60 to One

[Romanista1994]

Amazing stuff canvey !

Shame to see Haowan retire. Seems I'm going next, better make this last season count.

[canvey!!]

It seems a bit weird to be getting praise for commitment when I've been so unreliable of late!

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Lowest ‘Shortest Time at a Club’

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Shortest at  Days[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=blue] 0[/color] ssestig         Theo Stigarakis   Catania       Portsmouth     90
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=blue] 0[/color] m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Blackburn     142
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=blue] 0[/color] dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Everton       145
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=blue] 0[/color] JSalter         James Salter      Reggina       Sporting      153
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=blue] 0[/color] hasdgfas        Tim Aubel         Fulham        Racing        166
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=blue] 0[/color] Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Fiorentina    174
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th [color=blue] 0[/color] TaylorB         Ben Taylor        Fiorentina    Nottm Forest  184
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=blue] 0[/color] NepentheZ       Neppo Monster     Cagliari      Cagliari      236
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th [color=green]+1[/color] canvey!!        Fréderico Canvey  Stoke         Valladolid    285
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE brettney1980    Brettney Joven    Wigan         Wigan         320[/font]

[coldkohmew]

KUTGW!!!

Saeson 4???

[canvey!!]

Update 207

Years: 17, Months: 207, Days: 6294

Our four managers are knuckling down at the start of the new season, so let’s see how they did in September, starting in Italy.

Lord Weeman’s Napoli sit top of Serie A after a great start to the season, and they even have a game in hand over second-placed Juventus. They started the month with a goalless draw at A.C. Milan, and then secured successive victories against Juvé, Modena, Palermo and Empoli. They also started their Champions League defence brightly, beating Porto 3-0. Tyler Burrows’s Udinese also went unbeaten this month, but sit in the slightly worse position of 13th. They beat Palermo, and drew with Modena, Empoli, Frosinone and Vinenza, scoring just one goal in those four matches. Their Champions League start has gone as expected: they lost at Chelsea Stadium but bounced back with victory over Spartak Moscow.

Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid haven’t made a bad start to the season, although they will have to work hard to keep up with pacesetters Zaragoza, who have already scored twenty goals, with just five games played. In September, Real beat Las Palmas, Valladolid, Hércules and Betis, and sit second on thirteen points. They, like Udinese, have played two of their Champions League group stages matches, and they drew 1-1 both at home to Juventus and away to Newcastle.

There was more international football this month, and we’ll start with World Cup qualifying. Tim Aubel’s United States booked their ticket to France this month with two narrow wins. They avenged defeat in the Gold Cup Final with a 1-0 home victory over Costa Rica, and matched that scoreline in a fixture in Trinidad and Tobago. Group leaders Mexico have also qualified, with Cuba guaranteed an intercontinental playoff place. In Europe, Neilio’s Italy continue to trail Greece, drawing in Athens this month before a 4-0 home win over Bosnia & Herzegovina. I would anticipate both Italy and Greece to get maximum points from their remaining two games, both at home, and so Neilio will need to make use of the playoff. Fréderico Canvey begun his attempt to recover Spain’s qualification campaign: his predecessor Quique Flores led the Spanish to defeat in Moldova and Austria. Canvey’s Spanish side won 2-1 in Slovenia, before a 2-0 home victory over the Austrians. Serbia lead the group, but Spain can recover their three-point lead in the group’s final game. Germany, who have won eight from eight, are the only side to have qualified from Europe at this point.

Brettney Joven’s England played just one game this month, but after it, the Three Lions’ qualifying campaign looks a bit healthier. The match was a 2-0 win over Ireland at Wembley, and the English have just a two-point deficit to chase with a game in hand over group leaders Scotland. With matches in Lithuania and at home to Kazakhstan, you can anticipate England taking six points and therefore topping the group. And what about the rest of the Dream Team? Robert Boyle’s under 21s played two games as they kicked off their qualification campaign for next year’s European U21 Championship, beating Lithuania 2-0 and Bulgaria 6-0. Maz Armley’s under 19s played Ireland in an U19 International, winning 3-0.

And now we’ll turn our eyes to the domestic football that took place in England this month. It’s been a poor month for Tom Smith’s Arsenal, which leaves you thinking that this season will be just like the last. They started with a 3-1 victory at home to Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City, but slumped to defeat at the same venue against Liverpool, and were humiliated by a 0-3 thrashing at Hull. They did manage to hold Martin Bojangles’s Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup Third Round, and, despite missing a penalty earlier in the match, advanced to the next round from the spot. There they’ll meet Chelsea, so don’t expect too much of a cup run. There will also be a Steel City derby in Round Four. In other Arsenal cup news, they were drawn into a favourable Europa League group alongside Galatasaray, Sparta Prague and FC Köln. They started their campaign with a 2-1 win in the Czech Republic.

What awaits you next month? Our four managers will play between three and five domestic games, with two matches in the Europa League, one or two in the Champions League, and the start of Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey campaign. World Cup European qualifying group stages conclude, and African, Asian and American qualifying will also conclude, with the exception of the intercontinental playoffs. Until then, however, I leave you with some nostalgia;

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 7

English teams weren’t the only ones bringing in players this month, although they were certainly brokering some of the larger deals. A.C. Milan manager Will de Mote agreed two co-ownership deals, from Napoli and from Palermo, totalling £36.75M. His rival Ben Cee, at Inter, spent £4M less on two deals, and one was a proper ownership deal, the £16.5M transfer of Gökhan Inler from Tyler Burrows’s Udinese. In Spain, the two giants bought big, with Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid giving CSKA Moscow £15M for Yury Zhirkov and Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona giving Boca £14.25M for Rodrigo Palacio. Atlético Madrid spent £8M on Cicinho from Clark Aitken’s Roma.

~~ ~~

They, by the way, still lead Serie A with a comfortable 10 point cushion over Juventus. They won three league games this month without conceding a goal, including a 3-0 victory over James Ridley’s Siena, yet Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina handed them a 0-3 thrashing when they travelled to Artemio Franchi. At the bottom of the table, Mathias Brunckhorst’s Chievo are tied with Neppo Monster’s Cagliari on 13 points, and both are five points behind Siena, with Catania safe just one point further ahead. Lord Weeman’s Napoli had a good month. As well as the cup victory already mentioned, the Englishman’s team dropped points only once when battling his fellow co-runner James Ridley away. He also made a £11.75M profit, all while signing Fábio Aurélio from Jeremy English’s team, twenty days before English’s departure.

~~ ~~

Over in Spain there is a close battle for first place, with no surprise as to who is involved. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid are currently edging ahead by one point, despite two losses this month. They faced Sevilla and Deportivo three times each this month, beating Neji Hyuuga’s Deportivo in the Spanish Cup Fifth Round but losing to them in the league and conquering Sevilla in both competitions. The other defeat came at the hands of Lars Tommersen’s Villarreal, at the Bernabéu no less. Málaga find themselves bottom thanks to Sirus Lannock’s leadership, yet the Englishman finds his job Stable. They didn’t score this month although they picked up a point with a surprising draw against Barcelona. Maz Armley finds himself Insecure with a poor showing this month, although they faced Tom Hamilton’s Mallorca three times and won in the league while progressing in the cup’s Fifth Round.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

My pick this month is;

Lord Weeman, Napoli

after he took his team to the top of Serie A with thirteen points from a possible fifteen, dropping points only away to A.C. Milan. He pipped Lucas Volman to the post, after the Real Madrid manager had a good league month, winning all four games, but struggled in the Champions League: Napoli won their game 3-0 against Porto.

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   6294
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6294
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6294
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        6294
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Players Bought (Number)

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club No[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Neilio          Neilio            Almería       Italy       110
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] ssestig         Theo Stigarakis   Catania       Rangers     106
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=red]-1[/color] canvey!!        Fréderico Canvey  Stoke         Spain       103
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th  [color=blue]0[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       93 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th  [color=blue]0[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        92
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                      91
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th  [color=blue]0[/color] Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Man United   88
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=green]+1[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Udinese      87 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th [color=green]+1[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      83
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  83 *[/font]

[Chimpos]

canvery, any plans for the autobiography 'From Stoke to Spain, The career of a football manager', I'd buy it just for the title.

[canvey!!]

To be honest, I think Phill Ewles's autobiography would be more interesting!

Update 208

Years: 17, Months: 208, Days: 6325

Lord Weeman ’s Napoli are the only team in our three leagues not to have lost a game yet. They sit top of Serie A, of course, with a three-point buffer over Mikael Schøler’s Juventus. Cool Manager’s Inter, who picked up just two points from twelve this month, sit tenth. Napoli’s games in October saw them beat Frosinone and Sampdoria comfortably, 4-0 and 5-1 respectively, before a goalless draw at Vicenza. They then ended the month with a 2-1 victory over Phill Ewles’s Roma. In the Champions League, they won 4-1 at Slavia Prague, before getting only a narrow win in what could be considered their easiest game, beating Panathanaikos 1-0 at home. Still, it was a win nonetheless. Elsewhere in Italy, Tyler Burrows’s Udinese are ninth, having beaten Genoa and Inter this month, and lost to Roma. Their Champions League match ended level, a 1-1 home draw with Sporting CP.

This month’s El Classico was the first time in seventeen years that Haowan Madridstas didn’t feature. He, a couple of months into his retirement, watched from the stands as Bob Bradley’s Barcelona played Real Madrid at the Nou Camp. Barça edged the match 4-3, and what a match it was, and the Catalonian side sit top of La Liga. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid recovered well, winning 3-0 at Recreativo and 2-0 at home to Deportivo. They also thrashed Cyprus’ Anorthosi 7-0 away in the Champions League, and beat Cultural Leonesa 4-0 in the away leg of their Copa del Rey Fourth Round tie. Leonesa manager Álvaro Cervera has been in his job for a long while, like Volman, having been hired the week before our sixty managers were unleashed.

Although they are now one place higher than were when they started the month, Tom Smith’s Arsenal have had a less than desirable October. The Gunners opened with a home defeat to Leeds, before being held goalless at Robert Boyle’s Portsmouth. A narrow home win against relegation fodder Crystal Palace followed, before a 0-2 loss at Hillsborough. Clinical finishing saw Arsenal take hold of a home match against Middlesbrough, which Boro didn’t really deserve to lose, and run out 2-0 victors, but seven points from fifteen for Smith’s side is not the Champions League place form the board want. With that in mind, Smith is Insecure in his £245,000-per-week job. In the Europa League, they played two games at the Emirates, beating Galatasaray 3-0 and FC Köln 3-1, but they were never going to lose those.

Last month, I promised you international football, so I shall now give you it. Brettney Joven’s England finished their World Cup qualifying campaign in style, winning 4-0 in Lithuania and blowing Kazakhstan out of the water in Wembley with a 7-0 victory, with as many as six goalscorers (Craig Robson got two). Naturally, the Three Lions finished ahead of Scotland and qualified. Fréderico Canvey’s Spain also qualified, with 3-2 wins over both Moldova and Serbia seeing them through ahead of the Serbs. Neilio’s Italy won both their games, against Malta and Norway, but, as predicted, finished second and will have to play a playoff. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Poland and Portugal joined England, Spain, Greece and Germany in topping their groups and qualifying, while Italy will face neighbours Switzerland in the playoffs. Scotland meet Serbia, Denmark play the Netherlands, and Sweden meet Iceland. Wales finished second in their group but were the worst-ranked second-placed team.

In North America, Tim Aubel’s United States won their last two qualifying games, 1-0 in Mexico and 2-0 at home to Guatemala. Cuba join Mexico and the Americans in qualification, with Costa Rica entering the playoff, where they will meet Paraguay. The Paraguayans were beaten by Uruguay and by Chile to the remaining two South American automatic qualification places. Those two teams join Brazil and Argentina, who had already qualified. In Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon and South Africa topped their groups and booked their tickets to France, leaving some bigger teams out. China beat Saudi Arabia 3-1 on aggregate in the Asian Playoff, and will meet New Zealand next month for a Finals place.

So that’s the World Cup to look forward to, after a few playoff matches, but there might be even more exciting things happening even sooner. All eyes turn to Arsenal, and chairman Tim Travis.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 8

The Spanish Cup played the first leg of its semi final this month, and Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid trashed Osasuna 4-0, and Villarreal did that 3-0 to Valladolid. Despite a 4-0 5-0 2-0 2-0 streak, drawing with Espanyol and losing 1-3 at Anfield were lowlights this month. That was in the Champions League Knockout Round 1st Leg, and England were doing the romping, with all of the English sides winning. Haowan Madridstas’s Barcelona won 4-1 against Celtic in Scotland, this went well with a great unbeaten month where they dropped only two points.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

The only top-flight manager still unbeaten;

Lord Weeman , Napoli

gets the award this month. He guided his teams to league victories over Frosinone, Sampdoria and Roma, and Champions League wins over Slavia Prague and Panathanaikos. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid also did pretty well this month, scoring sixteen unanswered goals in the last four games of the month. This was after a 3-4 loss away in El Classico, which, while not too shabby, dropped them from second to third in La Liga.

