
 [/font][font=Courier New]8th NE weeeman27bob   Lord Weeman       Napoli      +128[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 57

Years: 4, Months: 57, Days: 1728

What an exciting month! Not one but two managers have bowed out of the competition, leaving us with just 14! We’ll move onto the fascinating circumstances of their exits in due course, but for the meantime let us start in England, where the month kicked off with the Carling Cup final.

89,991 people travelled to London to virtually fill the seats of Wembley for the meeting between José Mourinho’s Manchester United and Leo Dodge’s Tottenham. The match was going well, with both sides giving good performances, but United hadn’t managed to break the deadlock before 34 minutes, when their chances of doing so took a knock with an injury to Wayne Rooney caused by a collision with Vedran Corluka. The sides went into the break level, with United carved out a 1-0 lead 10 minutes after the restart with Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson scoring in a strong Red Devils move. Spurs, not for the lack of trying, weren’t able to wrestle back advantage and lost the tie by the narrowest of margins.

In Spain, Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona gained four points on leaders Real Madrid, but they played two more games. Both teams lost one and won three, with Barça winning one and drawing one of their extra two. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid clambered through the month with some tenuous wins, 1-0 over both Sevilla and Espanyol and 2-0 over Getafe, losing 0-1 to Mallorca. Barcelona’s performance, initially at least, was much stronger, as they beat Villarreal 5-0, Murcia 4-0 and then Getafe 4-0. Results then dried up, with a 0-0 away draw with Athletic and a 0-1 away loss to Mallorca, before three points were gained in a crucial home tie with Atlético Madrid. They had beaten Atlético 5-2 earlier in the month to win their Spanish Cup Semi Final 6-3 on aggregate, setting up a final with Valencia. In truth, Jellybean Man is Spain’s manager of the update after Mallorca got those two wins over the Big Two, as well as beating Elche and drawing with Sporting.

Following a 0-0 draw in Portugal, Ben Cee’s Inter appeared to be well up for the return leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie with Sporting CP, a leg which they won 5-0. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid also knocked out a Portuguese team by overcoming Porto’s initial 1-0 advantage with a 3-0 victory in Spain. Following a 3-2 win in Italy, Tom Smith’s Arsenal dumped Udinese out of the competition with a 5-0 win at the Emirates, while Barcelona also won 5-0 to send Man United home 7-3. Fiorentina did almost as well, Ben Taylor’s team winning 4-0, overcoming Benfica’s initial 3-0 advantage. Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Tottenham are also in the Quarter Final, after beating Ajax, Man City and Napoli respectively. The most interesting tie is without doubt a North London derby, although that is with English bias seeing as Real Madrid will play Atlético Madrid. Barcelona play Fiorentina and Inter play Bayern Munich.

Ben Cee’s team, by the way, have carved out an impressive seven-point lead at the top of Serie A. That occurred without a particularly good month. They had to struggle to beat Mantova 4-3, and then lost to Palermo and Udinese. James Salter’s Reggina were beaten 3-1 away and some stability returned with a 2-0 victory over Livorno. In amongst this, a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria means there is less pressure on the team in the return leg of their Italian Cup Semi Final, although they aspired to being as good as their rivals A.C. Milan, who won their first leg 3-0 at Udinese. Napoli are in second with Mikey Twigge’s Palermo doing a good job in 5th place. They drew four of their five games this month, which represents a considerable number of points dropped. Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio, who follow in 6th, drew a couple of games, two of their four, but they beat Cagliari 6-0, ending the month, however, with a 1-2 defeat to Cardio Vascular’s 8th-placed Genoa.