Job Securities (Writer’s Notes: I don’t think this has happened before: no ties among 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   6325
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6325
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        6325
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Insecure      6325
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[el sid]

10th ffs Might be sacked at this rate....

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio,  Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Players Bought (Value)

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Value[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                      £922M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        £851M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+2[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  £773M *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=red]-1[/color] spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   £703M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th[color=green] +1[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       £610M *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+2[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      £534M *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th [color=green]+2[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      £495M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=green]+2[/color] SCIAG           Leo Dodge         Tottenham                  £373M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     £360M
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Man United   £306M[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 209

Years: 17, Months: 209, Days: 6355

Yes, it’s that time of year again, folks; our managers are opening the first windows on their Advent calendars. Of course, being the future, their Advent calendars are all on the iPad, but that doesn’t take away the sentiment.

We’ll start this report in Spain, where Real Madrid’s month has been more-or-less okay. In the league, Lucas Volman’s side picked up eight points from a possible twelve, winning home games against Mallorca and Tenerife, and drawing goalless in away games against Albacete and rivals Atlético. They secured cup progress with an 8-0 win over Cultural Leonesa, advancing 12-0 on aggregate. Albacete await in the Fifth Round.

Each team has just one Champions League group stage game to play, and already twelve of the sixteen spaces in the next round have been taken. One of them was filled by Lord Weeman’s Napoli, who drew 2-2 at Panathanaikos this month, before a 1-0 win in Porto. The Portuguese team are second in the group, but could lose out to Panathanaikos if they lose their final game in Greece. Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid also look likely to reach the next round, but need to be wary of a slip-up. They thrashed Anorthosi 9-0 this month, before a goalless draw at Juventus. Super Lampard’s Newcastle top the group and have qualified, and Real are second, with a three-point lead over Mikael Schøler’s Juvé. Schøler’s side will surely win their last game in Cyprus, but having said that, I would expect Real to get at least a point in their home match with Newcastle. Tyler Burrows’s Udinese will also be hoping for progression, although there is the chance that they will miss out. After winning at Sporting CP but losing at home to Chelsea this month, Udinese need to win at Spartak Moscow, and Sporting need to lose at Chelsea. Given that Spartak have picked up no points so far, and that Chelsea usually win at home, that is probable, but not certain.

So Udinese’s Champions League month wasn’t too bad, but how did they do domestically? Well, it turns out. Tyler Burrows led his side to victory against Cagliari, Catania and Ascoli this month, dropping points only with a draw at Rimini. This sees them shoot up five places to fourth as we approach the halfway stage. Next month, they play the Coppa Italia First Round, which means another match against Ascoli, at Friuli. Lord Weeman’s Napoli will face Catania, who coincidentally they have just played (this is not a coincidence at all). Their month could have gone better: they beat Catania, but drew with Cagliari and Genoa, and lost at home to Inter. They sit second, with Juventus two points ahead at the top.

It’s World Cup crunch time, folks, with just six places left in the competition. Costa Rica met Paraguay for one of them, but they lost both legs of their playoff 0-1. Meanwhile, China were held to a goalless draw in New Zealand, but thrashed their antipodean visitors 4-0 in Dongguan, with Leicester striker Zhang Xuewei, in his 101st appearance, bagging a hattrick. In Europe, Scotland performed confidently in their playoff against Serbia, winning 3-0 in Belgrade and 3-1 in Glasgow. Sweden and Denmark both won their home games, 1-0 against Iceland and 2-0 against the Netherlands respectively. A brace from Hamburg’s Johan Andersson gave the Swedes a 2-0 win in Reykjavík, and a 3-0 win overall, while the Dutch could only draw at home to Denmark, which meant 5-3 progression for the Danes. As for Neilio, his Italy side travelled to Switzerland. A brace from Udinese’s Francesco Banti and an own goal gave them a 3-0 win in the wind and rain of Bern, and they booked their ticket to France 5-0 on aggregate.

We’ll end in England, where it has been another torrid month for Arsenal manager Tom Smith. They lost 0-1 at Chelsea Stadium at the start of the month, and then could only grind out successive draws against Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa. They did beat Sparta Prague 2-0 in the Europa League, but crashed out of the Carling Cup in the Fourth Round with a humiliating home loss to Chelsea: Bryan McGuinness’s side won 6-1 in front of a vehement Emirates crowd, with braces for John Fleck, for world-class midfielder Robin Ridley, and for Anglo-Nigerian striker Moses Abdulazeez. They will go on to face Sunderland, who are in a bit of turmoil. After losing to Ajax in the Europa League, Neppo Monster was sacked from his post at the Stadium of Light, and new manager Aidy Boothroyd has the task of lifting the Black Cats from 20th place and out of the relegation zone. They next play at home to A.C. Milan, before games against Chelsea, Arsenal and then Man City. Monster has his retirement set for next June, but he might call it a day a bit sooner.

Smith is in trouble, but he’s not alone, and isn’t even the least secure. With their teams sitting 11th and 12th in Serie A respectively, both Inter boss Cool Manager and Palermo manager dafuge are under pressure. Two of those managers are on very big salaries – they couldn’t possibly get sacked. Could they?

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 9

Tom Smith’s Arsenal are in second place, and they played two games this month, both of which were won by one-goal margins. Ricky Nakano’s Middlesbrough visited The Emirates where they were given a 2-3 defeat. Arsenal also progressed in the Champions League, our next focus of attention.

~~ ~~

Real Madrid lead the league by a whopping 10 points, and Lucas Volman won all four games this month, disregarding that Liverpool result in the Champions League. Behind him is Barcelona, and then Lars Tommersen’s Villarreal, who won three and drew one this month. They also progressed to the Spanish Cup final despite a second-leg defeat to Phill Ewles’s Valladolid, where they will face the titans of Real Madrid. Valencia, managed by Lawrence Lazewski, follow in fourth, but had an indifferent month but progressed in the UEFA Cup. Sirus Lannock’s Málaga are bottom, but it is where they are expected to finish and Lannock is Stable.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

Plaudits for November go to;

Tyler Burrows, Udinese

after he led his side to a four-place rise this month, with nine points from twelve in the league. They lost to Chelsea in the Champions League, but won at Sporting CP, which isn’t easy. Lucas Volman might feel a bit hard done by, after he guided Real Madrid to big wins over Anorthosi, Cultural Leonesa, Mallorca and Tenerife, but there were some telling problems with three 0-0 draws this month, and his team still sit third, below where they want to be.

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   6355
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6355
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese     Stable        6355
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Insecure      6355
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio,  Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Players Sold (Number)

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club No[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid 114 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter       101
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=red]-1[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                      98
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th  [color=blue]0[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Udinese      94 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th  [color=blue]0[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       88 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th  [color=blue]0[/color] m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing       Leeds/ENG u19 81
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th [color=green]+1[/color] canvey!!        Fréderico Canvey  Stoke         Spain        79
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=red]-1[/color] Neilio          Neilio            Almería       Italy        78
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th [color=green]+1[/color] ssestig         Theo Stigarakis   Catania       Rangers      77
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   74[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 210

Years: 17, Months: 210, Days: 6386

And then there were three. You’ll have to wait to find out which manager finished 60 to One in fourth place, although you have probably already guessed.

We’ll start in Spain, with Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid. They still sit third, and trail the leading teams Zaragoza and Barcelona by two points. In December, they beat Elche and Alavés, drawing with Sevilla. Argentine striker Emanuel Páez, who scored one goal in each game this month, won both FIFA’s Footballer of the Year award and their Player of the Year one.

European group stages are complete, but how did they end? Real Madrid did qualify in the end, top of the group in fact. They beat Super Lampard’s Newcastle 2-1 at the Bernabéu, and Juventus’ 5-0 win at Anorthosi wasn’t enough to see Mikael Schøler’s side through. Tyler Burrows’s Udinese also got through, winning 4-0 at Spartak Moscow while Chelsea did the same at home to Sporting CP. Napoli finished their group with a 4-0 win over Slavia Prague, while their groupmates Porto qualified with a win at Panathanaikos. Ben Taylor’s Besiktas finished bottom of their group containing Lyon, Tottenham and Anderlecht. The Last 16 sees Real Madrid meeting two-times Europa League winners Tottenham, while Napoli play La Liga leaders Zaragoza. Udinese will meet Lyon. The biggest tie, other than Napoli’s, is probably Atlético Madrid versus Liverpool, while Theo Stigarakis’s Rangers meet Cool Manager’s Inter. In the Europa League, Arsenal won 1-0 at Galatasaray before losing 1-2 at FC Köln. They top their group, with the Germans also going through. The Gunners face a difficult Last 32 tie, against Sporting CP. If they can win that, they will play Hamburg or Anderlecht.

We’ll be heading over to England now, and I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat in anticipation of that managerial departure. Tom Smith’s Arsenal were unable to beat relegation fodder Blackburn this month, drawing 1-1 at Ewood Park, but that’s all right, because they beat Sunderland and Derby at home and won 1-0 at St James’ Park. The Gunners have risen from 15th to 9th, and although they are not invulnerable to a plummet back down, Smith is safe for now. They start next month at Hull in the FA Cup Third Round, one of only two all-Premier League ties.

So what’s this managerial departure then? To answer that, we must head over to Italy, where the spotlight focuses on Phill Ewles at Roma. The polyglot boss hasn’t been doing too well, and, with a 0-3 defeat to dafuge’s Palermo which left Roma 12th in the league, he was sacked. So that leaves the inevitable question, who shall be his replacement? Meanwhile, at Napoli, Lord Weeman was enjoying himself. Although they were held goalless at home to Catania in the Coppa Italia First Round, they won through, and, alongside six league points from six this month, Weeman added a piece of silverware to his collection with victory in the Club World Championship. Napoli travelled to South Africa, where they met Japan’s Okayama FC in the Semi-Final. Weeman’s side ran out 4-0 victors, and matched that result in the Final against River Plate, with two goals from Hélder Trindade in the latter match. At Udinese, Tyler Burrows got a 4-0 win over Ascoli in the cup, before a league win at Parma and draw at Mantova.

Now, back to Roma. The board looked to a manager who had had 860 games’ worth of experience in Italy, and who took his side to third place in Serie A last season, five places above Roma’s own finishing position. That’s right; Tyler Burrows left his post at Udinese to take the Roma job. He finishes fourth in 60 to One, after his 6370-day tenure at Friuli. This set off a chain reaction of hiring: Udinese, with their £1M compensation, hired Portsmouth’s Robert Boyle for £800k, leaving a vacancy at Fratton Park. This was filled by James Salter, who brought his two-year spell at Murcia to an end in order to manage in the Premier League for the very first time. Murcia appointed Carlos Terrazas from Tenerife, and the islanders brought the chain reaction to an end by appointing unattached manager Javier Manjarín. Manjarín is notable for his success at Leicester, turning them into a regular top-flight fixture.

So, three remain. All the coffee ice cream lovers have gone, and just one manager remains in each league. The end is nigh, I tell you, the end is nigh!

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 10

While in England and Italy the gap between first and second is six points, in Spain, the position of Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid is a lot more secure. Although Barcelona have a game in hand, the Spanish Giants Real are 13 points clear. Just three more would make it inevitable, and whether that comes in their next game against Numancia, or by Barcelona squandering their game in hand, the Real Madrid fans won’t mind a third consecutive title. Just like English table-toppers Manchester United, Real Madrid suffered a 0-4 defeat this month, but with three wins and a draw too they managed a successful thirty days. Their close rivals Barcelona also lost, to Joaquín Caparrós’s Sevilla.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

Everyone put in a good performance this month.

Lord Weeman , Napoli

wins this award, for lifting the Club World Championship title, while winning three of their four other games, and winning the fourth on penalties. It’s been a good month for Weeman, and Napoli are in the best of spirits. Meanwhile, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid won three and drew one, Tom Smith’s Arsenal had a good month which keeps him away from imminent danger, and Tyler Burrows followed his heart in a move to Roma. It is worth noting that Smith hasn’t won this award for two years: Brettney Joven has won it twice since Smith last did, and she isn’t even competing any more!

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   6386
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6386
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        6386
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[PluckaDuck]

NO NO NO NO :(

Why, why, why? After all this time as well. Tragedy.

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Players Sold (Value)

[font=Courier New]
 [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Value[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                      £579M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   £429M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+1[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        £428M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=red]-1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  £394M *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th  [color=blue]0[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      £353M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th  [color=blue]0[/color] weeeman272bob   Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       £352M *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th  [color=blue]0[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Roma         £319M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=green]+2[/color] Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Man United   £299M
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE SCIAG           Leo Dodge         Tottenham                  £277M
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE m12345566778    Maz Armley        Racing       Leeds/ENG u21 £221M[/font]

[Chimpos]

Sorry Tyler Burrows, I can't help but blame my ineptitude for ending your long reign.

If I could have only won more with my Roma team you'd still have a shot at the title.

Oh well I wonder where my manager will turn up next? Borneo?

[PluckaDuck]

Hopefully American Samoa

[canvey!!]

Update 211

Years: 17, Months: 211, Days: 6417

So, onwards we roll with our three lonely managers. Let’s see how they did in January, which, as we know, is the month of transfers.

Lord Weeman ’s Napoli had a decent month, and they are still keeping in touch with Mikael Schøler’s Juventus. They won a home game against Mantova, and away matches against Parma, Sampdoria and Juventus themselves. They drew at Robert Boyle’s Udinese and lost at Lazio and at home to A.C. Milan. They travelled to Friuli for a second time this month for the Coppa Italia Quarter Final, where they beat Boyle’s side 1-0 with a Hélder Trindade goal. Tyler Burrows’s Roma await in the two-legged Semi-Final, while the other match sees a Milan derby. Napoli made no transfer moves this month, other than loaning a young defender to Birmingham.

Over in England, Tom Smith’s Arsenal dropped eight of the available fifteen points this month, so it is good that Smith took the pressure off last month. They lost games at both Leicester and Man City, drew with Ipswich and beat both Fulham and Hull. They also beat the Tigers in the FA Cup Third Round, 2-0 at the Circle, which put them into the Fourth Round to face West Brom at the Hawthorns. Neither side could score in that match, so the teams head to the Emirates for a replay. They are playing for the right to host Man City in the Fifth Round. Arsenal made one signing this month, but it was not insignificant. They brought in Hamburg’s 25-year-old Swedish striker Johan Andersson for £21M. Elsewhere in England, Liverpool boss Rafa Benítez left the club for the third time this month, given his marching orders with the Reds 7th in the league. This set off a chain reaction, bigger than last month’s: Zaragoza’s manager Marcelino García Toral moved to Anfield, and the Zaragoza vacancy was filled by Tottenham’s Jürgen Klinsmann. Martin Bojangles moved to White Hart Lane, leaving James Ridley to take the vacant post at Manchester United. Lazio hired Besiktas’ Ben Taylor as Ridley’s successor, and the Turkish side ended the chain reaction by promoting their assistant manager to manager.

We’ll head over to Spain now, where Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid have had a poor month and are beginning to fall away from the title race. They beat Murcia and Racing in January, but lost to Zaragoza, Valencia and Getafe, the last match at home. They did, however, experience little difficulty in breezing through two rounds of the Copa del Rey, beating Albacete 5-1 on aggregate in Round Five and Alavés 4-1 overall in the Quarter Final. They’ll meet mid-table Hércules in the Final Four, so a Final place is likely. Meanwhile, Zaragoza, who lead the league by four points, play sixth-placed Atlético Madrid. Volman made two signings this month: versatile Italian midfielder Raffaele Ingrassia joined from Tyler Burrows’s Roma for £8.75M, and young Spanish midfielder Miguel González arrived from Aston Villa for £27.5M.

As you know, there are just three managers left. This time two hundred updates ago, there were forty-eight. How did the managers end their first season at their new clubs?

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 11

We will start in Spain, where the first major event of the month occurred in the form of the bestowal of the Liga BBVA. With the foundations having been set over the previous months, all it would take for Lucas Volman in the first game of May was a win. His Real Madrid side were on the road to face Jellybean Man’s Numancia. Barcelona had a problem: time was running out to mount any attack on this Real Madrid side. They were at home to Neilio’s Almería, who faced their own problems: a rapidly disappearing place in the La Liga. Of course Volman and Los Galácticos won, 2-1, and despite Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Almería, the championship would stay in Madrid. But before they could celebrate too much, there was work to do: they would face Lars Tommersen’s Villarreal in the Spanish Cup final the very next game.

~~ ~~

A 97,978 crowd packed the Nou Camp to witness the action, action which Real Madrid were expected to dominate. The match wasn’t extremely one sided, about 2 to 1 in Madrid’s favour, and Los Galácticos won 2-0, with goals from Fernando Gago and Raúl securing Lucas Volman’s second competition win. He finishes the month as Very Secure, with Lars Tommersen stable.

~~ ~~

One person had failed to make his or her way to Wembley for the final [FA Cup], where the attendance was 89,999. The whipping that Tom Smith’s Arsenal team gave Robert Boyle’s Blackburn was well deserved considering the stats, but it was surprisingly tight until the 50th minute, when the Mark Bunn floodgates opened. The Blackburn goalkeeper was first treated to a Cesc Fàbregas strike that gave the Gunners the lead, then an Emmanuel Adebayor goal, then an Eduardo goal and finally with one from Theo Walcott in just the 77th minute to wrap up the win. Those 17 minutes were probably the most torrid in Robert Boyle’s career, and maybe the most defining as the Blackburn board fired him before the Wembley turf was even cold.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

There were slip-ups all over the place, so I’ll have to go for the manager with technically the best record.

Lord Weeman, Napoli

wins the first award of 2026. If all games carried points, Weeman converted 16 from 24. Lucas Volman got the same number from an available 27, and Tom Smith picked up just 11 from 21.

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   6417
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6417
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        6417
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Hall of Fame (Lawrence Lazewski & Bryan McGuinness are in the England HOF)

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           NAT Original Club Current Club Nty Natn Eurp Wld[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] Haowan          Haowan Madristas  ESP Barcelona     (retired)    1st  1st  2nd 2nd
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      ITA Real Madrid   Real Madrid  2nd  2nd  4th 4th
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd  [color=blue]0[/color] spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski USA Valencia                   1st  5th 19th
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         POR Arsenal       Arsenal      1st  3rd
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+2[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      ENG At. Madrid    Inter        2nd  9th
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th NE ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  ENG Everton       Chelsea      8th  9th
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       ENG Napoli        Napoli       3rd 10th
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=red]-3[/color] ian_1982        Maurice Jobson    RWA Man United    (retired)    1st
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=red]-3[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           SIN Inter                      1st
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th [color=red]-3[/color] clrkaitken      Clark Aitken      CAN Roma          (retired)    2nd
    [/font][font=Courier New]- [color=red]-3[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    DEN Bologna       Juventus     2nd[/font]

[el sid]

Unlucky PluckaDuck

In 2 HOF's

[canvey!!]

Update 212

Years: 17, Months: 212, Days: 6445

Let’s get right into February’s action, starting in England. To be honest, Tom Smith’s Arsenal didn’t have a great month. They won 4-1 at Crystal Palace, but lost 1-2 to both Leeds and Portsmouth. They edged past West Brom with a 1-0 home win in their FA Cup Fourth Round replay, but were hammered 0-3 at home to Man City in Round Five. Roberto Mancini’s side face Brighton in the Sixth Round, while Tottenham host other Championship side Huddersfield, Portsmouth play Leeds, and Ipswich play Liverpool.

Other in Italy, Lord Weeman will be ruing four dropped points this month. Napoli beat both Modena and Empoli, but drew 1-1 at both Palermo and Frosinone. They are in second place, with Serie A leaders Mikael Schøler’s Juventus four points ahead.

In Spain, Lucas Volman had an indifferent league month. They beat Valladolid and Hércules, but lost to Las Palmas and Betis. They won 2-0 at Hércules in the first leg of their Copa del Rey Semi-Final, so look set to progress. Jürgen Klinsmann’s Zaragoza won 1-0 at struggling Atlético Madrid.

European football resumed this month. In the Champions League, Napoli travelled to Zaragoza, weathering the storm and escaping with a goalless draw, while Real Madrid won 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Udinese and Newcastle won 2-1 at home, over Lyon and Betis respectively, while Inter and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 away, at Theo Stigarakis’s Rangers and at Porto respectively. Chelsea won 4-2 at Benfica and Atlético Madrid beat visitors Liverpool 1-0. In the Europa League, Tom Smith’s Arsenal won 5-0 at Sporting CP with a brace from Víctor Manuel Marañón, and they advanced 8-3 on aggregate after a high-scoring encounter in the second leg at the Emirates. Anderlecht await them, while Man City play Man United, and Tyler Burrows’s Roma meet Barcelona.

This update has been short and sweet, much like Ronnie Corbett. Ah, Ronnie Corbett, now that takes me back…

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 12

Actually, our three managers didn’t do anything in Update 12.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

He didn’t lose, and that’s good enough this month.

Lord Weeman, Napoli

takes it home for the third consecutive time. Napoli beat Modena and Empoli this month, and drew with Palermo and Frosinone. A highlight was a goalless draw away to a relentless Zaragoza.

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   6445
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6445
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        6445
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – League Titles

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club T[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      8 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        6
 [/font][font=Courier New]   -  [color=blue]0[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter         Valencia     6
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  5 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+1[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     3
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=green]+1[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Roma         3
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE brettney1980    Brettney Joven    Wigan         England      1
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE Ridleys         James Ridley      Siena         Man United   1
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       1 *
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE ssestig         Theo Stigarakis   Catania       Rangers      1
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle    1
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   1
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - NE canvey![/font][font=Courier New]!        Fréderico Canvey  Stoke         Spain        1[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 213

Years: 17, Months: 213, Days: 6476

One more month for our three competitors in the chaos that is football management. Yes, that was a fragment. Consider revising. Let’s see how they did in March two thousand and twenty-six.

Lord Weeman ’s Napoli had a decent month, and they have now overtaken Juventus. However, A.C. Milan have risen to the top of the league and Weeman’s side are still second. In March, Napoli beat Vicenza and Genoa in the league, but lost 0-2 at Inter. Napoli did have fun against Tyler Burrows’s Roma this month, beating them 3-1 at home in the first leg of their Coppa Italia Semi-Final, and winning 4-1 away in the league. Roma are currently 12th, while Burrows’s former club Udinese are sixth.

It’s been a good month for Lucas Volman in La Liga, but Real Madrid, albeit now in second place, sit twelve points adrift of league leaders Zaragoza. They got four wins from four this month, beating Mallorca, Barcelona, Recreativo and Deportivo. They also booked their place in the Copa del Rey Final with a 5-2 win over Hércules, which sees them through 7-2 on aggregate. Zaragoza await them in the Final, having beaten Atlético Madrid 4-1 on aggregate.

In the last update, we left our managers’ teams looking likely to progress in the Champions League. Napoli had drawn goalless at Zaragoza, and Real Madrid won 1-0 at White Hart Lane. So how did they do this month? Both lost 1-2 at home, which means they both got knocked out, Napoli 1-2 and Real Madrid 2-2 on away goals. Benfica, Bayern Munich, Theo Stigarakis’s Rangers, Super Lampard’s Newcastle, Atlético Madrid, and Robert Boyle’s Udinese were all knocked out in the Round of 16 too. In the Quarter Final, Zaragoza meet Chelsea, while Liverpool play Lars Tommersen’s Betis. Tottenham meet Lyon, and the only Italian representative remaining, Cool Manager’s Inter, will play Porto. In the Europa League, Tom Smith’s Arsenal travelled to Belgium, where they held on for a 3-2 win over Anderlecht. The teams drew 1-1 at the Emirates, putting the Gunners through 4-3 on aggregate. In the Quarter Finals, Arsenal meet Dinamo Kiev. James Ridley’s Manchester United play AS Monaco, Tyler Burrows’s Roma play Mikael Schøler’s Juventus, and Mantova meet A.C. Milan.

In England, it has been a terrible month for Tom Smith’s Arsenal, leaving them just six points clear of the relegation zone with as many games to play. They were held to a ten-goal draw against Sheffield Wednesday at the start of the month, and then proceeded to lose 1-3 at Liverpool, 0-2 at Middlesbrough, 0-3 at Manchester United, and 0-2 at home in the North London derby. An internet campaign calling for Smith’s sacking has been gathering pace, and even though Smith is currently described as Stable, the pressure is surely mounting. Half of the Gunners’ last six games are against teams lower than them, but one of the other three is against runaway league leaders Chelsea. Bryan McGuinness’s side won the Carling Cup this month. After a 1-1 draw with James Salter’s Portsmouth at Wembley, Pompey missed all of their penalties, giving the Blues a 2-0 win from the spot. In the FA Cup Semi-Finals, Tottenham play Ipswich while Maz Armley’s Leeds face Manchester City.

Two members of the Dream Team played matches this month. Robert Boyle’s England under 21s played a European Championship qualifying match against Lithuania, winning 5-0. With two qualifying games to play, they lead second-placed Italy by six points, and have almost definitely qualified for the playoff. As the seniors play Poland next month, the under 21s played a friendly in Plock, drawing 1-1. Maz Armley’s under 19s lost their equivalent match 1-2 due to a last-minute goal from 15-year-old Damian Wroblewski.

A title race for Napoli, a cup Final for Real Madrid, and potential relegation for Arsenal. The end of the season approaches!