In England, there are three success stories, as three clubs, all of which are managed by our managers, share 66 points and are leading the way for the rest of the teams. But it isn’t them to whom we’ll turn our attention, not yet at least. It is the stories which don’t hold any success that we are more interested in. It all started on March 3rd, when Roma chairman Rosella Sensi decided that he’d had enough of Luciano Spalletti’s poor performance as a manager. bermybhoy was one of the managers tipped to get the job, but it wasn’t him who got it. Instead, Sensi turned to Everton, where he found a talented manager in Bryan McGuinness. He had started the month by beating Sunderland 1-0 but would no longer manage the Merseyside club. Roberto Mancini, freshly hired from Portsmouth, knocked Everton out of the Europa League but got them to the FA Cup Semi Final after a replay with that very same Sunderland team. Of course, that meant that Portsmouth needed a new manager. Perhaps worried that he would not be able to keep up results at Fulham, Tim Aubel jumped ship to Fratton Park. He had drawn with Leeds and beaten Mancini’s Everton but found a new home on the South Coast. Finally, Fulham ended the chain with the wise appointment of Roy Hodgson. McGuinness, by the way, won all but one of his six Roma games, including knocking Rangers out of the Europa League 8-1, and Aubel started his new job by welcoming his former club, Fulham, to Fratton Park, a team he beat 1-0. He then won 1-0 at Manchester City before drawing 4-4 in Sunderland.

Now onto the success stories. I mentioned Everton’s cup progress against Sunderland. Tom Smith’s Arsenal are also in the Semi Final following their 4-0 demolition of Arnold J. Rimmer’s Middlesbrough. Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 while two 0-0 draws led to Manchester United needing penalties to beat Manchester City in the replay at Eastlands. Liverpool face Arsenal and Everton face Man United in the Final Four. Turning our eyes back to the league, Liam Ferguson’s Man City are technically top, on goal difference. They beat West Brom 6-0 and Birmingham 4-0 but lost 0-1 at home to Tim Aubel’s Portsmouth, as already mentioned. Their two cup exits were also mentioned. Smith’s Arsenal follow, with a goal difference seven goals worse than City’s. They beat Blackburn 1-0, Middlesbrough 3-0 and Roy Hodgson’s Fulham 5-3 this month, and progressed in both cups with two 4-0 victories. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham, third, have a goal difference four goals worse than Arsenal’s, and this month won three of four games, beating Chelsea but drawing with Portsmouth (Mancini’s). They progressed in the Champions League but lost in the Carling Cup final.

What an exciting month! I’ve been blown off my feet! Two managers have left the competition, there have been some huge wins in league, cup and European football, and there is a tight deadlock between our three remaining English-based managers at the top of the Premier League, as well as some less tight ones between two of our managers at the top in both Spain and Italy. The managers have now turned onto the home straight, both in this season and perhaps in 60 to One overall. While all the managers are currently Stable, that doesn’t mean elimination isn’t possible, seeing as managers do sometimes want a change of scenery.

Manager of the Update

I’m going to choose;

Tom Smith, Arsenal

as the best of our tripod of remaining English managers this month. There were some poor performances across both Spain and Italy this month but some true class was shown at the top of the Premier League. Leo Dodge was also in contention, although he lost the Carling Cup final, as was Liam Ferguson despite being knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League. Smith’s progress in both these competitions as well as a month without dropped points wins him the award, although Dodge will want to get revenge in next month’s Champions League tie.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1728
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Secure        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Secure        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1728
 [/font][font=Courier New]15th [/font][font=Courier New]hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham                    1705
 [/font][font=Courier New]16th ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton                   1701
 [/font][font=Courier New]17th rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro                1614
 [/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]

And then their were 14, great for Lazio to still be up near the top, but not high enough that others want me and not low enough that I get fired, a perfect run.

[tomsmith1989]

Two more have gone!

Another Manager of the Month award in the bag. Really happy with those results. I like how this season is shaping up!

[hasdgfas]

Nooooooo. I have left.

[PluckaDuck]

Up to secure which is a bit of a relief

No news in the update though, so we must have been going under the radar

[super_lampard]

No mention, but it cant have been a bad month as I moved into secure

[el sid]

Down to 16 now, although I predict atleast 2 more sackings by the end of the year

Tut Tut, took only one month

[Cardiovascular]

Unfortunately sid, both managers jumped ship, thus your prediction was wrong.