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 13

In Spain, the big two did not do much, although there was the Nani transfer, and Lucas Volman raised £13M by selling Rafael van der Vaart to Liverpool. It was the smaller sides that had the more interesting month, and Wobill Luman’s Betis raised £17.25M and didn’t spend a penny. Villarreal bought two players, and Branko Ilic went to Andy Morton’s Sporting for £1.9M. Valencia and Lazio also took some of the Betis squad. Despite this, Luman started his pre-season with an impressive 6-0 win. Phill Ewles’s Valladolid raised £5.5M selling Pedro León to Atlético Madrid, while Tom Hamilton’s Mallorca have already completed 50% of their pre-season after just one game, wich they won 2-0. They also made a £3.5M profit from two outgoing transfers.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

There was some room for improvement among all our managers this month. Nonetheless;

Lucas Volman, Real Madrid

scoops the award. He took his time to four victories from four in the league, and a win in the cup that secures a Final place. We’ll have to overlook defeat to Spurs in the Champions 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   6476
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6476
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Stable        6476
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[Biscotti]

I'm not so sure the Copa del Rey is contested in Italy...

[canvey!!]

It is now!

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Cup Titles

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club CT[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  21 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   18
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+2[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        12
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=green]+1[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      12 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+2[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      10
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=green]+2[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       10 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th [color=red]-1[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                       7
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=green]+1[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus      6
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th [color=green]+1[/color] SCIAG           Leo Dodge         Tottenham                   4
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Tottenham     3[/font]

[canvey!!]

An Easter gift for you!

Update 214

Years: 17, Months: 214, Days: 6506

In England, the season is almost over, with just two matchdays remaining in the Premier League. Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea sealed the title this month, with a 1-1 draw at home to Portsmouth, while Crystal Palace, Blackburn and Sunderland have been relegated. Tom Smith’s Arsenal had a month good enough to keep them safe, although European football through their league finish is out of the question. They could, however, qualify as Europa League holders: they knocked Dinamo Kiev out 5-3 in the Quarter Finals despite a 1-3 loss in Ukraine, and lead James Ridley’s Manchester United 4-1 in the Semi-Final, while Juventus lead A.C. Milan 1-0. In the league this month, the Gunners lost at home to Chelsea, drew at Aston Villa, and beat both Newcastle and Sunderland. Smith, whose team are 12th, is Insecure. Next month, Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham meet Maz Armley’s Leeds in the FA Cup Final, and it will be the first time since 2008 that two teams from outside the traditional ‘Big Four’ reached the Final. Sheffield United won the Championship, and Nottingham Forest will join them in automatic promotion.

We’ll jetset over to Spain now, where, in just 68 days, Lucas Volman will give up his post at Real Madrid and retire. But he still has a season to finish, and in March, Real didn’t do too badly, beating Tenerife, Sevilla and Albacete, the last one 6-0, and drawing with Elche and Atlético Madrid. With five games left to play, Zaragoza must lose all games and Real must win all if they are to get their hands on the title. That is, of course, assuming second-placed Barcelona don’t sneak in if such an unlikely situation does occur. Castellón lead the LIGA adelante, which has six games left to play.

National teams got the first chance of the year to test out players and tactics, and Tim Aubel’s United States, for instance, travelled to Belgium for their friendly match, a match they lost 1-2. Brettney Joven’s England played in Chorzow, Poland, and it was a dull game, resulting in many fans leaving early. Two minutes from time, however, England took the lead, and two minutes later, Poland equalised. Fréderico Canvey’s Spain took a long haul flight to Australia, where they ran out 3-0 winners thanks to a brace from Liverpool striker Fernando Rosselló. The biggest wins were for Trinidad & Tobago, who won 6-0 at home to St Martin, and for Craig Gordon’s Scotland, who won 6-0 in Luxembourg.

It’s time to conclude in Italy, where Lord Weeman’s Napoli have finally risen to the top of Serie A. They drew goalless at Catania in their opening game, but went on to beat Rimini, Cagliari, Ascoli, and Robert Boyle’s Udinese. They won 5-2 at Tyler Burrows’s Roma in the Coppa Italia, which puts them into the Final 8-3 on aggregate. There, they’ll meet Cool Manager’s Inter. In Serie B, Bologna have secured promotion, and look likely title winners. Fiorentina and Atalanta sit second and third.

What’s to look forward to next month? What’s not to look forward to? Two of our managers in cup finals, the other with his head on the guillotine, and the conclusion of the domestic seasons before attention turns to France for the World Cup.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 14

The season has begun and already clubs are excelling towards the top of the table. Life is good for Maurice Jobson and Lucas Volman, with the Rwandan second in the Premier League and August’s EPL Manager of the Month. He also found success in the Community Shield, a 2-0 win over Arsenal, and finished the transfer window with an £18M profit, bolstered of course by the sale of Nani. As a result of this, Jobson’s Job Status is Secure. Volman is also Secure at Real Madrid, despite an opening draw against Tom Hamilton’s Mallorca, but a 3-0 aggregate win over Villarreal in the Supercopa de España keeps his position very safe, that is even with a late transfer of £13.25M, making him a small loss for the window. Seeing as it is 650 times smaller than Real’s loss for the same window in real life, it’s possible to see why he is Secure! On the other hand, Osasuna’s Saul Goode is already beginning to feel the pressure of a new season, as he started his campaign in the Liga adelante with a 1-1 draw at home to Gimnàstic. His healthy transfer window profit should mean little in his ability to cope and keep his job in Spain’s second division.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

Lord Weeman, Napoli

wins this award. He guided his team to four wins and a draw in the Serie A this month, and got them into the cup Final with an impressive victory at Roma. Lucas Volman played five league games, picking up eleven points, so he gets a mention too.

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   6506
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6506
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Insecure      6506
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Awards

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Aw[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      37 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd  [color=blue]0[/color] spartans5       Lawrence Lazewski Valencia                   20
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+5[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      18
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+1[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        13
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  13 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+2[/color] SCIAG           Leo Dodge         Tottenham                  11
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       10
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=green]+2[/color] brettney1980    Brettney Joven    Wigan         England       9
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=green]+2[/color] BenArsenal      Ben Cee           Inter                       9
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE Ridleys         James Ridley      Siena         Man United    8[/font]

[Romanista1994]

Loving the nostalgia updates. I'm more than a bit ashamed that I didn't follow this closely at the time.

I'm going to retire soon.

[hasdgfas]

Losing to Belgium

[canvey!!]

Update 215

Years: 17, Months: 215, Days: 6537

Another season is complete, and a mere 37 days remain before we go down to two managers. When we last saw our managers, we left all three in the latter stages of some cup or another, so we’ll see how much silverware was accumulated. First, let’s finish the domestic season in England.

Tom Smith ’s Arsenal finished their Premier League season well, with two wins and seven goals. Ian Holloway’s Blackburn Rovers visited the Emirates, and lost 0-4. Arsenal then travelled to Pride Park, where two goals from Craig Robson helped them to a 3-0 victory. That leads me to;

The Craig Robson-o-meter

Goals this Month: 3

Total Goals: 83

Cost per Goal: £578,313.25

Arsenal finish 11th in the Premier League. In the FA Cup Final, Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham met Maz Armley’s Leeds. Leeds scored after ten minutes and Spurs after another ten, but Bojangles’s team went down to ten men 65 minutes in. They held out until full time, but got a second player sent off in the 99th minute. Luis Manuel Molina scored the winner for Leeds four minutes from the end of extra time. Despite his first silverware at Elland Road this month, there is some uncertainty surrounding Armley’s job. A consortium takeover has put new chairman Casey May in charge, and it is rumoured that May is looking to sack Armley and bring in Phill Ewles. Everton won the Championship playoffs, and join Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest in promotion.

Last month, we had just one side remaining in Europe, with Tom Smith’s Arsenal in pursuit of the Europa League. They held a 4-1 lead over Manchester United in the Semi-Final, but James Ridley’s Red Devils won the return leg at Old Trafford 3-0, putting them through on away goals. Elsewhere, A.C. Milan thrashed Mikael Schøler’s Juventus 4-0 for a 4-1 aggregate win. Man United won the Final, in Moscow, sealing their 2-0 victory before half time. Midfielder Chris Bailey missed a penalty sixteen minutes from time, but A.C. Milan couldn’t take control of the game. Meanwhile, Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea completed a treble by lifting the Champions League crown. Having beaten Zaragoza and Inter both 3-2 on aggregate in the Quarter Final and Semi-Final respectively, they met Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham, who had beaten Lyon and Lars Tommersen’s Betis in the last two rounds. The Blues had the edge, but it took a penalty from John Fleck ten minutes from time to give them the 1-0 win. A first Champions League win for Chelsea, while Spurs were in the Final for the first time, too.

When we left them, Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid were tenuously still in the title race. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t win La Liga, but they did finish second. In May, they beat Alavés, Racing, and league winners Zaragoza, and drew with Murcia and Valencia. Barcelona and Atlético Madrid also got Champions League places, with Betis, Valencia and Alavés entering the Europa League. Murcia, Tenerife and Albacete were relegated, and Villarreal and Castellón make up two of the sides that will replace them. As for Real Madrid, they had a cup Final to play.

Road to the Final – Copa del Rey

Lucas Volman ’s Real Madrid started their Copa del Rey campaign in style, with a 12-0 aggregate victory over Cultural Leonesa. This put them into the Fifth Round, to meet Albacete, whom they beat 5-1. Meanwhile, Marcelino García Toral’s Zaragoza started against Real Unión, winning 5-0. They went better in their Fifth Round tie, with an 8-1 win overall over Murcia. Their Quarter Final drew them against Deportivo, whom they beat 7-3 on aggregate. Real Madrid’s Quarter Final tie came against Alavés, and, despite a 1-1 draw at home, they advanced 4-1 on aggregate. They faced Hércules in the Semi-Final, and made their position known early on with a 2-0 victory in the away leg, which enabled a 7-2 aggregate win. Zaragoza reached the Final with a 4-1 win over Real’s rivals Atlético.

Valencia’s Nuevo Mestalla played host to the Final, which didn’t really get interesting until midway through the second half. Romanian midfielder Vlad Pop put Lucas Volman’s Real Madrid ahead in the 68th minute after a clever move from the team. But just four minutes later, Zaragoza’s Serbian striker Miodrag Popovic equalised after a pretty shambolic mix-up in the Real defence. Extra time came, and just three minutes into it, Popovic netted again, rounding Real centreback Gianluca Nobili and firing the ball low into the goal. It looked like Jürgen Klinsmann’s Zaragoza might sneak the win, but a rallying team talk from Lucas Volman in the small half time period inspired Argentina striker Emanuel Páez, who lists Volman among his inspirations, to level the scores with a wonderful long-range shot. 2-2 was the final score, and the match came down to penalties. It was an error-strewn shootout, and, after five kicks for each side, the score was 3-3. Páez and Popovic both notably missed their chances. Both teams scored their first two sudden-death chances, but Iosu Alkorta scored for Real while 31-year-old fullback Julián Quesada missed for Zaragoza. Trophy number 27 for Lucas Volman, and he can retire contented.

For Lord Weeman’s Napoli, it was so close once again in the Serie A title race. They missed out on the Scudetto, finishing three points behind winners A.C. Milan, who brought to an end their seven-year estrangement from the title. Napoli played three games in May, winning home games against Parma and Lazio, and losing away to Mantova. Parma, Empoli and Cagliari were relegated from the Italian top flight, with Bologna, Fiorentina, and one of Torino, Atalanta, AlbinoLeffe and Chievo replacing them. Meanwhile, Napoli could console themselves with the Coppa Italia Final.

Road to the Final – Coppa Italia

For Napoli, the Coppa Italia campaign got off to a shaky start, and they required penalties to beat Catania at home in the First Round. This sent them to Friuli, to face Robert Boyle’s Udinese, and they capitalised on the turmoil at the club following the loss of its manager, and won 1-0. Cool Manager’s Inter also drew at home in the First Round, and could only beat Modena from the spot. But things then picked up for them: they thrashed Quarter Final visitors Frosinone 4-0, and then played rivals A.C. Milan, winning 3-0 in the home leg and reaching the Final 4-1 on aggregate. Lord Weeman met his old nemesis Tyler Burrows as Napoli took on Roma in the other Semi-Final, and Weeman’s side tore apart their opposition, winning 3-1 at home and 5-2 away.

The match started off electrically, and it wasn’t long before the excitement got to some of the players. England international Matt Hazell was given a straight red card just twenty minutes in, for elbowing Napoli’s Spanish striker Daniel Resino. Lord Weeman’s side made full use of their man-advantage, taking control of the game. They netted in the 36th minute with a stunning long-range free kick from Italian defender Nicola Giovanardi. The befouled Resino doubled the lead in the 54th minute, with a clever chip into the Inter goal’s top corner. 2-0 was the Final score, giving Weeman his twelfth piece of silverware with the club. He has been rewarded with a £105,000-per-week contract that takes him up until 2029.