Still trundling along with Genoa quite nicely, we seem to be establishing ourselves as a tophalf club.

[fergysafc]

moved down to stable

[BenArsenal]

Slight wobble there. Down to stable....

[canvey!!]

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][font=Courier New]Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 12 Liam Ferguson, Man City
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 12 Tim Aubel, Fulham
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal[/font]

(Now is the opportunity to cut this table further from a Top Eight to a Top Five)

Top Five - Age

[font=Courier New]  [b]Pos +- Username       Manager           Club       Age[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Cardiovascular Cardio Vascular   Genoa       53
 [/font][font=Courier New]2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] Romanista1994  Lucas Volman      Real Madrid 52
 [/font][font=Courier New]3rd [color=green]+1[/color] SCIAG          Leo Dodge         Tottenham   51
 [/font][font=Courier New]  - [color=green]+1[/color] Haowan         Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   51
 [/font][font=Courier New]5th [color=green]+1[/color] BenArsenal     Ben Cee           Inter       50[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 58

Years: 4, Months: 58, Days: 1758

So onwards we go, with our newly depleted stock of 14 managers, the majority of which are in Italy. The five-year barrier is now in sight for our managers, who will be striving towards it in the hope that they do not get sacked, and in the hope that they do not get tempted towards other clubs, as was the fate of our last two managers to exit, Tim Aubel and Bryan McGuinness.

We will start in Italy, where, as is the case in all three of our leagues, the bottom placed team has already had their relegation confirmed. Cagliari will be joining Serie B next season, and Super Lampard’s Lecce will now be very confident of not joining them. The team are 12 points clear of 18th-placed Mantova with just four games to play. This month, Lampard couldn’t win any of his matches, drawing two and losing two. Positioned just above Lecce are James Salter’s Reggina. They also drew twice and lost twice, and these two teams play each other in the next game. Given that one of his next four games is against relegated Cagliari and another is against 19th-placed Brescia, we can state with much confidence that Ben Cee’s Inter have won the Scudetto title. April saw them win three out of four league games, including a 5-1 victory over Lazio and a 3-0 one over Juventus, as well as progress in the Champions League. Only the most foolish of pundits would give Lord Weeman’s Napoli a chance of catching up, with Weeman’s team 11 points behind, and having just suffered two 1-2 defeats to low-placed teams, including Mantova. A.C. Milan are in third, and play their rivals Inter in the next game which, if the Singaporean’s team win, will be the title decider.

Over to England now, a country suffering from just having lost 40% of its managers. However, if current form is maintained, Champions League football looks likely for all of our managers. Tom Smith’s Arsenal, much to the delight of their fans, have ascended to top spot for the first time in the season, beating their title rivals Man City 3-1 at the Emirates this month. They also picked up seven points in their other three games. That was Liam Ferguson’s team’s only loss, although they did draw a further two, but the damage was already done by the Portuguese manager Smith. Leo Dodge’s Tottenham are in 4th and two points clear of 5th-placed Chelsea, with three games to play. Both have easy schedules in May, with Tottenham slightly better off with two home games to Chelsea’s one. This month was a tough one, but was one survived as Dodge took his team to Old Trafford to claim a 0-0 draw, to the Emirates to claim a 1-1 draw, welcomed Liverpool to snatch a 1-0 win and actually fell down in the easiest tie, away to Scott Tysoe’s West Ham, 0-1. In the FA Cup, Man United knocked out Everton 4-1 and Cool Manager’s Liverpool knocked out Arsenal 2-1. In the Championship, dafuge’s Bolton have secured promotion, and now aim to upset Jim Magilton’s Hull, who are three points ahead of them (on 103) in 1st. There is just the one game to do so and four goals in goal difference need to be made up. They both face teams in the bottom six, but Bolton will be away.