It has been an exciting month. Now, all eyes turn to France for the 2026 World Cup. Brettney Joven, Neilio, Fréderico Canvey and Tim Aubel will be there, and we’ll be cheering them on.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 15

In England, Tom Smith’s Arsenal have prised top spot away from Manchester City, although the Sky Blues remain the only side unbeaten, and were the only side to beat the Gunners this month, as the London-based club romped to five wins, including a 4-0 victory over Fulham and a 5-0 one over Rosenborg in the Champions League. Harry Redknapp’s Blackburn are in third place, with Manchester United in fourth. Shazad Ali had a good month at Newcastle, who are eighth, beating Hull and rivals Sunderland, and securing a 5-0 win over Russians Khimki in the Europa League. Their only loss was to Arsenal in the League Cup Third Round, although they also drew against Tottenham. Scott Tysoe’s Sunderland started the month badly, drawing against Crystal Palace and that loss to Newcastle, but a win over Wolves in the League Cup and one over Ipswich in the league puts them 15th, just above Bryan McGuinness’s Everton who failed to win this month.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

Almost as a parting gesture;

Lucas Volman , Real Madrid

wins this award. He picked up eleven points from fifteen in his last (ever) league games, and just about won the Copa del Rey. Lord Weeman also did well, lifting the Coppa Italia with a 2-0 win over Inter.

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   6537
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6537
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Insecure 6537
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[el sid]

Joint 3rd in the all time cup wins Missed out on an opportunity to win another one though

[canvey!!]

English Premier League Table

Italian Serie A League Table

Spanish La Liga League Table (last one you’ll get)

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Games Played at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Plyd[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      1080 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  1046 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+2[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli        902 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+2[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus      601
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+2[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter         580
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+4[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea       358
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis         334
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle     113
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds/ENG u19  95
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE ScottT!         Scott Tysoe       Sunderland    Fulham         52[/font]

[PluckaDuck]

Still don't know why I left Udinese for Roma, such a stupid decision

[canvey!!]

World Cup Preview

Bienvenue en France! Le vingt-troisième coup de monde commencera bientôt, donc, nous examinerons les équipes qui veulent le gagner.

Group A would be the logical place to start, and it is there that we find Fréderico Canvey’s Spain. The former Everton boss has done a good job since taking over a year ago, and Spain must be odds-on favourites to go through. They are joined by Poland, Chile, and Cup of African Nations winners Morocco. Chile will whimper out of the tournament, I’m afraid, and I think Poland will pip the North Africans to second place.

Group B looks all exotic for some reason, but it’s difficult to call a group containing Scotland ‘exotic’. They are joined by fellow Anglophones Australia, as well a Cuba and six-times winners Brazil. Brazil will sail through in first place, and I think Australia have enough about them to qualify too. If they have any dignity, Scotland will beat Cuba, or at least draw and do better against the other two teams, and claim third place.

There are some heavyweights in Group C, and it’s a shame that two of them will have to be eliminated. Portugal, Argentina, Mexico and Japan clash in this group, and, despite the Portuguese woes of late, I think they can qualify from this group. Argentina are my favourites to join Portugal in qualification, and indeed I feel the South Americans can top the group. Japan should pip Mexico to third place, but with things so close, don’t be amazed whatever the result.

Neilio ’s Italy have a tough group in the shape of Group D. Having said that, I feel they have enough about them to get three wins and finish top. Russia, South Korea and South Africa make up their opponents, and, while it’s tempting to tip the Russians for second place, I think in the end it will be South Korea who join Italy in qualification, with South Africa falling by the wayside and finishing fourth.

The third of our four managers finds himself in Group E. That sentence alone is enough to tell you that it is Tim Aubel, whose United States face Croatia, Paraguay and the hosts France. France have got to be favourites to qualify, and Paraguay have disappointed me in the past, so I’d put them bottom. I think the United States have enough about them to beat Croatia and finish second.

Group F is the place to be, as any of these teams could win the group. I tip Uruguay for first place, and I’m afraid Tunisia are odds-on to finish fourth. That leaves the Czechs and the Greeks, and although I might be a bit biased in being Hellenophile, I do believe Greece can finish second. Group H is also a pretty open group, although Germany will run away with the top spot. Cameroon, Iran and Sweden will all be competing for second place, and it might just be the optimist in me, but I think Cameroon can get it.

We’ll conclude with Group G, where, just like in 2022, England find themselves. They won’t have a lot of trouble beating Nigeria or China, and so are my favourites to top the group. Denmark aren’t always too consistent, but I don’t think the Nigerians or the Chinese threaten them either, and they will follow England into the Second Round.

You’ve heard what I have to say, so now have a stats burst. Usually, I focus on players, but this time, I’m going to look at the teams and their qualifying campaigns. You’re going to see how many matches the played, how many goals they scored, and their biggest win. Obviously, France aren’t in this list.

[font=Courier New]  [b]Nation         GP Gls Biggest Win[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mexico         18  49 7-0 vs. Trinidad & Tobago
 [/font][font=Courier New]Brazil         18  46 4-0 vs. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay
 [/font][font=Courier New]Argentina      18  45 5-0 vs. Peru
 [/font][font=Courier New]Iran           16  42 5-0 vs. Oman
 [/font][font=Courier New]China          20  38 5-0 vs. Hong Kong
 [/font][font=Courier New]Japan          14  36 6-0 vs. Iraq
 [/font][font=Courier New]Australia      14  35 5-0 vs. Lebanon
 [/font][font=Courier New]Cameroon       12  34 5-0 vs. DR Congo
 [/font][font=Courier New]Paraguay       20  34 4-0 vs. Bolivia, Colombia
 [/font][font=Courier New]South Africa   12  32 4-0 vs. Ethiopia, Guinea, Niger
 [/font][font=Courier New]United States  18  32 4-0 vs. Cayman Islands
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tunisia        12  31 4-0 vs. Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone
 [/font][font=Courier New]Italy          12  30 4-0 vs. Malta, Bosnia & Hz., Bosnia & Hz.
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nigeria        12  30 5-1 vs. Mauritania, Togo
 [/font][font=Courier New]Germany        10  28 4-0 vs. Andorra, Estonia, Estonia
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sweden         12  27 4-0 vs. Andorra
 [/font][font=Courier New]Uruguay        18  27 4-0 vs. Venezuela
 [/font][font=Courier New]Greece         10  26 4-0 vs. Malta, Malta, Norway
 [/font][font=Courier New]Denmark        12  26 4-0 vs. FYR Macedonia, Israel
 [/font][font=Courier New]Morocco        12  26 3-0 vs. Guinea
 [/font][font=Courier New]Chile          18  26 4-0 vs. Ecuador
 [/font][font=Courier New]Croatia        10  25 5-0 vs. Liechtenstein
 [/font][font=Courier New]South Korea    14  25 4-0 vs. Yemen
 [/font][font=Courier New]England         8  24 7-0 vs. Kazakhstan
 [/font][font=Courier New]Scotland       10  24 6-0 vs. Lithuania
 [/font][font=Courier New]Portugal       10  22 3-0 vs. Romania
 [/font][font=Courier New]Russia         10  22 3-0 vs. N. Ireland, 4-1 vs. San Marino
 [/font][font=Courier New]Cuba           18  22 3-0 vs. Antigua & Barbuda
 [/font][font=Courier New]Czech Republic 10  21 3-0 vs. Latvia, Slovakia, 4-1 vs. Luxembourg
 [/font][font=Courier New]Poland         10  20 5-0 vs. Montenegro
 [/font][font=Courier New]Spain           8  14 2-0 vs. Austria, Serbia, Slovenia[/font]

Alors, il y a une grand variété. Le mois prochain, je vous présenterai le coup de monde!

[hasdgfas]

Yeah, predicted to finish second

Now we'll get fourth

[PluckaDuck]

MON Cuba

[canvey!!]

Update 216 and World Cup Report Part I

Years: 18, Months: 216, Days: 6567

It’s World Cup time and football teams, media circuses and buses full of fans have descended upon France. Let’s see how the exciting action unfolded.

Fréderico Canvey ’s Spain opened the tournament, being the defending champions, against Morocco. Spain were resplendently clinical, and ran out 3-1 victors with a brace from 29-year-old Inter striker José Luis Nieto. That scoreline was matched later in the day by Poland, who won against an ill-disciplined Chile side. Poland and Spain drew 1-1 in their Group A encounter, but the Spanish secured qualification with a 4-0 win over Chile. Poland, however, fell at the hands of Morocco, and, given that the Moroccans had beaten Chile too, they got through ahead of the Poles.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Spain, Poland, Morocco, Chile

Actual Result: Spain (7), Morocco (6), Poland (4), Chile (0)

Accuracy: 80%

I was pleasantly surprised by the result in Group B. Craig Gordon’s Scotland did remarkably well, opening with a 3-0 win over Cuba, drawing goalless with Brazil, and beating Australia 1-0 in the final game. They topped the group, and Brazil followed them through after drawing with the Aussies and beating the Cubans. The match between Australia and Cuba, while the least relevant, was the most exciting, with Australia winning 7-0. Lyon’s Fabian Klaver and Tottenham’s Kris Cole each got two goals.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Brazil, Australia, Scotland, Cuba

Actual Result: Scotland (7), Brazil (5), Australia (4), Cuba (0)

Accuracy: 60%

No team has converted 100% of points yet, and that wasn’t about to change in Group C. Argentina topped the group, but, like Scotland and Spain, picked up seven points, having beaten Mexico and Japan but drawn with Portugal. Emanuel Páez scored three of Argentina’s five goals. Portugal also drew against Mexico, with neither side able to score, but the 1-0 win against Japan with which they opened the group was sufficient to put them through. Mexico claimed third place by beating the Japanese 1-0.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Argentina, Portugal, Japan, Mexico

Actual Result: Argentina (7), Portugal (5), Mexico (4), Japan (0)

Accuracy: 80%

In Italy, top pundits believe Lord Weeman’s Napoli will finish second for the second year running. Defending champions A.C. Milan are their favourites for the title, with Inter and Juventus also odds-on to get Champions League places. At the bottom of the table, Serie B winners Bologna are predicted to get relegated, but fellow newly-promoted teams Fiorentina and Atalanta are believed to be capable of avoiding the drop, with Vicenza and Ascoli going in their place. The latter has actually been involved in European football this month, having qualified through the Fair Play draw. They got two 3-0 wins over Montenegrin side FK Decic Tuzi in the Europa League First Qualifying Round. Weeman’s Napoli made one transfer this month, buying the second half of Lazio’s Senegalese midfielder Souleymane Sambou for £975k.

Back to World Cup action, then, with Group D. Neilio’s Italy, as expected, coped, but they were also unable to take all the points. They beat South Africa 3-0, before an own goal gave them a 1-0 win over South Korea. They finished the group with a goalless draw against Russia, who also picked up seven points. The Russians beat South Korea 2-1 and South Africa 3-1. The Koreans beat South Africa 2-1 in their game.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Italy, South Korea, Russia, South Africa

Actual Result: Italy (7), Russia (7), South Korea (3), South Africa (0)

Accuracy: 80%

Group E saw Tim Aubel’s United States competing, and they opened against hosts France, looking to create a tumult. They didn’t, going down 0-1 without much of a fight. The French went on to win the group, but were also unable to pick up nine points. They beat Paraguay 4-2 but drew goalless with Croatia. The Americans were aiming for second place, and they drew their game against Paraguay, 1-1, definitely not one for the neutrals. They matched that result against Croatia, another poor game. With just two points, they whimpered out, and Croatia took second place with a 2-1 win over Paraguay.

canvey!!’s Prediction: France, United States, Croatia, Paraguay

Actual Result: France (7), Croatia (5), United States (2), Paraguay (1)

Accuracy: 80%

At last, a group where I got everything right. Which is odd, as it was, in my view, the most open group. Uruguay lost their opening game to the Czech Republic, but still topped it, by virtue of victories over Tunisia and Greece. The Greeks finished second, beating Tunisia 1-0 and drawing goalless with the Czechs. The Tunisian victory over the Czech Republic made things as close as I believed they would be, but the African side still finished bottom.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Uruguay, Greece, Czech Republic, Tunisia

Actual Result: Uruguay (6), Greece (4), Czech Republic (4), Tunisia (3)

Accuracy: 100%

Man City will win the Premier League. So says the Sun, and if Roberto Mancini can engineer a league win, he will be a revered man in the blue half of Manchester. Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea, who have won the title four times in the last five years, are tipped to finish second, while critics say that Tom Smith’s Arsenal are likely to finish ninth. Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest are favourites for relegation, but newly-promoted Everton will survive, the Daily Star hypothesises (you don’t hear that phrase very often), with Derby going down in their place.

It’s now time to see how Brettney Joven’s England did in their World Cup group. They started brightly, beating China 2-0 before a 3-1 victory over Nigeria. This saw them qualified, as Denmark had also beaten those two teams, 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. In the game between England and Denmark, Man City midfielder Michael Hansen scored his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament, single-handedly holding the Three Lions to a 2-2 draw. Craig Robson and Adam Pepper netted for Joven’s side. China and Nigeria drew 1-1.

canvey!!’s Prediction: England, Denmark, China/Nigeria

Actual Result: Denmark (7), England (7), China (1), Nigeria (1)

Accuracy: 60 – 80%

And finally, Group H. Germany, as anticipated, romped to victory, beating Sweden and Iran 2-0, and Cameroon 4-0. Iran drew their other two games 0-0, and Sweden pipped them to second place with a 2-1 victory over Cameroon.

canvey!!’s Prediction: Germany, Cameroon, Iran/Sweden

Actual Result: Germany (9), Sweden (4), Iran (2), Cameroon (1)

Accuracy: 55 – 60%

So those are the group stages complete, and we move on to the Second Round. In a Scandinavian encounter, Denmark beat Sweden 2-1, and that was the fairest result. The last African side left the tournament as Morocco lost 0-2 to Scotland, and that result was matched by France over Greece and by Argentina over Russia. A goal from Roma striker Emilio Medina, who lists Cool Manager, Ben Cee and Tom Smith among his favoured personnel, helped Uruguay to a 1-0 win over Croatia.

Fréderico Canvey ’s Spain found their efforts to lift a fourth consecutive World Cup thwarted by Brazil. The match was even, and a draw was a fair result. Spain took the lead eight minutes in, only for Brazil’s Eduardo to nullify that lead in the 37th minute. The second half was pretty dull, and an unflinching performance from the spot saw the South Americans win 5-3 on penalties. Neilio’s Italy have had a few dull games so far, but they set a new low in their Round of 16 match against Portugal. Between them, the two teams mustered eight shots, and Italy got both the on-target ones. With that, you’d expect the Italians to win or at least draw, and it was a goal from Valencia’s Juri Rigamonti in the 16th minute that put them into the Last Eight. Brettney Joven’s England had a fiery match against Germany, the only side to have won all their games, but captain Craig Robson powered them in front five minutes before half time, with a powerful header. A minute after the restart, he struck again, in almost identical circumstances. Chelsea’s Lee Taylor got the assist both times with sweet crosses, and does an invaluable job on the right wing.

So Brazil, after having knocked out one of our managers, are looking for a second scalp: they take on Neilio’s Italy. England will face another two derbies, assuming they win in the Quarter Final, where they play France, because Argentina or Scotland await them in the Final Four. Uruguay play Denmark in what I suppose we must call the match of the underdogs. The winner of that will face Brazil or Italy.

With Lucas Volman retiring and with a World Cup to be won, next month will be monumental. Don’t miss it!

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 16

Over to England where there is already a bit of a power fight at the top of the Premier League table, and it seems that the top four are already beginning to carve out a lead over fifth-placed Everton. Harry Redknapp’s Blackburn found themselves in the mix at the start of the month, but fell out after a tough set of fixtures and are now six points adrift of Tom Smith’s fourth-placed Arsenal. Arsenal drew three matches 1-1 this month, winning one and losing one also. Birmingham were seen off 4-2, but a trip to White Hart Lane in a fierce North London Derby saw Leo Dodge’s Tottenham trump 1-0 with a Darren Bent goal. Dodge is having a comfortable season so far, but lingers in 8th spot by virtue of two games in hand. Aside from Arsenal, West Brom and Aston Villa were also seen off this month, with Ipswich proving a challenge too far; Spurs lost at Portman Road.

~~ ~~

Meanwhile, Tyler Burrows’s Udinese are adrift in third place in Group F, behind Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The Andorran’s team lost 0-2 to the Germans this month, but are in 8th place in Serie A. Lord Weeman’s Napoli leapt from 14th to 6th in Serie A this month with a very impressive 100% performance: a 5-0 win over Bologna, a 2-0 win over Bologna and of course that 2-0 win away to Inter.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

This month’s winner is;

Brettney Joven , England (formerly of Wigan)

simply for being more entertaining than Neilio. Both managers got their teams into the World Cup Quarter Finals, which isn’t a walk in the park, but still, there weren’t any real stand-out contenders for the award this month. This month’s award is be the penultimate one, as, once we get down to two managers, I will discontinue the award.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6567
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid Secure        6567
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6567
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[el sid]

Phew qualified to the CL by the skin of our teeth

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 26 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Games Won at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Won Percent Chnge[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st  [color=blue]0[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      708 (65.6%) [color=red]-2.3%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] Romanista1994   Lucas Volman      Real Madrid   Real Madrid  690 (66.0%) [color=red]-0.3%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+1[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       531 (58.9%) [color=green]+0.3%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+2[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        388 (66.9%) [color=red]-2.2%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+2[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     363 (60.4%) [color=green]+0.2%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+3[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      250 (69.8%) [color=red]-1.0%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis        194 (58.1%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle     60 (53.1%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds         49 (51.6%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo       20 (47.6%)  n/a[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 217

Years: 18, Months: 217, Days: 6598

And then there were two. I had no particular inclination to produce one, but, seeing as Haowan Madridstas got one, I thought I’d give you the lowdown on Lucas Volman’s stats. Former Sevilla manager Manolo Jiménez replaces the 65-year-old at Real Madrid.

 [font=Courier New]Highest Fee Spent      £52M (Keith Smith#)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Highest Fee Received   £20.5M (Adriano)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Players Bought         85 (£809M)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Players Sold           115 (£394M)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Players Released       41
 [/font][font=Courier New]Time at Real Madrid    6573 days

 [/font][font=Courier New]Champions League wins  4 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017)
 [/font][font=Courier New]La Liga wins           5 (2009, 2010, 2013, 2018, 2025)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Europa League wins     1 (2011)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Copa del Rey wins      5 (2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2026)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Spanish Super Cup wins 4 (2009, 2010, 2018, 2025)
 [/font][font=Courier New]UEFA Super Cup wins    4 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2017)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Club World Chmp wins   4 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Total Silverware       27
 [/font][font=Courier New]Awards Won             14

 [/font][font=Courier New]Matches Played         1046
 [/font][font=Courier New]Matches Won            690
 [/font][font=Courier New]Matches Drawn          205
 [/font][font=Courier New]Matches Lost           151
 [/font][font=Courier New]Goals Scored           2122 (2.03p/m)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Goals Conceded         778 (0.74p/m)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Goal Difference        +1344

 [/font][font=Courier New]Manager of the Update  28 times
 [/font][font=Courier New]In Stats Lists         158 times
 [/font][font=Courier New]Tops Stats Lists       23 times
 [/font][font=Courier New]Months as Most Secure  154
 [/font][font=Courier New]Times Mentioned        1976

 [/font][font=Courier New]Hall of Fame Points    660 (9 Major Trophies, 6 Minor Trophies)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Italian Hall of Fame   2nd (1st Giovanni Trappatoni, 705; 3rd Marcello Lippi 620)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Spain Hall of Fame     2nd (1st Haowa Madridstas, 720; 3rd Miguel Muñoz, 560)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Europe Hall of Fame    4th (3rd Giovanni Trappatoni, 705; 5th Marcello Lippi 620)
 [/font][font=Courier New]World Hall of Fame     As Europe[/font]

The World Cup Quarter Finals were very close. So close, in fact, that not one of them ended after ninety minutes. In Uruguay versus Denmark, it was all set to go to penalties, when, four minutes before the end of extra time, Roma’s Emilio Medina was given a second yellow card. Denmark capitalised on their man advantage, with midfielder Michael Hansen scoring a minute later, the only goal of the game. The pain is doubled for Uruguay by the fact that it was not unreasonable to expect ‘keeper Fernando Ramírez to make the save. The other three matches went to penalties: Brazil drew goalless with Neilio’s Italy, and won 4-3 from the spot, and Argentina couldn’t score against Scotland, despite spending the second half of extra time a man up, but won through 4-2 in the shootout. Brettney Joven’s England met France, and the French went ahead after 12 minutes, with a goal from Marseille striker Laurent Bauduin from just inside the penalty area. Six minutes later, with an own goal from Alexandre Legrand, also known as Alexander the Big. Craig Robson’s sidefooted shot bounced off the Bordeaux defender and past the French ‘keeper. The rest of the game was bereft of action, and Legrand made up for his earlier mistake by scoring the winning penalty for the French. 4-2 was the shootout score.

The Semi-Finals, while less nervy, were more exciting. To the shock of many, Denmark beat Brazil 2-0, with FC København’s Svend Aage Schøler (no relation) scoring both goals. A red card for Inter defender Rodrigo saw Brazil go down to ten men after twenty-two minutes, and two minutes later, Denmark got their first. Schøler added a second on the hour mark. Argentina showed similar guile in beating France: goals from José Luis Moreno, Luis Miranda and Cristian Iglesias helped them to a 3-0 victory against the host nation.

Tom Smith was fairly active in the transfer window this month, with two players arriving at the Emirates, and one leaving. Braga’s Portuguese centreback David Baptista joined for £7.25M, and is actually the only Portuguese player at the club, despite Smith’s own heritage. 24-year-old goalkeeper Marc McDonald arrived on a free, while an 18-year-old shot stopper, David Stroud, joined Q.P.R. for £625k. Centreback Joseph Olawale joins Wigan on loan until January. Arsenal played five friendlies this month, winning all five. They won 2-0 against Germinal Beerschot before a tour of Germany that resulted in a 2-0 win over 1860 München, a 3-0 win over Unterhaching, and a 4-0 win over Aachen. They then won 3-1 at Modena.

France and Brazil met in the 2010 Final, but both have now been relegated to the Third Place Playoff. Brazil have finished third twice in the last three years, but this time, despite dominating the game, they lost out to the French, who won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Barcelona striker Mathis Charbonnel. Charbonnel converted a penalty after four minutes, and, to give nervous French fans a break, doubled the lead nine minutes from time.

In Italy, Lord Weeman has been very busy, signing no fewer than five players. Well, signing just fewer than five players: four-and-a-half. Firstly, he bought half of 17-year-old Fiorentina winger Vincenzo Bucci for £1M. Udinese goalkeeper Maurizio Del Giudice signed for £3.1M, and versatile Cagliari midfielder Leonardo for £7.25M. Weeman signed AZ Alkmaar’s attacking midfielder Marco Spadaro for £10.25M, and finished off his spending with a flourish, bringing in Rimini’s 22-year-old cultured midfielder Davide Donadel for £23M, Weeman’s biggest ever spend on one player. 29-year-old goalkeeper Rico Clark, who arrived last season from Everton for nothing, signed for Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea for £325k. Napoli played two friendlies, losing 1-3 at Hannover but beating feeder club Benevento 4-1. Next month, they play the Italian Super Cup away to A.C. Milan.

The Stade de France played host to the World Cup Final, between Denmark and Argentina. Argentina started brightly, and, after 14 minutes, Emanuel Páez, receiving the ball upfield from José Luis Moreno, rounded his marker Henrik Larsen and fired the ball into the net. Argentina continued to press, but were unable to get a second goal, with a lot of their shots going off target. In the second half, it was Denmark’s turn for dominance, but they found themselves up against a sturdy and resilient Argentine defence that was not looking likely to give. However, in the 92nd minute, FC Twente striker Lars Sripathy finally beat the South American goalkeeper to put the ball into the net. However, his goal was ruled out for offside. It was the most high-profile of decisions, but English referee Daniel O’Neill and his assistants got it correct. With time running out, Denmark couldn’t get a goal and Gabriel Milito’s Argentina took the Jules Rimet trophy back home for the third time.

In other international news, Maz Armley’s England under 19s were active this month in the European U19 Championship in Sweden. They secured qualification from their group after two games, beating the Czech Republic 2-1 and Ukraine 2-0, although they finished second in their group after a final-match defeat to Italy. They met hosts Sweden in the Semi-Final, and triumphed 2-1 with two goals in as many minutes, and would encounter Italy again. A goal from 18-year-old Nottingham Forest centreback Robbie Hall just before half time gave the Three Lions a 1-0 victory, and saw Armley win the tournament for the second consecutive time. Nottingham Forest, by the way, this month appointed Steve Bruce to replace the retiring Russell Slade. Elsewhere in England, Fulham hired Iker Casillas, to replace Scott Tysoe, who has also hung up his boots.

So, the media circus of the World Cup is over for another four years. Well, within two years qualifying will start again. But for the moment, we can concentrate on our two managers and their unrelenting quest to capture the 60 to One crown.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 17

English people celebrated the Fourth Round of their League Cup, with a nice and decisive win being secured for Liam Ferguson’s Manchester City over Tom Smith’s Arsenal. Vagner Love bagged a hattrick and Arsenal’s Adebayor got one as City won 5-1. Combined with their league form which puts them top of the EPL, after a win and two draws this month, Ferguson is in a Secure position. Arsenal are second but are slowly closing the gap, as they got two wins and a draw this month, including a 3-1 triumph over Manchester United and a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Those two teams also find themselves in the Quarter Final, along with Liverpool and West Ham and Tottenham and Sunderland. Q.P.R.’s 1-0 extra-time win over Alan Irvine’s Stoke puts them through as the last remaining Championship team.

~~ ~~

Manager of the Update

It’s a shame that the final Manager of the Update award comes in a month when none of our managers are really doing much. Our two remaining managers in the World Cup, Neilio and Brettney Joven, limped out, and Tom Smith and Lord Weeman had nothing to do but make signings and play friendlies. I would reward Weeman for his ambitious spending, but it is equally possible to reward Smith for his relative austerity. The easiest person to give this award to is;

Maz Armley, Leeds and England under 19s (formerly of Racing)

for winning the European U19 Championship for the second year in a row. Armley’s side, despite losing to Italy in the group stage, won the tournament with a 1-0 win over the Italian juniors in the Final.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6598
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Stable        6598
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[PluckaDuck]

And then there were two

Good luck to the pair of you.

[Romanista1994]

And then there were two. Stupid retirement.

But I made the top three. \o/ Good luck to the remaining participants.

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

[font=Courier New]  [b]Update Winner, Club                [/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 21 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 21 Saul Goode, Wales (formerly of Osasuna)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 21 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 21 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 21 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 22 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 22 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 22 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 22 Arnold J. Rimmer, Newcastle (formerly of Bolton)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 22 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 22 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 22 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 23 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 23 Tim Aubel, United States (formerly of Fulham)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 23 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 23 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 23 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 23 Tom Smith, Arsenal
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 24 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 24 Cool Manager, Inter (formerly of Atlético Madrid)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 24 Liam Ferguson, England (formerly of Man City)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 24 Neilio, Italy (formerly of Almería)
 [/font][font=Courier New]       Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 24 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 24 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 24 Haowan Madridstas, Barcelona
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 25 Robert Boyle, Portsmouth and England under 21s (formerly of Blackburn)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 25 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Aug 25 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Sep 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Oct 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Nov 25 Tyler Burrows, Udinese
 [/font][font=Courier New]Dec 25 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jan 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Feb 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]Mar 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Apr 26 Lord Weeman, Napoli
 [/font][font=Courier New]May 26 Lucas Volman, Real Madrid
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jun 26 Brettney Joven, England (formerly of Wigan)
 [/font][font=Courier New]Jul 26 Maz Armley, Leeds and England under 19s (formerly of Racing)[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Games Drawn at Current Club

  [b][font=&quot][font=Courier New]Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Drn Percent Chnge[/font][/font][/b][font=Courier New]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      201 (18.6%) [color=green]+0.3%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+1[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       193 (21.4%) [color=red]-0.2%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+3[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     127 (21.1%) [color=green]+0.5%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+3[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        114 (19.7%) [color=green]+1.0%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+5[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea       66 (18.4%) [color=red]-0.3%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th NE Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis         63 (18.9%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle     17 (14.8%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds         16 (16.8%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE JSalter         James Salter      Reggina       Portsmouth    12 (44.4%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo        9 (20.5%)  n/a[/font]

Lifespan – 5 to 10 Years

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos Username             Manager             Club       Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th TaylorB              Ben Taylor          Fiorentina 3442
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th fergysafc            Liam Ferguson       Man City   2783
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th JSalter              James Salter        Reggina    2710
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th mikeytwigge          Mikey Twigge        Palermo    2507
 [/font][font=Courier New]11th BenArsenal           Ben Cee             Inter      2502
 [/font][font=Courier New]12th super_lampard        Super Lampard       Lecce      2119
 [/font][font=Courier New]13th Cardiovascular       Cardio Vascular     Genoa      2010
 [/font][font=Courier New]14th Lower Leagues Rule   Jonte Rhodes        Lazio      1968[/font]

Lifespan – 2 to 5 Years

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos Username             Manager             Club       Days[/b]
 [/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]

Lifespan – 1 to 2 Years

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos Username             Manager             Club      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New]38th conners              Sirus Lannock       Málaga     628
 [/font][font=Courier New]39th MikaelS              Mikael Schøler      Bologna    613
 [/font][font=Courier New]40th Swafe                Saul Goode          Osasuna    551
 [/font][font=Courier New]41st hamilton162          Tom Hamilton        Mallorca   509
 [/font][font=Courier New]42nd kashmirshazad        Shazad Ali          Newcastle  508
 [/font][font=Courier New]43rd DiscoStu94           Da Hoover Man       Sampdoria  501
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - ScottT!              Scott Tysoe         Sunderland 501
 [/font][font=Courier New]45th 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]46th corinthiano          Mathias Brunckhorst Chievo     327
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Neilio               Neilio              Almería    327
 [/font][font=Courier New]48th Robert_296           Robert Boyle        Blackburn  326
 [/font][font=Courier New]49th brettney1980         Brettney Joven      Wigan      320
 [/font][font=Courier New]50th TigerJoe             Joe Seddon          Getafe     271
 [/font][font=Courier New]51st jack.browne          Jack Browne         Sevilla    250
 [/font][font=Courier New]52nd NepentheZ            Neppo Monster       Cagliari   236
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - dafuge               dafuge              Torino     236
 [/font][font=Courier New]54th KiddingChoc          Zach Machios        Portsmouth 235
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - Whoopy D             Whoopy D            West Ham   235
 [/font][font=Courier New]56th d-machine            David Machine       Athletic   229
 [/font][font=Courier New]57th PaulHartman71        Jeremy English      Liverpool  204
 [/font][font=Courier New]58th Chimpos              Phill Ewles         Valladolid
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - tadr                 Andre da Conceiçao  Chelsea
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - markcator3006        Mark Cator          Aston Villa[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 218

Years: 18, Months: 218, Days: 6629

The season is under way for our two managers. Let’s see how August panned out.

Tom Smith ’s Arsenal won all their games, which surprised me a little. After comprehensively beating Mikael Schøler’s Juventus in a friendly, they started their league campaign with a 4-0 win over newly-promoted Nottingham Forest and a 3-1 victory at Hillsborough. They then won 2-0 at Bristol City in the Carling Cup Third Round. They sit sixth, but all the teams above them have played three games, and no team has won all three. The Gunners start next month hosting James Ridley’s Man United, so they might not win all three either. After signing Portuguese player Baptista last month, Arsenal signed Portuguese player Baptista this month. This time it was Marco Baptista, who arrived from Olympiakos for £8.25M. Versatile Honduran fullback and midfielder Walter Díaz left the club after five years of service, signing for Leicester for £1.2M. In next month’s Carling Cup Third Round, Arsenal will host Kevin Ball’s Aston Villa. Maz Armley’s Leeds host Super Lampard’s Newcastle in the tie of the round.

Over in Italy, Lord Weeman’s Napoli have also made a good start to the season. After winning three and drawing one of their friendly matches this month, Napoli won the Italian Super Cup with a 1-0 victory at A.C. Milan, and started their league campaign with a similar win at home to Sampdoria. They travel back to Milan next month for their league match against Marco van Basten’s side. They have been handed a fairly tricky Champions League group, being drawn alongside Manolo Jiménez’s Real Madrid. Feyenoord and Basel are also in the group. Weeman continued his busy transfer window with two signings this month: 22-year-old Mexican striker Juan Pablo Valdés arrived from Boca for £16.75M, and leftback Giorgio Ferro also came to San Paolo, at the price of £4.2M each to Rimini and Parma. Last month’s goalkeeper signing Vincenzo Bucci left the club, going to Cádiz for £350k. The logic of the £650k loss escapes me.

With the transfer window now closed, the stage is set for an exciting new season with just two managers left! No nostalgia this month, as neither of our managers attracted any attention in Update 18.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6629
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6629
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

[canvey!!]

Manager of the Update – Previous Winners

A breakdown of Manager of the Update winners since January 2021.

20: Lord Weeman

15: Lucas Volman

10: Tyler Burrows

6: Tom Smith

5: Haowan Madridstas

3: Brettney Joven

2: Liam Ferguson

1: Maz Armley, Tim Aubel, Robert Boyle, Saul Goode, Cool Manager, Neilio, Arnold J. Rimmer

And so, an overall list of winners:

45: Lord Weeman

28: Lucas Volman

26: Haowan Madridstas

25: Tom Smith

22: Tyler Burrows

10: Liam Ferguson

9: Leo Dodge

8: Ben Taylor

4: Lawrence Lazewski, Mikey Twigge

3: Brucie Bonus, Brettney Joven, Super Lampard, Cool Manager

2: Clark Aitken, Tim Aubel, Robert Boyle, Ben Cee, Lisa Jeffries, Bryan McGuinness, Will de Mote, James Salter, Jonte Rhodes

1: Maz Armley, bermybhoy, Martin Bojangles, Mark Cator, Saul Goode, Neji Hyuuga, Maurice Jobson, Wobill Luman, Ricky Nakano, Neilio, Arnold J. Rimmer, Cardio Vascular

0: The other 25 managers

All Star Top Ten – Games Lost at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Lst Percent Chnge[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       178 (19.7%) [color=green]-0.3%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+3[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      171 (15.8%) [color=red]+1.9%[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+4[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     111 (18.4%) [color=green]-1.2%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+5[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter         78 (13.4%) [color=red]+1.0%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+5[/color] Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis         77 (22.8%) [color=green]-2.9%[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th NE ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea       42 (11.6%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle     38 (31.7%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds         32 (31.9%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo       19 (40.4%)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th [color=red]-9[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Roma          11 (31.4%) [color=red]+6.2%[/color][/font]

[el sid]

Unlucky Romanista

[canvey!!]

Update 219

Years: 18, Months: 219, Days: 6659

Lord Weeman ’s Napoli made a fine start to September, running out 4-0 victors in their away trip to A.C. Milan. That was one of three wins for the team in Serie A this month; they also beat Modena and Vicenza. They dropped their first points of the season with a goalless draw at Fiorentina, and currently sit 2nd in Serie A, behind leaders Mantova only on goals scored. They also made a good start to their Champions League campaign, winning 3-0 at home to Basel and drawing 1-1 at Real Madrid. Cool Manager’s Inter have made a shaky start to their Serie A campaign; they sit 8th, and lost two of their four games this month, including a 2-3 defeat away to Tyler Burrows’s Roma, who sit just above them.

Tom Smith ’s Arsenal, like Inter, lost 50% of their games this month. Although they got 3-0 wins over both Man United and Leicester, they fell to a 0-2 defeat at Everton and a 0-1 one at home to Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea. Chelsea are currently second in the league, behind leaders Tottenham on goal difference. Arsenal are fourth. Super Lampard has made the worst start of any of our former managers: his Newcastle side sit 15th with five points from six games. Arsenal won in the Carling Cup this month, beating visitors Aston Villa 3-1 and so advancing to the Fourth Round, where they’ll meet newly-promoted Sheffield United. Newcastle won the tie of the round 2-1 at Maz Armley’s Leeds, but they did need extra time to do so. They’ll have an easier tie this time round, at home to Southend. Chelsea play Liverpool, and Everton play Tottenham.

International teams have now started their campaign to qualify for Euro 2028. Brettney Joven’s England, fresh from a poor World Cup, made an indifferent start to theirs, drawing 3-3 away to Serbia. Hull attacking midfielder Sean Clarke, in his England début, scored two goals. Finland, FYR Macedonia, San Marino and Montenegro join England in what is quite an easy group. The only other member of the Dream Team to play a competitive match was Robert Boyle, whose under 21s beat Italy 3-1 and Northern Ireland 6-0 in qualifying for the European U21 Championship. Winning the group, they enter the playoffs to face Russia. Fréderico Canvey’s Spain, who also had a poor World Cup, started their qualifying campaign solidly, with a 4-0 home win over Bosnia & Herzegovina. Scotland, Bulgaria and the Faroe Islands are also in their group. Neilio’s Italy went one better than Spain, beating Moldova 5-0. Iceland, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg and Ukraine join Italy and Moldova in Group B. Sweden will host the tournament in two summers’ time. Australia, by the way, will host the 2030 World Cup, the centenary edition, and four years after that it heads to Greece.

So, some pretty decent starts to the season for our two managers. But is there impending doom on the horizon? We’ll see. We’ll see.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 19

Over to Italy now, where Lisa Jeffries, as you know, maintains Juventus’ grip on the league top spot. However, she lies only two points clear of her rival competitor Inter, a situation that developed after damaging and convincing losses to A.C. Milan and Fiorentina this month. Livorno, Roma and Theo Stigarakis’s Catania were seen off in other matches, and a draw came against Atalanta, but Jeffries will have to stay focused if she want her team to claim the Scudetto. Lord Weeman’s Napoli are in 9th, and had a varying month, winning against Livorno, Catania and Fiorentina, losing against Parma and Atalanta and drawing against Mikey Twigge’s Palermo. The Italian Cup Quarter Final took place this month, with Lazio knocking out Sampdoria 3-0, and Will de Mote’s A.C. Milan knocking out Genoa 3-1. Inter are also through, as are Ben Taylor’s Fiorentina who have had a poor month. Obviously they beat Juventus, and they also beat Lecce, but the loss to Napoli was joined by losses to Inter, Reggina and Siena. The team are in 7th.