Of course the Champions League took place this month. We could start with the North London derby, or we could start with the Madrid derby, but instead we’ll talk about Barcelona playing Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina. The first leg in Catalonia ended 2-1 to the home team, but that score was reversed back in Italy, leaving it up to penalties to send through Barcelona, following Fiorentina missing their first two. Ben Cee’s Inter faced Bayern Munich, and you already knew they got through. A 2-1 home win and a 2-3 away loss meant the Italians progressed on away goals. The first leg of the Madrid derby ended 1-1 with Real playing hosts. One might think that gave Josep Guardiola’s Atlético the chance to sneak it at home, but a 2-2 draw sent Lucas Volman’s side through. Finally, English football fans, neutrals and Spurs fans at the very least, went crazy following the team’s 2-1 win at the Emirates in the first leg of the Champions League tie between them and Tom Smith’s Arsenal. But it was Arsenal fans who were laughing following their teams 2-0 win over Leo Dodge’s at White Hart Lane. Jérémy Toulalan’s goal in the 89th minute was either crushing or a piece of pure gold, depending on which way you look at it. Tottenham had a man sent off in each leg, so perhaps didn’t deserve to make the Last Four. Arsenal now hold a 2-0 lead over Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona following the home leg and an Emmanuel Adebayor brace, whereas Inter and Real Madrid meet today, May 1st. In the Europa League, Marseille play Besiktas and Liverpool play Roma.

In Spain, Haowan Madridstas’s Catalan Barcelona team have a limited window off opportunity to catch up La Liga leaders, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid. This month, Madrid won three of their four games, drawing the last away to Zaragoza, and Barcelona did exactly the same. Neither side gave particularly inspring performances. Barcelona have three games with which to chase down the seven-point gap, yet Volman’s side have four games left to play.

Back to Italy momentarily, where it has been a marvellous month for Tyler Burrows’s Udinese, giving the team the opportunity to rise through the ranks. The team moved from ninth to seventh winning all four of their games, with 3-0 wins over both Reggina and Livorno. Sadly for them, they travelled to face A.C. Milan in the Coppa Italia Semi Final second leg, and lost 0-3 to match the first leg score. Ben Cee’s Inter also progressed by beating Sampdoria 2-0. That makes it an all-Milan final.

So the month was a mixture of calm and excitement. The managers are in it for the long stretch, or they hope so at least. There may not be any sackings next month, but there will be trophies, so that’s certainly something to look forward to.

Manager of the Update

This isn’t that easy to give. I have chosen;

Ben Cee, Inter

to get this award, although it wasn’t a clear cut choice. Tyler Burrows really pushed the Singaporean, as did Tom Smith, but Cee’s performances seemed to have that sharpness that the others seemed to lack.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Very Secure   1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1758
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Secure        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1758
 [/font][font=Courier New]15th [/font][font=Courier New]hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham                    1705
 [/font][font=Courier New]16th ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton                   1701
 [/font][font=Courier New]17th rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro                1614
 [/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]

[dafuge]

Promotion \o/

[super_lampard]

Should be safe for another season

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Looks like Lazio have much to be happy about, except the 5:1 drubbing by Inter...ouch. Stable heading through another year bites the dust.

[BenArsenal]

Yes! Manager of the Month, again.

[PluckaDuck]

Awesome month, but pity it's a little bit too late in the season

[el sid]

Defeated Arsenal in the FA Cup

[el sid]

Unfortunately sid, both managers jumped ship, thus your prediction was wrong.

Still trundling along with Genoa quite nicely, we seem to be establishing ourselves as a tophalf club.

Stop being so picky mate

[canvey!!]

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][font=Courier New]Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 12 Liam Ferguson, Man City
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 12 Tim Aubel, Fulham
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 12 Ben Cee, Inter[/font]

Top Five – Highest Fee Spent

[font=Courier New]  [b]Pos +- Username      Manager           Club        Player             Fee[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Haowan        Haowan Madridstas Barcelona   John Heitinga   £37.5M
 [/font][font=Courier New]2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] fergysafc     Liam Ferguson     Man City    Michael Essien  £26.5M
 [/font][font=Courier New]3rd  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal    Ben Cee           Inter       Lúcio           £22.5M
 [/font][font=Courier New]4th  [color=blue]0[/color] Romanista1994 Lucas Volman      Real Madrid Jean Il Makoun  £22  M
 [/font][font=Courier New]  -  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989  Tom Smith         Arsenal     Andrés Guardado £22  M[/font]

[canvey!!]

Writer’s Notes: Sorry if this update seems a bit disjointed – time constraints meant I had to write it in three sessions.

Update 59

Years: 4, Months: 59, Days: 1789

Another season comes to a fiery end. It stated with that boiling month last summer, and ends in an equally intense inferno, even if this one is more metaphorical.

We’ll start in Spain, where the league winners have been very predictable from very early on. Sure enough, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid claimed the La Liga title, eventually finishing 10 points clear of Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona. In the month of May, Madrid won two, drew one and lost one of their four games. Barcelona won one, drew one and lost one of their three. They also contested the Spanish Cup in the Final stage of the competition, coming up against Valencia.

Road to the Final – Copa del Rey

Barcelona started their Copa del Rey adventure in the Fourth Round with an away trip to Universidad LP. They promptly thrashed the home team 3-0 and went one better in the return leg for an aggregate score of 7-0. Their Fifth Round tie was much more difficult, drawing away to Espanyol 2-2 but ratcheting up the pressure at home to win 3-1. Against Cádiz, they won narrowly away, 3-2, and compounded that with a 2-0 home victory to send them into the Semi Final, where they would meet Atlético Madrid, a team they would eliminate 6-3 despite a 1-1 draw in the capital. Barcelona’s opponents Valencia played Salamanca in the Fourth Round, winning 2-0 away and progressing despite a 1-2 home defeat. They then faced Elche and won both legs by a one-goal margin for a 3-1 progression to meet Sevilla. Valencia won 4-2 at home and 1-0 away to set up a Semi Final with Getafe, whom they beat 2-1 away. The home leg would surely be plain sailing…it wasn’t – Getafe won 1-0, but Valencia made the final on away goals.

75320 fans packed the Santiago Bernabéu, but any latecomers were punished when David Villa gave the underdogs the lead in the 1st minute. Haowan Madridstas’s team had to wait to take the game under control but there wasn’t a huge wait for their equaliser. Benedikt Höwedes levelled the match 18 minutes into it, and it stayed at 1-1 until half time. Valencia made a surge in the second half but were soon punished by a Lionel Messi goal just short of the hour mark. But the excitement was not to stop there: Kaká brought it back to two goals apiece with just four minutes of normal time to play. Seven minutes later, in the 90+3rd minute, Rodrigo Palacio won the title for Barcelona.

In Italy, Ben Cee didn’t fail to capitalise on his lead at the top of Serie A, closing it out with 13 points on both Lord Weeman’s Napoli and Jonte Rhodes’s Lazio, for now. The Italian league has still one game to play, with the finishing order among second, third and fourth and the Europa League spot still to play for. Inter drew with A.C. this month but beat both Parma and Cagliari. Weeman’s Napoli drew against Fiorentina and Roma but beat Genoa, while Rhodes’s Lazio won all three games by small margins. Mikey Twigge’s Palermo are 5th, with one of each result this month, and Tyler Burrows’s Udinese are 7th and in the same situation. Solidly mid-table, Cardio Vascular’s Genoa are 10th, winning once and losing twice this month, while James Salter’s Reggina lost all three games, and are currently 15th with an Insecure manager. Italy also saw it’s cup final this month…

Road to the Final – Coppa Italia

Ben Cee’s Inter started by welcoming Reggina in the Italian Cup 1st Round. A narrow 2-1 win was all they could get, but it would do for Cee, whose team then went on to face Palermo away – a 0-0 deadlock was broken by Inter’s penalty win. They drew 0-0 again in the next match, away to Sampdoria, but won that Semi Final at home in the return leg with a 2-0 victory. Their opponents, fierce rivals A.C. Milan, got the luck of two home draws in the 1st and 2nd Rounds. Atalanta were beaten 3-1 and then Roma 2-0. Marco van Basten’s team then won 3-0 at Udinese and doubled it up with a 3-0 home win to carry them into the final.