~~ ~~

Over to England now, where Tom Smith’s Arsenal have wrestled control of top spot, and the three Premier League newcomers all find themselves in the drop zone, the best of them six points adrift of safety. Despite a couple of difficult games this month, Smith has taken the Gunners to top spot after four consecutive wins scoring four goals, including the cup one over Wrexham. Liam Ferguson’s Manchester City, who have dropped to third, were seen off 4-1, Fulham were seen off 4-2 and Middlesbrough were seen off 4-1. The month started with a 2-2 draw at Anfield. Brucie Bonus’s West Brom are in trouble in 16th place, but relegation looks absolutely avoidable, although they lost badly to Man City and to Portsmouth this month, picking up four points in their other two games. Bryan McGuinness’s Everton are stranded in 9th, having had an average month, winning one, drawing two and losing one. They also beat Northampton 3-0 away in the FA Cup Fourth Round and sold Colin Kazim-Richards to Napoli for £3.1M. Tottenham will face Chelsea in the League Cup final after Spurs knocked out Sunderland and Chelsea knocked out Rafa Benítez’s Liverpool in the two-legged Semi Final.

~~ ~~

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6659
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Secure        6659
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Goals Scored at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Goals (Pr/G) Chnge[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal       2315 (2.13) [color=red]-0.06[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+2[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli        1678 (1.84) [color=red]-0.01[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+3[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter         1195 (2.03) [color=red]-0.05[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+3[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus      1083 (1.78) [color=green]+0.02[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+3[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea        753 (2.04) [color=red]-0.07[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+3[/color] Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis          691 (2.02) [color=green]+0.10[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle      200 (1.60)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds          166 (1.57)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo         98 (1.88)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Tottenham       72 (1.85)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - [color=red]-5[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Roma            72 (1.80) [color=green]+0.11[/color][/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 220

Years: 18, Months: 220, Days: 6690

In England, Tom Smith’s Arsenal are doing their best to banish the ghosts of last season. The Gunners sit third, eight places above last summer’s finish, and, although signs of weakness were evident this month, they are performing strongly. They beat Ipswich and Sheffield United this month, and won away in the North London derby, albeit with a goal in the 90+3rd minute. They drew goalless at fourth-placed Hull, but lost at home to Super Lampard’s Newcastle, this too to a late winner. But the Magpies are 14th and Lampard is Very Insecure.

Over in Italy, will the fifteen-year wait for the Scudetto end for Napoli fans? Although it’s early days, and second-placed Mantova have a game in hand, Lord Weeman’s side lead Serie A by five points. In October, they beat Bologna, Rimini, Ascoli and Genoa, and drew with Tyler Burrows’s Roma. In the Champions League, they beat their Dutch visitors Feyenoord 4-0, with a hattrick from club favourite Mattia Silvestri, started in the 1st minute and ended in the 90+2nd.

There was more international football this month, with European sides vying to qualify for Euro 2028. Fréderico Canvey’s Spain won 2-1 in Bulgaria, while Neilio’s Italy played two away games, losing to Northern Ireland but beating Ukraine. Both sides are second in their groups, behind Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Brettney Joven’s England were resplendent this month, winning 3-1 away to FYR Macedonia, and beating San Marino 7-0 at Wembley. As for the rest of the Dream Team; Maz Armley’s under 19s beat San Marino 5-0 in an U19 International, while Robert Boyle’s under 21s secured qualification for the European U21 Championship in Sweden, following up a goalless draw in Saturn with a 4-0 home win over their playoff opponents Russia.

Mikael Schøler at Juventus, Super Lampard at Newcastle, and James Salter at Portsmouth all have one in common. They are all listed as Very Insecure, and perhaps next month, they will all lose their jobs.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 20

February has passed with little to phone home about, and all of our managers remain in their jobs as the end-of-season really dawns on them. Tom Smith’s Arsenal still lead the Premier League, holding a slender two-point advantage over Manchester City and having played a game less. This month they beat Hull and Sunderland but fell 2-3 at Fratton Park. However, they have fared well in cup competitions, knocking Mark Cator’s Aston Villa out of the FA Cup in the 5th Round 2-1, and tallying up the same score in the first, away, leg of the Champions League Knockout stages against PSV Eindhoven. City, under the management of Englishman Liam Ferguson, fell a point behind the Gunners after winning one and drawing twice, but they too won in both the FA Cup 5th Round and the Champions League First Knockout Round First Leg.

~~ ~~

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6690
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6690
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Goals Conceded at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club Gls (Pr/G) Chnge[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      981 (0.90) [color=red]+0.04[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+3[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       770 (0.84) [color=green]-0.03[/color] *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+3[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     498 (0.81) [color=green]-0.04[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+3[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        435 (0.73) [color=red]+0.02[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+3[/color] Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis        361 (1.03) [color=green]-0.09[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+4[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      255 (0.68) [color=green]-0.04[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE super_lampard   Super Lampard     Lecce         Newcastle    151 (1.14)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds        125 (1.11)  n/a
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th [color=red]-6[/color] PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Roma          63 (1.40) [color=red]+0.47[/color]
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo       61 (1.05)  n/a[/font]

[canvey!!]

Update 221

Years: 18, Months: 221, Days: 6720

Lord Weeman’s Napoli still lead Serie A, and fans are anticipating that any day now they will begin their traditional fall from the top. They may have started it already, losing their first game of the season in November. They beat Inter, Atalanta and Juventus this month, before losing 1-2 at dafuge’s Palermo, a real scalp for the former Portsmouth boss. In the Champions League, Napoli secured a Last 16 place with a 2-1 win at Feyenoord and a 4-1 win at Basel. Real Madrid got two 3-0 home victories over those teams this month, and are also through.

In England, it looks like we have a title race on our hands, and it looks like Tom Smith’s Arsenal are involved! They trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by just two points, fifteen games into the season. In November, Arsenal lost 1-3 at Roberto Mancini’s resurgent Man City, before getting 3-2 victories over both Liverpool and Fulham, and then thrashing Derby 8-0. Libyan Redouane Bacha and Swede Johan Andersson both got braces. In the Carling Cup, the Gunners beat visiting Sheffield United 4-1, which gives them a Quarter Final with Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham. In the FA Cup Third Round in January, they will travel to Bury, while Manchester City play Manchester United.

I left you last month with the names of three managers in trouble at their clubs. Two of them will live to manage another day. At Juventus, Mikael Schøler won two, drew one and lost one, and navigated them one place up the table to eighth. He remains Very Insecure. At Portsmouth, James Salter also picked up seven points from twelve, and has moved up to Stable. At Newcastle, Super Lampard lost 0-3 at home to Everton before getting sacked. The former Ipswich boss was replaced by Sheffield United’s Alberto Pazos, and Adrian Boothroyd filled the vacancy at Bramall Lane. This month, the new head on the chopping block is Maz Armley’s: Leeds are 11th in the Premier League, and, although the new chairman decided not to bring in Phill Ewles after his takeover in the summer, Armley may be going if he cannot turn things around.

In international football this month, teams were playing friendly games. Brettney Joven’s England beat visitors Ukraine 3-0. Robert Boyle’s under 21s won their respective match 3-2, and Maz Armley’s under 19s won theirs 2-0, with two goals from Arsenal youngster Dale Thompson. Neilio’s Italy travelled to Israel and won 5-0, with a hattrick from Valencia captain Juri Rigamonti. Tim Aubel’s United States won 3-0 in the Cayman Islands.

Christmas is coming, and there will be nothing our managers will want more than a good month to help them towards that title aim.

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6720
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6720
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Highest Goal Difference at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club GlDif[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+1[/color] tomsmith1989    Tom Smith         Arsenal       Arsenal      +1351 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd [color=green]+2[/color] weeeman27bob    Lord Weeman       Napoli        Napoli       + 929 *
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=green]+2[/color] el sid          Cool Manager      At. Madrid    Inter        + 771
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+3[/color] MikaelS         Mikael Schøler    Bologna       Juventus     + 600
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=green]+3[/color] ~Ian~           Bryan McGuinness  Everton       Chelsea      + 521
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+4[/color] Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis        + 358
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th NE Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Tottenham    +  52
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th NE m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds        +  51
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE Ridleys         James Ridley      Siena         Man United   +  50
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE dafuge          dafuge            Torino        Palermo      +  49[/font]

[el sid]

Another poor season

Got the second highest goals/game ratio though

[canvey!!]

Update 222

Years: 18, Months: 222, Days: 6751

As we enter the new year, both of our managers lead their respective leagues. It makes you think that 60 to One will never end. Let’s see how they did over the Christmas period, starting in England.

Tom Smith ’s Arsenal won four of their six games in December, drawing one and losing one of the other two. They beat Leeds, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday, with the 3-0 win at Fratton Park being the best of the lot, since James Salter’s Pompey currently sit ninth. An away loss to sixth-placed Aston Villa isn’t too surprising, but an away draw to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest is disappointing. Arsenal left the Carling Cup this month after a 1-2 home defeat to Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham in the Quarter Final. Tottenham, alongside Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea, are one point behind the Gunners in the league, and Chelsea have a game in hand. In the Carling Cup Semi-Finals, Spurs will meet Newcastle while Portsmouth play Championship Bolton.

Over in Italy, Napoli’s lead is a lot more comfortable. Lord Weeman’s side have a six-point advantage over second-placed Mantova, and all sides in Serie A have played seventeen games. In December, Napoli beat Udinese and Frosinone, and drew away to Mantova. They also met Frosinone in the Coppa Italia First Round, winning 1-0. Atalanta, who ousted Catania on penalties, await in the Quarter Final at San Paolo. Mikael Schøler’s Juventus remain eighth, but the Dane has moved up to Insecure. In December, they won twice and lost once.

Napoli ended their Champions League group with a good result, beating Real Madrid 1-0. This put them through as group winners, with Real following in second place. They’ve got another Spanish Giant to contend with next, facing a Last 16 tie against Barcelona. Real Madrid face Bayern Munich, while Porto play Zaragoza, and A.C. Milan play Man City. All the other ties contain at least one of our former managers: Bryan McGuinness’s Chelsea play Atlético Madrid, Martin Bojangles’s Tottenham meet Theo Stigarakis’s Rangers, Mikael Schøler’s Juventus meet Ajax, and Cool Manager’s Inter play James Ridley’s Manchester United. European football starts again in February.

In the meantime, the transfer window opens. But do our managers need to spend any money? It looks like they’ve got things pretty good at the moment.

~~ Nostalgia ~~

Update 22

Tom Smith’s Arsenal retain top spot despite a 0-2 defeat to already-relegated Ipswich. They are two points ahead of Manchester City with a game in hand. Chelsea and Crystal Palace were beaten this month, as well as of course Benfica and Liverpool in the cups, and there was also a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle. Smith faces West Ham in his final home league game of the season, before that all-important Manchester United match followed by an away trip to Brucie Bonus’s West Brom. Bonus’s worries are behind him as it is now impossible for his 15th-place team to get relegated, as Ipswich, Crystal Palace and Birmingham have already saturated the drop zone and will be playing in the Championship next season. The disappointment of the month was for Ricky Nakano, whose Middlesbrough team sunk from 7th to 12th with heavy losses to Tottenham and Everton.

~~ ~~

Job Securities

[font=Courier New]  [b]Rank Username             Manager             Club        Security      Days[/b]
 [/font][font=Courier New] 1st tomsmith1989         Tom Smith           Arsenal     Very Secure   6751
 [/font][font=Courier New]   - weeeman27bob         Lord Weeman         Napoli      Very Secure   6751
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd Romanista1994        Lucas Volman        Real Madrid               6573
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th PluckaDuck           Tyler Burrows       Udinese                   6370
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th Haowan               Haowan Madridstas   Barcelona                 6224
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th SCIAG                Leo Dodge           Tottenham                 3800[/font]

All Star Top Ten – Lowest Goal Difference at Current Club

[font=Courier New]  [b] Pos +- Username        Manager           Original Club Current Club GlDif[/b]
  [/font][font=Courier New]1st [color=green]+9[/color] TaylorB         Ben Taylor        Fiorentina    Lazio          - 6
 [/font][font=Courier New] 2nd NE PluckaDuck      Tyler Burrows     Udinese       Roma           +11
 [/font][font=Courier New] 3rd [color=red]-1[/color] JSalter         James Salter      Reggina       Portsmouth     +15
 [/font][font=Courier New] 4th [color=green]+2[/color] ssestig         Theo Stigarakis   Catania       Rangers        +23
 [/font][font=Courier New] 5th [color=red]-1[/color] Robert_296      Robert Boyle      Blackburn     Udine/ENG u21s +41
 [/font][font=Courier New] 6th [color=green]+1[/color] dafuge          dafuge            Torino       Palermo/ENG u20 +49
 [/font][font=Courier New] 7th [color=green]+1[/color] m1234566778     Maz Armley        Racing        Leeds/ENG u19s +52
 [/font][font=Courier New] 8th [color=red]-5[/color] Ridleys         James Ridley      Siena         Man United     +54
 [/font][font=Courier New] 9th NE Martin_         Martin Bojangles  Hull          Tottenham      +66
 [/font][font=Courier New]10th NE Waghlon         Lars Tommersen    Villarreal    Betis         +367[/font]