81153 fans crowded the Olimpico in Italy’s capital city to watch a fierce battle between these two rival teams. A.C. just seemed to have the edge, but nothing manifested itself for them…or for Ben Cee’s team either. Half time came and went, full time came and went, and not a goal had been scored. Ten minutes into extra time Inter went down to ten men with Sulley Muntari’s dismissal, and it was in the match’s 103rd minute that a goal was scored, and it was a crushing blow for Inter: Rafael Sóbis put the ball into his own net to put Cee and the team behind. But Sóbis went from villain to hero following the resumption of action in extra time: he levelled the match. It went to penalties, with both teams scoring their first two. Sóbis became villain once again, missing his spot kick for Inter, but A.C. Milan couldn’t capitalise, squandering their chance. Inter then took the lead and were pegged back, with Daniel Carriço missing their final penalty. Vicente scored to give A.C. Milan the Italian Cup. Inter had the league anyway!

Now we go over to England, starting from the bottom upwards. dafuge's Bolton couldn’t win the Championship, coming second to Hull, but they made it up to the Premier League anyway, where they will also be joined by Sheffield Wednesday. Arnold J. Rimmer’s Middlesbrough finished 14th in the Premier League, while Robert Boyle’s Newcastle finished 13th. Scott Tysoe’s West Ham just missed out on European football, finishing 8th, but Leo Dodge’s Tottenham secured their Champions League football next season by finishing 4th. They won all three matches this month, finishing 5 points clear of Lawrence Lazewski’s Chelsea (Lazewski is now in trouble with his superiors). Below Chelsea were Cool Manager’s Liverpool and then Tim Aubel’s Portsmouth. Liam Ferguson’s Man City finished 3rd and their manager is now Insecure: he won two of his three matches this month but couldn’t close down on the top. So all this means that Tom Smith’s Arsenal are the English champions once again! They won three of their four games, drawing the fourth, to top the table by 3 points in José Mourinho’s Man United. Man United still have something to target; they play the FA Cup final against Liverpool today, June 1st.

So we’ll end the update with Europe. Liverpool beat Besiktas 3-2 to claim the Europa League, but there was of course a lot of excitement building up over the Champions League final. You don’t know who is competing it yet, but you are about to find out.

Road to the Final – Champions League

As is to be expected, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid started their Champions League campaign in the Group Stages. Drawn into Group B with Napoli, Besiktas and Celtic, they won four and drew two of their group stage games to progress in first place, ahead of Lord Weeman’s Napoli. They faced Porto in the Round of 16, losing 0-1 away but winning 3-0 at home to make the Quarter Finals where they played Atlético Madrid. Two draws meant that Volman’s team progressed against their rivals with a 2-2 draw away as opposed to a 1-1 draw at home. Ben Cee’s Inter were the Semi Final challenge, and the Italians won 3-2 in Milan. But the trip back to Spain saw Cee’s team lose 0-2 to allow Volman’s Real Madrid a 4-3 aggregate progression.

Tom Smith’s Arsenal started their campaign in Group H, but they ended it in the Semi Finals where they lost to Barcelona. Barcelona had started in Group G, drawn alongside Udinese, Austria Wien and Marseille. No points were dropped, and Haowan Madridstas’s team enjoyed a 6-2 win in France and a 9-0 home win over the Austrians. They travelled to Old Trafford for their Round of 16 tie where they lost 2-3. But a 5-0 win over Manchester United saw Barcelona into the Quarter Finals in style. There, they played Fiorentina, needing penalties to set up their Last Four tie with Arsenal following a 2-1 home win but a 1-2 away loss to Ben Taylor’s side. Arsenal won the First Leg of the Semi Final 2-0 at the Emirates, but Barcelona won 3-0 at the Nou Camp to secure their place in the final, much to the dismay of an embittered Arsenal manager.

The final took place in Espanyol’s Lluís Companys stadium. For those of you in the know, Espanyol play in Barcelona, so one team had a slight advantage over the other. Only 49,000 fans saw the match, but there was still a great atmosphere with a lot of cheering, singing and flares. Despite this, nothing much happened until extra time. Half time came and went, full time came and went, and half time in extra time, came…it didn’t quite come when Arjen Robben put Real Madrid in front, much to the delight of Lucas Volman. The team held on for the remaining 15 minutes to claim the Champions League for the second time running, in an attempt to beat their opponents in this match who won the last three of the cups before that. That is five consecutive finals in which Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona have appeared, by the way, a feat which was last performed by Real Madrid in the years 1956-1960.

Manager of the Update

Despite the fact that by now I’ve forgotten what I wrote at the start of this update;

Jonte Rhodes, Lazio

wins this month’s Manager of the Update award. Both he and Leo Dodge won all three of their games this month, which while it is a small feat, can lead to bigger things. For Rhodes, this award embodies his whole season, which sees his team sitting six places above their expected position and guaranteed to play in next season’s Champions League. Lucas Volman, despite winning two titles this month, misses out on the award because he has won it so many times, and because of five dropped points in the form of a loss to Sporting and a draw against Valencia in the league.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce       Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter       Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham   Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio       Very Secure   1789
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona   Secure        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Secure        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo     Stable        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa       Stable        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina  Stable        1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]13th fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City    Insecure      1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - JSalter              James Salter        Reggina     Insecure      1789
 [/font][font=Courier New]15th [/font][font=Courier New]hasdgfas             Tim Aubel           Fulham                    1705
 [/font][font=Courier New]16th ~Ian~                Bryan McGuinness    Everton                   1701
 [/font][font=Courier New]17th rancer890            Ricky Nakano        Middlesbro                1614
 [/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]

[PluckaDuck]

Nothing on there for me, looks as though we are continuing our good form though

Victory is in sight

[super_lampard]

No mention but still very secure

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Woohooo Another Manager of the Month award, our first season in the Champions League, and 3 wins, and also finally made Very Secure, the fans of Lazio must be loving me. We just get better and better.

[BenArsenal]

Bloody hell! That was a tense Italian Cup final!

[el sid]

6th place is pretty poor with Liverpool

But Europa League winners and finalists in the FA Cup

[tomsmith1989]

Premier League title!

Happy to pick up another title with Arsenal, and now on very secure job security. Nice.

[fergysafc]

Insecure boooooo

[canvey!!]

Sorry that the pace of updates has dropped slightly in the past few days - I've been finding it difficult to get onto the computer - good news for my Greek but bad news for you guys.

Tables will come with the next update (well, technically the update after next).

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][font=Courier New]Jul 12 Ricky Nakano, Middlesbrough
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 12 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 12 Liam Ferguson, Man City
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 12 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 12 Tim Aubel, Fulham
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 12 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 12 Ben Cee, Inter
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 12 Jonte Rhodes, Lazio[/font]

Top Five – Highest Fee Received

[font=Courier New]  [b]Pos +- Username           Manager       Club        Player                 Fee[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] PluckaDuck         Tyler Burrows Udinese     Fabio Quagliarella £19.5 M
 [/font][font=Courier New]  - [color=green]+1[/color] fergysafc          Liam Ferguson Man City    Nigel de Jong      £19.5 M
 [/font][font=Courier New]  - [color=green]+1[/color] Lower Leagues Rule Jonte Rhodes  Lazio       Paolo Sammarco     £19.5 M
 [/font][font=Courier New]4th [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994      Lucas Volman  Real Madrid Pepe               £18   M
 [/font][font=Courier New]5th [color=green]+1[/color] BenArsenal         Ben Cee       Inter       Nicolás Burdisso   £17.75M[/font]

[Romanista1994]

Title and CL double! :cool: