FM2007 - Empty Club Dynasty (interactive)

[law90026]

BBC.com Breaking News, 1 June 2006:
Shock and costernation this morning at FIFA headquarters as a dramatic terse announcement was made by the FIFA President.

"We have uncovered evidence of widespread corruption amongst various clubs in Europe. This involves everything from match-fixing, bribing officials to slave trade in Africa. This is terrible news for soccer as a sport and FIFA will take immediate action to stop all such acts."

Rumours had abounded that there were investigations going on in relation to various purported deals that had taken place over the past few years but it appears the extent of the wrong-doing goes beyond issues of player agents and the influence they have on the game.

A source in UEFA, who did not want to be named, informed us that drastic action was being discussed and an announcement would be made within the next few days.

[law90026]

BBC.com 2 June 2007:

It was somber day at UEFA. Press kits which were the size of telephone directories were provided to all press members present at the meeting called to explain what exactly was going on.

Reading from a press statement, the UEFA president said:

"Over the past year, our private investigators have been looking into various allegedly corrupt deals that had taken place between some clubs in Europe. These included feeder club arrangements which were a front for money laundering, player transfers that involved duress and threats made to players as well as bribery of officials in an attempt to fix matches. We believed at the time that these were separate incidents but we suspect that it is part of an international crime syndicate's acts to influence football in Europe. The obvious benefit was the ability to influence match results so that large amounts of money moved as a result of gambling.

However, as the investigation went on, it became apparent that the problem was worse than we had initially envisaged. It appears the extent of possible criminal acts that have taken place may never be fully discovered.

The question then was what could we, as the organisation in charge of European soccer do? After seeking legal advice and consultation with the various Football Associations that are involved, we have come to the following decision, which takes place with immediate effect:

1) All clubs involved will have to release all their players. As far as we are aware, the players themselves are not directly involved in these acts and are not culpable. However, the clubs will need to start on a clean footing again and because some of the transfers were previously tainted, we decided it would only be fair if all players were let go to find new employment.

2) All current directors and executives of the various clubs involved have been arrested and will be subject to criminal proceedings. Managers have not been touched however as they do not appear to be implicated in the actual actions.

3) The various seasons will continue as per normal. There will be no point deductions or relegations at this time.

We hope that these measures will serve to restore the public's faith in European football".

No further time was given for any questions from the media.

[law90026]

So...

What I've done is to actually remove a whole bunch of players from the entire English Premier Division as well as some of the bigger club names in Europe (Barcelona, Milan, Inter, Roma, Lyon, Porto, Valencia, Real Madrid).

This is based on a dynasty that is on the SI forums some time back which involved every single club in the world starting without players. That's just too much work though :P Hence the contrived starting story as set out above.

Here's where you come in (if you want). Have your player created and follow his history over the course of the next few seasons. What I want to see is how the clubs actually respond to this change made but there's no reason why I can't track your virtual career as well.

Your sign-up should be as follows:

Name:
Nationality (one common EU as secondary if you intend to take an odd first nationality):
Position:
Stats:
Pick 3 Mental Stats at 20:
Pick 3 Technical Stats at 20:
Pick 3 Physical Stats at 20:

All your players will have -10 for Potential Ability, so you're potentially world-class. Note Potentially since you may never ever develop to that extent.

[law90026]

Stats available (for ease of reference)

Goalkeepers (technical):
Aerial Ability
Command of Area
Communication
Eccentricity
Handling
Kicking
One on Ones
Reflexes
Rushing Out
Tendency to Punch
Throwing

Outfield players (technical):
Corners
Crossing
Dribbling
Finishing
First Touch
Free Kicks
Heading
Long Shots
Long Throws
Marking
Passing
Penalty Taking
Tackling
Technique

Mental Attributes (all players)
Aggression
Anticipation
Bravery
Composure
Concentration
Creativity
Decisions
Determination
Flair
Influence
Off the Ball
Positioning
Teamwork
Work Rate

Physical Attributes (all players)
Acceleration
Agility
Balance
Jumping
Natural Fitness
Pace
Stamina
Strength

[ArlingtonColt]

Sounds like fun...

Name: Landon Scott
Nationality: Primary: Usa Secondary: Scotland
Position: ST
Stats: Finishing, Heading, Technique
Off the ball, Composure, Determination
Pace, Agility, Acceleration

[flere-imsaho]

SWEET!!!! :D

Name: Alex Kamelooski
Nationality (one common EU as secondary if you intend to take an odd first nationality): United States, Poland
Position: D/WB R, DMC
Stats:
Pick 3 Mental Stats at 20: Bravery, Determination, Workrate
Pick 3 Technical Stats at 20: Marking, Tackling, Heading
Pick 3 Physical Stats at 20: Natural Fitness, Stamina, Strength

If we can do "Favourite Club" I'd like to put Oxford United down.

[oykib]

Jamie Moore
US French
AM RL
Determination, Work Rate, Flair
Long Shots, Passing, Crossing
Natural Fitness, Pace, Acceleration

[path12]

Path Twelve
French
GK
Aerial, Handling, Reflexes
Anticipation, Decisions, Positioning
Agility, Jumping, Natural Fitness

[larrymcg421]

Larry McGillicuddy
Nationality: Ireland (USA)
GK

Goalkeepers (technical):
*Aerial Ability
*Command of Area
*Reflexes

Mental Attributes (all players)
*Anticipation
*Concentration
*Positioning

Physical Attributes (all players)
*Agility
*Balance
*Jumping

[Coffee Warlord]

Name: Rob Nielsen
Nationality: USA (Danish)
Position: ST

Technical
- Finishing
- First Touch
- Technique

Mental
- Decisions
- Off the Ball
- Influence

Physical
- Acceleration
- Pace
- Stamina

[st.cronin]

Sean Treacy
Scottish
Central Midfielder

Technical: Free Kicks, Passing, Marking
Mental: Agression, Positioning, Work Rate
Physical: Natural Fitness, Stamina, Strength

[Travis]

Name: Jace Hunter
Nationality: Canadian/Scottish
Position: Goalkeeper
Stats:
Mental: Aerial Ability, One on Ones, Reflexes
Technical: Anticipation, Composure, Determination
Physical: Agility, Jumping, Natural Fitness

[flere-imsaho]

A lot of GKs this time around.

[George]

Name: Jorge Antonio
Nationality: Portugal
Position: AM/M C
Technical: First Touch, Passing, Technique
Mental: Anticipation, Decisions, Off the Ball
Physical: Agility, Balance, Pace

[Coffee Warlord]

A lot of GKs this time around.

S'why I didn't make one.

[Katon]

Name: Karl Tone
Nationality: US/English
Position: M RL
Mental: Off the Ball, Creativity, Decisions
Technical: Passing, Crossing, Dribbling
Physical: Pace, Acceleration, Natural Fitness

[Blade6119]

Name: Colton Mayes
Nationality: United States (Ireland)
Position: SW DRLC
Technical: Heading, Marking, Tackling
Mental: Positioning, Determination, Work Rate
Physical: Jumping, Balance, Strength

[Celeval]

Name: Kevin Donnelly
Nationality: Ireland / USA
Position: FC
Technical: Dribbling, Finishing, First Touch
Mental: Determination, Flair, Off the Ball
Physical: Acceleration, Pace, Strength

[Passacaglia]

Name: Aaron Gage
Nationality: Poland/Ireland
Position: AM LC
Technical: Crossing, Dribbling, Passing
Mental: Aggression, Bravery, Creativity
Physical: Balance, Pace, Stamina

[RPI-Fan]

Name: K.N. Smith
Nationality: USA / Netherlands (Dutch second)
Position: MC
Technical: Passing, Technique, First Touch
Mental: Creativity, Decisions, Teamwork
Physical: Natural Fitness, Pace, Stamina

[Sublime 2]

Name: Logan Pacer
Nationality: USA (Netherlands)
Position: DM

Pick 3 Mental Stats at 20: Anticipation, Influence, Workrate
Pick 3 Technical Stats at 20: Heading, Marking, Tackling
Pick 3 Physical Stats at 20: Balance, Natural Fitness, Strength

[ntndeacon]

Name: Deacon Palmeri
Nationality (one common EU as secondary if you intend to take an odd first nationality): Bulgarian/Italian
Position: AM RC
Stats:
Outfield players (technical):
Crossing
Dribbling
Heading


Mental Attributes (all players)

Creativity
Off the Ball
Positioning

Physical Attributes (all players)
Acceleration
Balance
Stamina

[law90026]

Have started editing the players in, I guess sign-ups end once I'm done with the edits.

I am fixing everyone's birthday as 8/8/88, which would make you about 18 years old when the game starts.

[ntndeacon]

Just in time! woohoo!

[law90026]

Edits done but I'm testing out the database for now to see if it works. May still have time to sign-up... maybe.

[law90026]

And we're done. 16 players signed up, all found, good to go.

[law90026]

BBC.com 2 July 2006:

In the aftermath of what is now called "The Day Soccer Changed Forever" or "TDSCF" for short, it will be interesting to see how the structure of European soccer will change. There are so many unemployed soccer stars out there now and, with the one month moratorium on signings lifted, it looks to be a busy summer as the clubs rebuild themselves.

This is also the perfect opportunity for younger players to prove their worth as clubs scramble to fill gaps in their teams. We will provide updates on the major signings over the next few weeks as we head towards the start of the Premiership season.

[law90026]

16-man Start of Season Update

8 July 2007: Jaime Moore signs for Yzeure, a French National League side (akin to the English Premier League First Division I suspect). Much accolades for the manager as Jaime Moore is regarded as a hot prospect for the future.

9 July 2007:

Colton Mayes signs for Crystal Palace, an English Championship side.

Karl Tone signs for Queen's Park Rangers, an English Championship side.

Antonio Jorge signs for Beira-Mar, a Portugese Primera Liga side (their top division).

Path Twelve signs for Toulon, a French National League side. The Toulon fans are reportedly excited about the signing of the youngster.

Landon Scott signs for Leeds United, an English Championship side.

Deacon Palmeri signs for Rimini, an Italian Serie B side.

12th July:

Rob Nielsen signs for Montreal ... which isn't in a league I loaded up. Let's see how this progresses.

Kevin Donnelly signs for Falkirk, a Scottish Premierleague side.

13th July:

Jace Hunter signs for Peterhead, a Scottish 2nd Division side.

22nd July:
First big signing? Sean Treacy signs for Aston Villa, an English Premier League side.

Aaron Gage signs for Zaglebie, another club not in a league I loaded up.

27th July:
Larry McGillicuddy signs for Sheffield Wednesday, an English Championship side.

This leaves Alex Kamelooski, Logan Pacer and K.N. Smith without clubs at this time, though there are clubs interested in each of them.

[law90026]

BBC.com 1 August 2007:

The update you've all been waiting for. Yes, the pre-season update on all the major transfers that took place before the start of the English Premier League season.

Arsenal:
We're looking at a relegation candidate right here. They have brought in just two players, James Morrison (20 year old midfielder) and David James (36 year old keeper), to replace all the players they lost. It looks like Arsenal want to go with a youth movement this year.

Aston Villa:
No major signings for the Villans. That means an opportunity for highly rated youngster Sean Treacy to win a starting place in central midfield.

Chelsea:
Wow, wow, wow. That's all we have to say. Chelsea have taken the opportunity to snap up so many big names and we're not sure who can compete with them for anything this year. Here's a list:

Theo Walcott, Leighton Baines, Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon, Frank Lampard, John Arne Riise, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Emmanuel Adebayor, Michael Essien, Jamie Carragher, Cicinho, Claude Makelele, John Terry, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Adriano, Obafemi Martins, Xavi, Phillip Lahm, Robinho, Samuel Eto'o, Alessandro Nesta, Stewart Downing, Emmanuel Eboue.

There's a reason why bookmakers have stopped taking bets on Chelsea winning the league.

Man Utd:
Ryan Giggs, Sylvain Wiltord, Daniel Agger, Shaun Wright Phillips, Paul Scholes and Giuseppe Rossi. They're not going to beat Chelsea with that squad.

There are still a large number of "star" players unsigned at this time though and it appears some of them are holding out for significant amounts of cash.

[law90026]

15th August 2007:

Landon Scott joins League One side Chesterfield on loan for 5 months.

18th August 2007:
Colton Mayes joins League One side Gillingham on loan for 5 months.

22nd August 2007:
K.N. Smith signs for Willem II, a Dutch Premier Division side.

[law90026]

Transfer update as at 1 September 2006:

Ajax was surprisingly one of the more successful sides in terms of capturing big names. Deco, Ashley Cole, Dirk Kuyt, Estaban Cambiasso, Carlos Tevez, Xabi Alonso, Ronaldo, Julio Baptista, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Shevchenko, Ballack and William Gallas all signed for them.

Let's not talk about Chelsea anymore.

Celtic managed to sign Dimitar Berbatov.

Bayern grabbed Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry, as well as Petr Cech.

Lazio signed Clichy, Saloman Kalou and Arjen Robben.

Lyon was active, with Didier Drogba, Mathieu Flamini, Kolo Toure, Parick Viera, Juninho, Fred and Anderson.

Osasuna now has Luis Garcia, Javier Saviola and Andres Iniesta.

Shock signing? Wayne Rooney for Palermo, who also grabbed Gabriel Heinze, Edu, Tim Cahill and Hernan Crespo.

Real Madrid signed Silva, Raul Albiol, Phillipe Senderos, Cesc Fabregas and Steed Malbranque.

Villareal signed Cristian Chivu, David Beckham, David Villa and Freddy Ljungberg.

Werder has Aliaksandr Hleb and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Thoughts:
Chelsea apparently has a lot of influence in this game. They picked up a ton of the best players.

Some surprises though. Supposed big-names like Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona were very inactive in the market. This could be because they were bidding against Chelsea for the same players.

What was even more surprising is that some of the "lesser" clubs signed some of the bigger names. Example is Wayne Rooney at Palermo and the signings that Ajax managed to get. No clue how that happened.

[law90026]

End of Season 2006/2007 Recap:

English Premier League:
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea ran away with the title, 15 points ahead of 2nd placed team Manchester United. On a more surprising note, Arsenal came in 3rd, despite not making any major signings. Either their youth players are that good (doubtful) or the game haxes. Liverpool came in 7th overall.

To be honest, there were no real surprises here in the English Premier League despite the major shakeup. The better teams included West Ham, Everton and Spurs while the relegation candidates were Sheffield United, Bolton, Blackburn, Boro, Watford and Fulham.

Italian Seria A:
Palermo won the title, 4 pts clear of Udinese. Of the clulbs that were stripped of players, Inter came in 3rd, Milan came in 12th and Roma were 15th.

Inter's free-agent signings were Cudicini (goalie), Gerard Pique (defender), Johan Djorou (defender) and Marco Materazzi (defender).

Spanish La Liga:
Despite the changes made, Real Madrid won the title with Barcelona coming in 2nd. Bear in mind Barcelona did not sign anyone of note (much like Arsenal) and still cruised to 2nd place, 4 pts ahead of third place Sevilla. Valencia came in 15th though, one of the other Spanish clubs I stripped of players.

Again, question to be asked whether the game haxes.

[law90026]

Overall, the top players that were release all got re-signed but various clubs. The only exception is Oliver Kahn, the 37 year old German goalkeeper, who remains a free-agent.

Of the top 48 players on my Genie screen, the breakdown is as follows:
4 in Ajax (Shevchenko, Ballack, Deco and Gallas, all free-agent signings)
1 in Atletico Madrid (Fernando Torres, not released at start)
1 in Barcelona (Camoranesi, not a free-agent signing)
15 in Chelsea (too many to list)
1 in Deportivo (Ibrahimovic, free-agent signing)
4 in FC Bayern (Henry, Kaka, Cech, Cristiano Ronaldo - all free-agent signings)
3 in Fiorentina (Toni Luca, Andrea Pirlo, Mancini)
1 in Juventus (Buffon, not a free-agent signing)
1 in Liverpool (Michael Owen, not a free transfer signing)
2 in Lyon (Viera and Juninho, all free-agent signings)
1 in Palermo (Rooney, free-agent signing)
2 in Real Madrid (Trezeguet and Coupet, not free-agent signings)
1 in Sampdoria (Totti, free-agent signing)
3 in Sevilla (Puyol, Casillas, Alves - first 2 are free-agent signings)
1 in Udinese (Felipe)
3 in Villareal (David Villa, Riquelme, Joaquin - free-agent signings)
3 in Werder Bremen (Klose, Frings, Ruud van Nistelrooy - RVN is free-agent signing)
1 in Zaragoza (Pablo Aimar)

[law90026]

And as I was going through the Genie stats, I realised that I made a fundamental error when editting in the players ... I didn't give them -10 PA but gave them -0 instead. Silly me :P

Restarting the dynasty now. Sorry about that.

[law90026]

World Transfers as at 1 August 2006:

Ajax sign Owen Hargreaves, Adriano, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and Samuel Eto'o. Another good haul for them... again.

Arsenal sign Robert Green ... only.

Barcelona sign Iniesta and van Bronckhorst.

Celta was active, signing Lauren, Eric Abidal, Guti and Raul.

Chelsea again signed a lot of players. And I mean a lot.

Bayern was very active this time around, grabbing players like Messi, Ronaldinho, Hleb, Kalou, Robinho, Shevchenko and van Persie.

Liverpool had Micah Richards and Sammi Hyppia as notable signings.

Man Utd signed Rossi, Giggs and Wes Brown. Worse than the last time around.

Palermo is surprising again. Jose Reina, Patrick Viera, Totti, Cannavaro, Nesta, Inzaghi and Henry make this a stacked squad.

Real Madrid pick up Senderos, Silva, Cesc Fabregas and Roberto Carlos.

Thoughts:
So it's not really that random apparently. Ajax again come out as biggish winners, Chelsea reigns supreme again and Palermo is another very interesting team that can attract players.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd, Barcelona? All can't seem to compete on the global market.

[law90026]

16 player update (start of season)

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Bolton:
Despite not having played a game yet, Kevin Donnelly is already valued at 6.5 million pounds.

Genie Update:
Current Ability (CA): 108
Potential Ability (PA): 186

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
Karl Tone is currently valued at 3.1 million pounds.

CA: 106
PA: 194

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Valued at 2.9 million pounds.

CA: 109
PA: 181

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Bolton:
Valued at 2.8 million pounds.

CA: 110
PA: 172

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
Valued at 2.2 million pounds.

CA: 102
PA: 174

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
Valued at 2.1 million pounds.

CA: 105
PA: 178

Jaime Moore, Winger, Troyes
Valued at 1.7 million pounds.

CA: 109
PA: 185

Landon Scott, Striker, QPR
Valued at 450,000 pounds.

CA: 109
PA: 191

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
Valued at 350,000 pounds.

CA: 101
PA: 190

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Vitesse
Valued at 220k pounds.

CA: 107
PA: 186

Rob Nielsen, Striker, AC Horsens
Valued at 120k pounds.

CA: 108
PA: 185

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Scunthorpe
Valued at 95k pounds.

CA: 108
PA: 182

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
Valued at 90k pounds.

CA: 104
PA: 186

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Queen of South
Valued at 20k pounds.

CA: 107
PA: 180

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chebourg
Valued at 4,000 pounds.

CA: 102
PA: 183

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, No Club :(

CA: 110
PA: 183

Thoughts:
3 man contingent at Bolton (likely they'll be loaned out), 2 guys at Spurs (both currently in the reserve team). That'll be interesting to see, especially if they stay on with their teams.

I'll be keeping an eye on how they progress each season and see if some sort of correlation can be tied into playing time and quality of competition.

[law90026]

End of 2006/2007 Season:

English Premier League:
Surprise surprise as Spurs win the title. Much vaunted Chelsea come in 3rd, 4 pts behind Spurs. 2nd place went to Manchester City. Arsenal was 4th (hax again) although Man Utd and Liverpool were 10th and 11th respectively.

How did Spurs pull that off? For one, they had some good signings, like Ljungberg, Gilberto Silva, Shaun Wright Phillips, Sol Campbell, Shay Given, Jonathan Woodgate, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Luka Modric and David Pizzaro. And no, Aaron Gage and Karl Tone did not make any appearances for this winning side :P

German Bundesliga:
Bayern won the title despite being stripped of their players. Apparently it gave them the opportunity to reload their squad, which is comprised of players like Ronaldinho, Shevchenko, Messi, Robinho, Ribery, Cambiasso, Van Persie and Hleb.

Italian Serie A:
Milan win the title despite having had 8 points deducted from them!! Inter cam in 3rd and Roma were 4th. Impressive show from them.

Milan actually only made one free-agent signing, goalie Cudicini. The rest of their transfers were all paid ones.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Porto never quite recovered from loosing their players as they stumbled to a 10th place finish. Sporting won the title, ahead of Benfica.

Spanish First Division:
Deportivo win the title, behind the talents of Arjen Robben, Flamini, Baptista and Asier del Horno. Barcelona was 2nd (hax) with Real Madrid and Valencia coming in 4th and 5th. Sevilla was 3rd.

Thoughts:
I'm still surprised that for a second attempt in a row, both Arsenal and Barcelona do well despite not making many significant signings. I'm also very surprised Milan won the title, considering they had a large point deduction to overcome.

[law90026]

16 player update - End of Season 2006/2007:

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Bolton:
Sean Treacy is given the opportunity to play in the Premier League as an 18-year old and he takes full advantage of it. He makes 41 appearances for Bolton this year and managed a quite astonishing 12 assists as well as 2 MOM awards. Currently valued at 8.5 million pounds and is a Scottish U-21 international.

CA: 122 (+12)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
41 games (4 as a sub), 1 goal, 12 assists, 2 MOM, 4 yellow cards, 6.93 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Bolton:
Kevin Donnelly has lost a little value as it drops to 6 million pounds. He is currently on loan at Dunfermline, where he's scored 5 goals in 13 games and garnered 3 MOM awards. Before moving on loan, he had appeared in 20 games for Bolton and scored 8 goals. Yes, it was a surprise he was sent out on loan. Kevin Donnelly is an Irish U-21 international.

Genie Update:
Current Ability (CA): 114 (+6)
Potential Ability (PA): 186

Season Stats:
33 games (5 as a sub), 13 goals, 4 MOM, 6.76 rating

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
Karl Tone is now worth 3.7 million pounds and he is a US U-21 international. He didn't appear for Spurs at all this year as he spent most of the season at Yeovil (English League One) where he played 29 games and had 4 assists.

CA: 116 (+10)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
29 games, 1 goal, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 6.28 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
His value has gone up to 3.1 million pounds and he is an Irish U-21 international. Like Karl, he didn't appear for Spurs over the course of the season but he managed 13 appearances for Port Vale (League One) while he was on loan there.

CA: 117 (+15)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
13 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOM, 6.69 rating

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Slight dip in value to 2.7 million pounds for the US U-21 international. Colton managed 3 appearance for the Bolton first team before being loaned out for the rest of the season to Kilmarnock, where he has played decently.

CA: 117 (+8)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
35 games, 1 goal, 6.63 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
Deacon is a Bulgarian U-19 international. Currently on loan at Pescara, he suffered a serious hip injury earlier in the season and had to go for specialist treatment. He should be back in time for the start of the next season.

CA: 111 (+6)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
14 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 6.36 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Scunthorpe
Huge jump in value for Larry as he is now worth 2 million pounds. Playing for Scunthorpe hasn't helped him get noticed however as he is not capped for any of the Irish squads yet.

CA: 130 (+22!!)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
44 games, 62 conceded, 4 clean sheets, 2 yellows, 1 red, 7.00 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
Valued at 1.8 million pounds now, another player with a significant increase in value. He hasn't played much for Gronigen however and is as yet uncapped by the US. His 5.60 rating suggests he isn't quite ready yet.

CA: 105 (+4)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
5 games (1 as a sub), 5.60 rating

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Vitesse
Now worth 1.5 million pounds, the Vitesse midfielder is currently placed in the U-19 squad, although he has appeared in some games for the first team this year. Uncapped by the US at this time.

CA: 118 (+11)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
18 games (5 as a sub), 2 assists, 3 yellows, 6.39 rating

Jaime Moore, Winger, Troyes
He's lost significant value as it drops to 800k. Also uncapped by the US at this time, it's not entirely clear why there's been such a drop in value, since he hasn't played horribly for Troyes.

CA: 126 (+16)
PA: 185

Season stats:
16 games (5 as a sub), 2 assists, 1 yellow, 6.38 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
Valued at 700k now and capped for the U-19 Portugal squad. Decent first season for him as he appears in some games and plays decently for Belenenses.

CA: 115 (+11)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
13 games (2 as a sub), 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 yellow, 6.54 rating

Landon Scott, Striker, QPR
Dip in value for Landon to 325k, which is odd considering Landon has played well for QPR. Perhaps it's the fact that he doesn't have that many goals that casts into doubt his worth? Uncapped for the US.

CA: 109
PA: 191

Season Stats:
24 games (8 as a sub), 5 goals, 2 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.75 rating

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chebourg
Valued at 275k and uncapped by France. Path will be pleased that he's played well this year and that has allowed him to attract the attention of Arsenal, which he will be joining on 1 July 2007 (when the transfer window opens again).

CA: 112 (+10)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
39 games, 49 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.05 rating

Rob Nielsen, Striker, AC Horsens
Valued at 70k, Rob is another player that will be making a move on 1 July 2007. He will be joining Manchester City and he attracted attention probably because of his nice return of 16 goals in 30 games for Horsens. Capped at U-21 level for the US.

CA: 119 (+11)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
30 games, 16 goals, 2 MOM, 3 yellows, 2 reds, 7.40 rating

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Queen of South
Valued at 55k and he's moving as well ... to Arsenal. Looks like we're going to have a goalkeeping competition on our hands if both Jace and Path stay on at Ashburton Grove. Capped for the Canada U-21 team.

CA: 114
PA: 180

Season Stats:
36 games, 54 conceded, 3 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.22 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Toronto (yay)
Alex gets a club at last as he signs for Toronto. Valued at 24k, he's also been capped at the U-21 level for the US. He'll be hoping to move to a more prestigious club in the future. He's kicking the ass of the opposition though as he's clearly better than the players in the league he's playing in (7.73 rating is really nice).

CA: 114 (+4)
PA: 183

Season stats:
11 games, 2 goals, 6 assists, 2 MOM, 7.73 rating

[law90026]

Player of the Year?

Definitely Sean Treacy, who's nailed a first team spot in a Premier League team.

It's going to be interesting to see the outcome of the goalkeeping situation in Arsenal next season. I also hope Alex Kamelooski gets a move to a decent league soon otherwise I'm worried he may be a "bust".

[ArlingtonColt]

This is a brilliant idea... I'm gonna love following Landon's career! Hopefully one of us will be the class of FM before its all said and done... I'm a little sad I didn't stick with Leeds since that is the first FM team I ever played (back about 5 versions ago)

[George]

This is a brilliant idea... I'm gonna love following Landon's career! Hopefully one of us will be the class of FM before its all said and done... I'm a little sad I didn't stick with Leeds since that is the first FM team I ever played (back about 5 versions ago)

I agree. I'm looking forward to watching my boy Jorge Antonio progress.

[flere-imsaho]

I also hope Alex Kamelooski gets a move to a decent league soon otherwise I'm worried he may be a "bust".

The game's just pissed at me because I won the Champions League with Leeds last night. :)

[RPI-Fan]

Which leagues are you running?

[flere-imsaho]

Does the game list Kamelooski as having any positions besides WB?

[law90026]

I'm currently running the English, Spanish, Scottish, German, Portugese and Italian leagues (if I remember correctly).

Kamelooski is a D/WB R, DM C.

[Passacaglia]

Who won the Champions League?

[law90026]

Who won the Champions League?

I'll have to look that up on Monday when I get back to the computer with the game installed.

[path12]

Aaron Gage signs for Zaglebie, another club not in a league I loaded up.


I played as Zaglebie manager once. It was a fun little career. Some of those Eastern European leagues are a blast to play.

[path12]

Two GK's going to Arsenal? Let the battle begin!

[Coffee Warlord]

Thank god I'm not going to Man U. I'd have to demand a transfer. :)

[MrBug708]

I wish I got in on this :(

[law90026]

Quick response to query on past Champion's Cup winner. I'll also include the winners of the other notable competitions.

Champions Cup:
Roma beating Bayern in the Finals

Euro Cup:
Werder Bremen beating Liverpool

FA Cup:
Newcastle beating West Brom

Italian Cup:
Parma beating Palermo

Spanish Cup:
Villareal beating Atletico

[law90026]

So just a quick look at where the top 50 or so players in the world are (in terms of CA):

Ajax has 2, Eto'o (180) and Adriano (176)

Atletico has Torres (176)

Benfica has Deco (171)

Bordeux has Cris (170)

Chelsea have Gerrard (185), Kaka (184), Villa (182), Cristiano Ronaldo (181), Rooney (180), Xavi (180), Terry (180), Cech (177), Essien (175), Ferdinand (175), Lampard (175), Riquelme (175), Ballack (170) and Drogba (170), Phillip Lahm (170) and Kolo Toure (170) - 16 in all

Deportivo has Robben (179)

Bayern has Ronaldinho (190), Shevchenko (183), Messi (172), Robinho (171) and Chivu (170) - a very impressive line-up of offensive players (less Chivu)

Fiorentina with Pirlo (176)

Juventus with Buffon (186), Trezeguet (175) and Vicente (171)

Lazio with Gallas (170)

Lyon has Juninho (175)

Man Utd has Xabi Alonso (170)

Milan with Sergio Ramos (172)

Palermo with Thierry Henry (178), Toni (188), Viera (177) and Totti (176)

Real Madrid has Cesc Fabregas (170)

Sevilla with Puyol (182), Casillas (174) and Alves (176)

Spurs with Ibrahimovic (176)

Werder Bremen with Klose (179) and Frings (173)

Zaragoza has Aimar (171)

[law90026]

And to focus on Arsenal and Barcelona (to see if last season's results were a fluke or if there's more at play):

Arsenal only has 9 players with CA above 100. Of these, only 1 is above 150 (Amauri, ST, 165) and the only other 2 decent players are Robert Green (GK, 143) and Diaby (DM, 143).

Barcelona has a surprisingly deep squad, 18 players with CA above 100. There are some good players here, such as Iniesta (168), Bazargli (167), Ribery (167), Diarra (165), De Rossi (164), Riise (160), Enke (158), Sanchez (165 but a GK like Enke) and Van Bronckhorst (150). The rest range from 103 to 128 and will be squad fillers it appears.

[law90026]

16 Player Pre-Season update (1 August 2007)

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Bolton:
The U-21 Scottish midfielder will be looking to build on last season's performences. He's physically very well developed (5 out of 7 stats are at least 15) and he is described as an Industrious Midfielder. Sean is the 2nd best player in the Bolton squad, which is kind of sad when you realise Sean is at 132 CA. He should start again this year.

CA: 132 (+10)
PA: 172

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Man City
Surprise as Rob Nielsen's value shoots all the way up to 5 million pounds after his move to Manchester. That's a high valuation for a player currently in the Man City reserves. He's currently described as an Explosive Striker. 11th best player in the Man City squad at this time, he'll probably be moved to the first team before too long.

CA: 123 (+4)
PA: 185

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Bolton:
A further drop in value means that Kevin Donnelly is now valued at 4.7 million pounds. He's the 4th best player in the Bolton squad and their best striker. Kevin is also described as an Explosive Striker.

Genie Update:
CA: 122 (+8)
PA: 186

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
Karl Tone picks up another 1 million in terms of valuation, making his worth 4.7 million pounds. He's been loaned out on a season long loan to Scottish side Hibernian as Spurs try to give him experience elsewhere. It's unclear how much he'll start there as he is their 15th best player only. Karl is described as an Explosive Winger.

CA: 118 (+2)
PA: 194

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
His value has gone up to 4.1 million pounds, another 1 million pound increase. Unlike Karl, he's been kept at White Hart Lane. Does that mean he's going to get a chance to make the first team this year? Don't count on it as he's only their 22nd best player in a rather stacked first team. Aaron is described as a Promising Midfielder.

CA: 120 (+3)
PA: 174

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
The U-19 Bulgarian international returns from his hip injury, ready for the next season. The Promising Midfielder is way down in the pecking order in the Fiorentina first team though so he may head out for another loan this year. Valued at 4 million pounds.

CA: 121 (+10)
PA: 178

Jaime Moore, Winger, Troyes
Oddly enough, Jaime Moore's value shoots back up, this time to 2.3 million pounds. Jaime is an Explosive Winger and he's Troyes' 7th best player.

CA: 128 (+2)
PA: 185

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
Logan is now valued at 2.2 million pounds and is described as a Young Midfielder. He's far down on the Gronigen talent list as well but he may not be able to go out on loan as he's not well-known.

CA: 109 (+4)
PA: 190

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Scunthorpe
Still valued at 2 million pounds, Larry is just described as a Goalkeeper. Larry is Scunthorpe's best player at this time but a move may be possible soon as West Ham has indicated their interest.

CA: 132 (+2)
PA: 182

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Vitesse
Valued at 2 million pounds, K.N. has been promoted to the Reserves Squad this year. That's probably about right as he wouldn't have much opportunity in the first team anyway.

CA: 120 (+2)
PA: 186

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
The Goalkeeper is valued at 1.9 million pounds and he's currently placed in the Reserves Squad. He's the 3rd best keeper in the Arsenal team, just one point behind Pace Twelve.

CA: 117 (+3)
PA: 180

Landon Scott, Striker, QPR
Landon's value goes up to 1.7 million pounds before the start of the season. The Explosive Striker will want to do well this year and is already regarded as an important first team player. He is QPR's best striker and 4th best player.

CA: 118 (+9)
PA: 193 (+2)

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Major drop in value for Colton as it falls to 1.5 million pounds, a loss of 1.2 million pounds. The Sweeper has garnered interest from Reading and Motherwell so we'll see if he stays on at Bolton. 6th best player in the Bolton squad and best out of 4 defenders at around the same talent level. That probably means Colton will get some games in this year.

CA: 118 (+1)
PA: 181

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
The Promising Midfielder nearly doubles his value as it goes up to 1.3 million pounds. 12th best player in the team but 4th in terms of the midfielders so Jorge may not play as much as he would like this year.

CA: 116 (+1)
PA: 186

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Value is now 1.1 million pounds, about a 4x improvement from the close of the season. Also in the reserve team with Jace and it'll be a close fight to see who gets the call-up to the first team as the sub keeper.

CA: 118 (+6)
PA: 183

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Toronto (yay)
Alex's value has gone up to 65k now as the season for his club hasn't come to an end yet. His rating is improving by quite a bit and he's far and away his team's best player.

CA: 125 (+11)
PA: 183

Season stats:
21 games, 6 goals, 6 assists, 2 MOM, 7.38 rating

[law90026]

Thoughts for the Season:

1) The following players to become or maintain their first team positions:
Sean Treacy, Kevin Donnelly, Colton Mayes, Jaime Moore, Larry McGillicuddy, Landon Scott and Alex Kamelooski

2) Players primed for a move:
Larry McGillicuddy, Jaime Moore, Landon Scott and Alex Kamelooski

3) Will Probably Waste Their Season:
Deacon, Logan, K.N., Jace and Path

If you think differently, or have other thoughts, feel free to post. Simming the season now and that should take a while, including the write-up.

[Celeval]

Seems like we have a pretty good young squad at Bolton.

[RPI-Fan]

Given that you're running the Dutch leauge int he background, K.N. Smith is probably pretty much screwed...

[law90026]

End of Season 2007/2008 Recap:

English Premier League:
Chelsea win the Premier League, 9 points clear of Tottenham. Man Utd were 3rd, Charlton 4th, Newcastle 5th and Liverpool 6th. Arsenal was 8th, unsurprising how weak their squad was. Or is it surprising considering how weak their squad was?

In terms of transfers within the Premier League, Spurs were active again this year, signing Stephan Appiah, Boulahrouz and Raul Garcia for a combined 50 million pounds. Man Utd paid 42m pounds for 3 players (Kuszczak, Joaquin and Moutinho). Charlton spent 42 million pounds as well, with the notable name being Dirk Kuyt. Arsenal again were very stingy, with 2 free transfers (Jace Hunter, Path Twelve), a largish transfer (Amauri for 10 million) ... and a new 3 million pound signing in Jaime Moore during the mid-season break.

News of note? Arsene Wenger got sacked and was replaced by Pat Rice, the Assistant Manager. Man City, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace were relegated.

French League:
Lyon won the title, edging out PSG on goal difference. Another season of spending for Lyon ensures that they win back the title they lost last year to Lens, though just barely (59 million on Renan, Milito and Dani Alves).

German Bundesliga:
Bayern won the title again with Werder Bremen coming in 2nd. Bayern spent 93 million on players, including 31 million on Essien and 52 million on Ibrahimovic. Maybe that's why Spurs didn't win the title this year.

Italian Serie A:
Juventus win Serie A, which means they have come back strong from their relegation of a year ago. They were 4 pts clear of Milan. I wonder if stripping some of the bigger Italian clubs of their players helped Juve win it this year.

So apparently money doesn't always buy success as Milan had spent 125 million compared to Juventus' 19 million pounds.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Benfica wins the title, 4 pts clear of Porto. Porto appear to be recovering from their punishment.

Spanish First Division:
Espanyol wins the title, beating Sevilla on goal difference. Real Madrid were 3rd, Villareal 4th and Barcelona and Valencia 5th and 6th respectively.

Barcelona, Real and Villareal were all big-spenders, with over 90 million of spending by each club. Sevilla on the other hand only signed one free transfer.

Champions Cup:
Roma beat Deportivo 3-0 in the Finals, 2nd successive win.

Euro Cup:
PSG beat HSV 2-1 in the Finals.

FA Cup:
Leeds beat Middlesborough 3-1. Leeds is a Championship team. Again, question whether the weakening of the Premiership sides helped Leeds win this title.

Italian Cup:
Sampdoria beat Fiorentina 4-2 on aggregate

Spanish Cup:
Real Madrid beat Osasuna 1-0

Thoughts:
A season that made a little more sense. It's eerie how Arsenal in-game reflects the real Arsenal right now, in the sense that there seems to be a real reluctance to splash money out on players. Chelsea winning the title wasn't a surprise.

Some major spenders this year but this was a season that proved money can't always buy you success. The winners of the Italian and Spanish league only spent moderately this year.

[oykib]

Looking forward to the new season. Do any of us have mentors?

[law90026]

16 player update 2007/2008:

Some interesting moves this year for some of the players.

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Man City
Rob Nielsen's value goes up to 7.75 million pounds but Manchester City get relegated. The question is whether Manchester City will have to sell him or whether he will stay on to help Man City regain Premiership status. Still an U-21 US international at this time, Rob actually hardly played for Man City this year as he was sent out on 2 short-term loans instead, to Southampton and Bristol Rovers (both in League One). A whole bunch of lower division sides are currently interested in him. Rob really improved this year, it'll be interesting to see what happens to him next year.

CA: 147 (+24!!)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
31 games, 8 goals, 1 MOM, 6.58 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
The U-21 Irish international was also sent out on loans this year, as he appeared for Fulham in the Championship. He did make one substitute appearance for Spurs in the Premiership though. Currently valued at 7.5 million pounds. Not a huge improvement for Aaron overall though, despite the large number of games he played well for Fulham.

CA: 126 (+6)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
32 games, 5 goals, 12 assists (!) (good for joint 3rd in the Championship), 4 MOM, 6.97 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Bolton:
Definitely a good year for Kevin Donnelly as he gets his chance to shine for Bolton in the Championship. One of the first choice strikers, he managead to score 18 league goals (good for joint 7th) but that wasn't enough to push Bolton past 11th place. Kevin remains an Irish U-21 international.

CA: 129 (+7)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
42 games, 18 goals, 4 MOM, 7.10 rating

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Bolton:
Sean Treacy may not have increased his value much but the Scotland manager clearly recognises his talent as he rewards Sean with his first 2 caps. Sean is one of the first of our players to get his international debut. He performed well for Bolton in the center of the park but may be looking for a bigger stage to play on soon. Disappointing that he didn't improve this year though.

CA: 132 (+0)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
40 games (2 as a sub), 10 assists, 4 MOM, 6 yellows, 2 reds, 7.25 rating

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
Karl Tone is playing regularly for Hibernian, where he's played decently. An U-21 US international still, he is currently valued at 6.25 million pounds. Decent improvement from Karl this year overall.

CA: 127 (+9)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
40 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 8 yellows, 6.45 rating

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
It appears Path has won the goalkeeping battle against Jace as he manages to appear in a significant number of first team games for Arsenal this year. The French U-19 international is now valued at 5.25 million pounds.

CA: 132 (+14)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
25 games (2 as a sub), 23 conceded, 7 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 1 red. 7.00 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
Instead of sending him out on loan, Fiorentina elected to keep Deacon with the first team and used him sparingly as a sub. 11 appearances for the club and a very poor overall rating for him suggests he may still not be ready for first flight football yet.

CA: 124 (+3)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
11 games (all as a sub), 5.55 rating

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
The Goalkeeper is valued at 3.9 million pounds now and he's still in the Reserves Squad. He did go out on loan to Leicester in the Championship though, where he played very well. This got him noticed and he won his first two international caps this year as well. Jace may be looking to move and Bolton Leicester have indicated their interest. Huge improvement for Jace this year.

CA: 138 (+21!!)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
28 games, 25 conceded, 10 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 7.39 rating

Jaime Moore, Winger, Troyes
17 games into the season and then a significant move for Jaime as Arsenal pay 3 million pounds for him. An attempt at throwing Jaime into the first team didn't quite pay off as he performed badly. Capped at U-19 level for the US.

CA: 135 (+7)
PA: 185

Season stats:
23 games for Arsenal, 5.87 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
Logan appears somewhat regularly for Gronigen this year, playing 15 games for them. He appears to be slowly getting used to the game as his average rating goes up to 6.07 for the year. Logan is an U-21 international for the US.

CA: 119 (+10)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
15 games (1 as a sub), 6.07 rating

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Colton remains an U-21 international for the US this year, despite playing regularly for Bolton as well. Decent performances from him result in his value going up to 2.4 million pounds. Rangers is reportedly interested in acquiring his services.

CA: 124 (+6)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
40 games (2 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 MOM, 5 yellows, 2 reds, 6.82 rating

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Vitesse
Slight increase in value as K.N. is now valued at 2.2 million pounds. He spent the season out on loan to First Division side Eindhoven where he played averagely. Significant increase in ability gives K.N. a chance to succeed with Vitesse next year.

CA: 136 (+16)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
29 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 2 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.31 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
The Promising Midfielder is called up to the Portugese U-21 squad and is currently worth 2.1 million pounds. He appeared sparingly for the first team at Belenenses this year but manages a decent increase in talent.

CA: 128 (+12)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
12 games, 2 assists, 3 yellows, 6.83 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Scunthorpe
So I was wrong, Larry stays on at Scunthorpe this year. Slight drop in value to 1.9 million pounds for the Irish U-21 international. The reason for this is probably a result of a slightly worst year for Scunthorpe this season.

CA: 135 (+3)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
33 games, 46 conceded, 5 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.06 rating

Landon Scott, Striker, QPR
A bit of an odd season for the as yet uncapped player. He started out the season for QPR, scoring 1 goal in 6 games. He was injury-plagued though, as he was out for 2 months with fractured ribs then another 3 weeks with a thigh strain, followed by another month for a twisted ankle. This brought us to January, where Blackburn Rovers paid 1.3 million pounds for his services. Unfortunately, Landon never got going as he was not match fit and only made 2 appearances for Rovers. To make things worse, another 4 weeks lost near the end of the season when he twisted an ankle in training meant that this was a lost season for Landon. Still, a nice improvement in terms of ability for Landon overall.

CA: 132 (+14)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
8 games, 1 goal, 6.75 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Chicago Fire
Alex made a move to Chicago in November 2007 and is currently valued at 210k. He's playing well in the MLS so far. He finished his career at Toronto with 38 games played, 8 goals, 6 assists and a 7.29 rating.

CA: 127 (+2)
PA: 183

Season stats:
12 games, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.17 rating

[law90026]

Looking forward to the new season. Do any of us have mentors?

At the start of the 2008/2009 season:

Aaron Gage is learning from Lucho Gonzalez, a 27 year old Argentinian International Central Midfielder

Rob Nielsen is learning from Shola Amoebi, 26 year old former English U-21 striker

Jace Hunter is learning from Robert Green, 28 year old former England international

[law90026]

2009/2009 pre-season report:

June was a quiet time for transfers but July exploded into a flurry of activity.

The biggest transfers of the summer?
1) Adriano - Ajax to Schalke for 95 million
2) Kaka - Chelsea to Milan for 85 million
3) Messi - Bayern to Inter for 50 million
4) Robinho - Bayern to Roma for 35.5 million
5) Joe Cole - Zaragoza to Tottenham for 33 million (resulting in Aaron Gage PR outburst)
6) Riquelme - Chelsea to Inter for 29.5 million
7) Kalou - Fiorentina to Man Utd for 29 million
8) Kompany - HSV to Man Utd for 26 million
9) de Guzman - Feyenoord to Real for 22.5 million
10) Aissati - Porto to Zaragoza for 21.5 million
11) Marcelo - Man City to Leverkusen for 21.5 million
12) Zapater - Zaragoza to Real for 20 million

Arsenal and Liverpool hardly spent this year, interesting to see how that goes. Arsenal in particular didn't bring in anyone at all.

[law90026]

16 player update 2008/2009:

Only one player moved thus far this year but there are some other potential moves brewing.

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Bolton:
A strong year for Donnelly last season pushes his value up to 8.75 million. Let's see if he can hit at least 18 league goals again this year or whether last year was a fluke. Very slight improvement over the summer but he's the third best player at the club.

CA: 130 (+1)
PA: 186

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
The U-21 Irish international is valued at 7.5 million pounds. He was unhappy over the summer when Joe Cole was signed as he felt there was too much competition for places in the squad. His manager, Martin Jol, told him off for that and Aaron Gage issued a public apology. We'll see how that goes this year. Aaron is the 19th best player out of a first team squad of 22.

CA: 128 (+2)
PA: 174

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Man City
Rob Nielsen's value is now at 7 million pounds. Major questions about Rob's club future as he is the subject of a Liverpool bid along with rumours that Man Utd and Chelsea may make competing bids soon. He's getting to be very good, at least on paper, and is reportedly Man City's best player.

CA: 155 (+8)
PA: 185

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
Karl Tone may want to start looking for a home in Scotland soon as he spends a 2nd straight season on loan at Hibernian. Karl made some minor improvements in the off-season and is valued at 6.75 million pounds.

CA: 129 (+2)
PA: 194

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Bolton:
The Scottish international may be making a move soon as Portsmouth and Man City have both put in bids for him. Sean is the best player at Bolton and it would be upsetting for the fans if he were to be sold.

CA: 141 (+9)
PA: 172

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Nurnberg
And some people actually thought K.N. Smith might not have a chance :P Nurnberg paid 6.75 million pounds to buy K.N. Smith and bring him to the German First Division. K.N. Smith rejected a move to Villareal though, perhaps he wants more playing time. He's the 10th best player at Nurnberg and only the 4th best central midfielder.

CA: 141 (+5)
PA: 186

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Is the fact Jace Hunter is being mentored by Arsenal first choice, Robert Green, an indication the Gunners think Jace is the choice for the future? Hard to tell. What we do know is that the student may have surpassed the teacher as Jace is better than Robert Green now (144).

CA: 146 (+8)
PA: 180

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
5.5 million pounds is the valuation for the Bulgarian U-21 international. He shouldn't be expecting much playing time though as he is 18th out of 23rd in terms of talent in the squad.

CA: 129 (+5)
PA: 178

Jaime Moore, Winger, Arsenal
The Gunners clearly felt Jaime needed more seasoning and sent him out on a season long loan to Celtic. They'll hope the 4 million pound winger will come back better for the experience. He's getting to be very good though and should be knocking on the Arsenal first team door very soon.

CA: 145 (+10)
PA: 185

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
And what about Path Twelve? Well, he's been placed in the Reserves this year, a bitter pill to swallow considering he was involved in first-team action last year. Still, he's young yet and there's plenty of time for his career to develop.

CA: 134 (+2)
PA: 183

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn
The 3.1 million pound striker will hope to recover from his injuries of last season and have a good first full season of Premiership football. 10th best player but only 3rd best striker, although options 2-4 are all very close in terms of ability.

CA: 134 (+2)
PA: 193

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
Horrible news as Logan Pace breaks his ankle and is out for at least another 1 to 2 months. How that will affect the 3 million pound midfielder remains to be seen.

CA: 126 (+7)
PA: 190

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
The 2.6 million pound defender looks to be staying on in Bolton for this season as the interest from Rangers cooled. 7th best player in Bolton but their best central defender.

CA: 125 (+1)
PA: 181

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
Possible move for Jorge in the future perhaps as Villareal are reportedly interested in him. The 2.3 million pound midfielder is currently the best player in the squad and he'll likely have the chance to prove what he can do with regular games.

CA: 134 (+6)
PA: 186

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Scunthorpe
The 1.5 million pound goalie stays on at Scunthorpe, who were relegated at the end of last season. League Two football can't be good for the youngster can it?

CA: 141 (+6)
PA: 182

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Chicago Fire
Alex remains in the MLS for now and continues to play well. He's developing a bit of a reputation as a scoring midfielder even though he's supposed to be a defensive kind of player.

CA: 129 (+2)
PA: 183

[law90026]

Thoughts for the Season:

1) The following players to become or maintain their first team positions:
Sean Treacy, Kevin Donnelly, Colton Mayes, Jaime Moore, Larry McGillicuddy, Landon Scott and Alex Kamelooski

2) Players primed for a move:
Larry McGillicuddy, Jaime Moore, Landon Scott and Alex Kamelooski

3) Will Probably Waste Their Season:
Deacon, Logan, K.N., Jace and Path

If you think differently, or have other thoughts, feel free to post. Simming the season now and that should take a while, including the write-up.

So how wrong or right was I?

1) I was only wrong on Landon but that was largely because of crazy injuries. I was pleasently surprised that Path Twelve got that many first team games.

2) Right on two of them (Landon and Jaime), wrong on the other two (Alex's move isn't considered a significant one I think).

3) I was kinda wrong about K.N. and Path but that's largely because they went out on loan and did decently.

So this year?

1) Expect some big money moves.

2) More full internationals should appear

3) I'm hoping there'll be a development on the Arsenal goalie front as well as Alex's situation in the US.

[law90026]

Quick Mid-season transfer update:

Big Move #1:
Lyon sign Rob Nielsen for 22.5 million pounds. Offers from Liverpool, Middlesborough and Portsmouth were rejected.

Big(ish) Move #2:
Manchester City use some of those funds to buy Sean Treacy from Bolton. 10.5 million pounds is the transfer fee.

Other possible moves:
Kevin Donnelly is the subject of bids from Premiership club Portsmouth and Championship side Sheffield United.

Colton Mayes has attracted the attention of Birmingham and Crystal Palace.

Larry McGillicuddy has bids in from Plymouth, Sheffield United and Bolton.

Logan Pacer's contract expires in 6 months and Catania, Nantes, Bordeaux and Empoli have offered him contracts.

[law90026]

End of Season 2008/2009 Recap:

English Premier League:
Chelsea retain the Premier League title, 10 points clear of Tottenham for a second season in a row. Man Utd were 3rd again, West Ham 4th, Boro 5th and Reading 6th. Liverpool was 7th and Arsenal was 13th.

Chelsea continue to collect players as they signed Wesley Sneijder, Agger and Bangura for 51 million pounds. Spurs spent big on 2 players, a total of 87 million for Joe Cole and Akinfeev. Man Utd also spent a lot, a total of 99 million on 7 players, the notable ones being van Persie, van Nistelrooy, Kompany and Kalou. Liverpool only signed Downing and Elano as their major signings. Arsenal refused to spend until the mid-season window, when they spent 16 million on Antonio Cassano.

French League:
PSG won the title. Last season's winner, Lyon, came in 5th, despite spending 22.5 million on Rob Nielsen.

None of the top French clubs really spent that much this year.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern won the title again with Schalke coming in 2nd. Bayern spent 58 million on players this year, including 41.5 million on Eto'o. However, they sold a lot of players this year and generated 214 million in sales ... Messi, Robinho, N'Zogbia and Ibrahimovic are all gone.

Italian Serie A:
Milan regain the Serie A title, 14 pts clear of Roma. Juventus really struggled this year, coming in 12th.

Milan spent a lot to do so though, spending 124 million on 3 players, Kaka, Mascherano and Hunterlaar. Roma also spent a lot, with 156 million on Robinho, Ashley Cole and Ibrahimovic. Inter, who came in 3rd, spent 100 million on Messi, Riquelme, Enke and Gudjohnsen.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Maritomo wins the titleon goal difference ahead of Sporting. Porto were 5th overall.

Spanish First Division:
Deportivo wins the title, 8 pts clear of Barcelona. Real were 3rd. The "punishment" appears to have opened up the Spanish league a lot more since the various Spanish clubs appear to have quite a lot of clout when signing players.

Having said that, Deportivo didn't spend a single cent to win their title. Real, who spent 167 million, couldn't buy their title this year.

Champions Cup:
Milan beat Lyon 2-0 in the Finals.

Euro Cup:
Valencia beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Finals.

FA Cup:
Everton beat Middlesborough 2-1. That's the second successive FA Cup Final that Boro have lost.

Italian Cup:
Palermo beat Juventus 3-1 on aggregate.

Thoughts:
Arsenal continue to struggle owing to their failure to buy players. Chelsea remain tremendously strong and Spurs have a strong foundation to build on.

No real surprises overall I think, and the English League is now a bit more unpredictable because some clubs apparently can't or won't sign players.

[law90026]

16 Player update, end of season 2008/2009

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon
Major move for Rob this year as he joins Lyon. Disappointment for him though as Lyon underperform in the French League. Rob Nielsen's value goes up to 15.75 million pounds. Rob also ditched the US national team to join the Danish national team, where he's scored 3 goals in 4 games. Rob's CA makes him one of the better players in the game at the moment, around joint-41st in terms of forwards. His contemporaries are Theo Walcott (20yrs old, 170), Kerlon (21 yrs old, 165) and Anderson (21 yrs old, 164).

CA: 161 (+6)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
12 games, 4 goals, 6.58 rating

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Manchester City:
The Scottish international eventually moved at the beginning of the season to Manchester City, where his performances helped them get right back to the Premiership. Valued at 10.5 million pounds currently. No development is a worrying sign though.

CA: 141 (+0)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
33 games, 2 goals, 8 assists, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.18 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur
Aaron was called up to the Irish National Team, where he scored 1 goal in 6 games. He was kept with the Spurs first team this year and he made a number of appearances, though never really excelling. Nice improvement this year though, could be a nice build-up for next season. Valued at 8.5 million pounds.

CA: 139 (+11)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
21 games (9 as a sub), 2 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.38 rating

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
First team player for Hibernian and he helped them win the Scottish PremierLeague with his 9 league assists. 14 U-21 caps for Karl but no full call-up yet. Valued at 8.25 million pounds at this time but one wonders if he'll ever get a chance at Spurs.

CA: 135 (+6)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
36 games (1 as a sub), 4 goals, 11 assists, 5 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.94 rating

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Jace split time with Robert Green this year and played well when given the chance for the Gunners. He's also a regular in the Canadian national team with 15 caps to his name at the age of 20. Another significant increase for Jace this year in terms of CA.

CA: 155 (+9)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
22 games (2 as a sub), 31 conceded, 3 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.23 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Sheffield United:
Kevin decides to jump ship as well as he leaves Bolton on an 8 million pound move to fellow Championship side Sheffield United. Not much of an improvement in terms of club success as Sheffield finished 10th, just 2 spots ahead of Bolton who were 12th. Kevin did prove that he is a decent goalscorer though as he managed 17 league goals in all for both clubs combined.

CA: 139 (+9)
PA: 186

Season Stats (just league):
43 games, 17 goals, 1 MOM, 7.30 rating

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn
Landon starts to repay the 1.3 million pound transfer fee as he scored 10 goals in all competitions this year. It helped that he wasn't injured this year though he wasn't as regular in the first team as he might have liked. Still, his performances have attracted FC Bayern, who will have to pay at least 6.25 million for him.

CA: 141 (+7)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
25 games (10 as a sub), 10 goals, 2 yellows, 1 red, 7.04 rating

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Nurnberg
K.N. played regularly for Nurnberg but his performances were nothing spectacular. Portsmouth is reportedly interested in the 5.5 million pound midfielder.

CA: 144 (+3)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
29 games (3 as a sub), 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.14 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Fiorentina
Again, Fiorentina elected to keep Deacon at home and used him occasionally. Still not performing well enough yet though as he only averaged 5.75. Still, he managed to score 2 goals this year in Serie A.

CA: 132 (+3)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
8 games (6 as a sub), 2 goals, 5.75 rating

Jaime Moore, Winger, Arsenal
Jaime spent the season on loan at Celtic where he played a large number of games decently. One can see him and Karl Tone eventually building up a rivalry, considering they play a similar style, i.e. good wingers who set up goals, and both were sent to Scotland on loan from North London sides.

CA: 151 (+6)
PA: 185

Season stats:
43 games (2 as sub), 2 goals, 9 assists, 2 MOM, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.65 rating

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
A wasted year for the French U-21 keeper as he languished in the Arsenal reserves. He only made one substitute appearance for the first team all year.

CA: 140 (+6)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
1 as a sub, 1 clean sheet, 8.00 rating

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Looks like the last of the Bolton youngsters may be off soon as both Portsmouth and Celtic have made bids for him. He played well for Bolton this year and is now valued at 3.9 million pounds.

CA: 139 (+14)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
42 games, 1 goal, 3 MOM, 7 yellows, 1 red, 7.14 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Chicago Fire
Dramatic increase in value for Alex to 2.4 million pounds and he's a regular in the US U-21 side. He's starting to attract attention from Celta, a Spanish side.

CA: 136 (+7)
PA: 183

Season stats:
10 games, 2 goals, 2 reds, 7.10 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Bolton
Larry makes his move this year as he joins Bolton, only to see his fellow youngsters all start to move. Bad timing for him. Capped at Irish U-21 level now and he played well this year for Bolton.

CA: 144 (+3)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
12 games (1 as a sub), 14 conceded, 4 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.46 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
Jorge is apparently a Portugese starlet, which is what the press is calling him. Reports are that he will make a move soon, with Villareal, Celta and Murcia all having made bids for him. Decent season from Jorge this year. Valued at 2.1 million pounds and that's about the price the other clubs have bidded for him at this time.

CA: 135 (+1)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
29 games (2 as a sub), 3 assists, 1 yellow, 6.52 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, FC Gronigen
In a vindictive move, Logan was sent to the reserves after he signed a pre-contract with Spanish side Getafe. Unfortunately for Logan, Getafe got relegated at the end of the Spanish season.

CA: 131 (+5)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
14 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.36 rating

[law90026]

Player of the Year?
A number of worthy candidates this year I think. Ultimately, I would probably choose Landon Scott, largely because he played very regularly in the Premiership. Other players may have had better seasons or big moves but they either played in a lesser league or didn't play as consistently.

[ArlingtonColt]

Still McLovin this dynasty... really hoping for a breakthrough for Landon soon!

[Toddzilla]

Karl Tone, Winger, Tottenham Hotspur:
First team player for Hibernian and he helped them win the Scottish PremierLeague with his 9 league assists.
:eek:

[Passacaglia]

Looking forward to Tone and I pushing Spurs over the top past Chelsea.

[George]

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Belenenses
Jorge is apparently a Portugese starlet, which is what the press is calling him. Reports are that he will make a move soon, with Villareal, Celta and Murcia all having made bids for him. Decent season from Jorge this year. Valued at 2.1 million pounds and that's about the price the other clubs have bidded for him at this time.

CA: 135 (+1)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
29 games (2 as a sub), 3 assists, 1 yellow, 6.52 rating

I'm enjoying this. :cool:

[flere-imsaho]

Good stuff! :D

[Coffee Warlord]

God, I'm in FRANCE?

At least I can afford good french hookers. :)

[oykib]

law90026 was posting top qality stuff!

Law off to a flyer!

[Katon]

Looking forward to Tone and I pushing Spurs over the top past Chelsea.

Just as soon as they let me out of Scotland. I can beat the defenders here no problem; now let me play in a real league.

[path12]

Path requests a transfer!

[law90026]

Pre-season moves 2008/2009:

Around the World:
Major transactions:

1) Federico Laurito: Udinese to Ajax for 17.5 million
2) Alexey Yeremenko: AEK to Ajax for 17.5 million
3) Claudio Maldonado: Porto to Feyenoord for 17 m
4) Arjen Robben: Deportivo to Chelsea for 95m
5) Michael Essien: Bayern to Roma for 90m
6) van der Vaart: HSV to Schalke for 54m
7) Gilardino: Feyenoord to Inter for 42.5m
8) Kerlon: Benfica to Real Madrid for 31.5m
9) Giorgio Chiellini: Lyon to HSV for 27m
10) Celsinho: Corinthians to Dortmund for 26.5m
11) Cani: Liverpool to Fiorentina for 25m (this was the prelude for the Deacon move)
12) Goran Pandev: Fiorentina to Inter for 19.25m
13) Ismael Aissati: Zaragoza to Arsenal for 18.5m
14) Alberto Zapater: Real Madrid to Villareal for 18m
15) Daniel Agger: Chelsea to Milan for 17.75m
16) Bora Oubina: Betis to Atletico for 17.5m
17) Rio Ferdinand: Chelsea to Roma for 17.25m
18) Didier Drogba: Chelsea to Reading for 16.75m
19) Obafemi Martins: Getafe to Barcelona for 16.75m
20) Darren Bent: Birmingham to Portsmouth for 16.25m

Thoughts:
Most of the names on that list are the major clubs, though there are some "smaller" names like Portsmouth there as well. Surprising activity by some of the smaller German clubs (3 of the top 20 signings) although Bayern continue to dispose of the stars they had signed.


16 Players:

Colton Mayes agrees to move to Celtic from Bolton. Celtic forked out 7.25 million as well as 18 year old Welsh defender Luke Williams for Colton Mayes.

Despite his manager's best efforts, Jorge Antonio will be leaving Belenenses. The board of the club felt the offers coming in were too good to be refused and have accepted them despite the protests of the manager. As a result, Jorge Antonio has left for Villareal in a 2.1 million pound move.

Celtic continue to fork out money for young talent as they sign Aaron Gage from Spurs for 5.25 million.

A few clubs wanted to loan Karl Tone for the season but Spurs refused these offers. Suggestion that Karl has a shot at the first team this year? However, Deportivo has made a 2.1 million pound bid for him and Spurs are reportedly considering it.

Some big clubs like Milan and Barcelona made significant bids for Arsenal youngster Jaime Moore but they were rejected. Instead, he left for Rangers on a season long loan, which will be the second season in a row in Scotland for Jaime. Oddly enough, he played for Celtic last year and he'll be playing for their auld enemy, Rangers, this year.

Deacon Palmieri's time at Fiorentina has come to an end, which probably isn't a bad thing for him. He signs for Porto after the clubs agreed on a 2.3 millon transfer fee.

Jace Hunter signs a contract worth 4.7 million pounds with Arsenal. Nice.

Kevin Donnelly signs a deal with Sheffield United for 5.75 million pounds, even nicer.

Other rumours? Bids are in for Rob Nielsen and reportedly Liverpool are the front-runners to buy him. Rob Nielsen recently signed a new contract worth 3.8 million with Lyon but it's very possible he's on his way out.

Lastly, Chelsea came out to indicate they were interested in signing Arsenal reserve keeper, Path Twelve, but Arsenal flatly refused to consider the move.

[law90026]

Mid-season quick update:

Path Twelve gets the transfer he wished for as he signs for Chelsea. 11.5 million is a lot to pay for a 21 year old keeper, especially when he's placed in the Reserves again.

Lots of interest in Jaime Moore and Landon Scott, potentially unsettling the two of them.

Aaron Gage gets injured on 1 Jan 2010, tearing a calf muscle. He's going to be out for 3 months. He had been in fine form before this, playing 30 games for Celtic and scoring 6 goals as well as providing 5 assists for the Bhoys.

Alex Kamelooski's fine form for the Chicago fire gets him noticed as he signs for Liverpool in a 3.3 million deal.

K.N. Smith leaves Nurnberg for HSV for 17 million.

Kevin Donnelly is the subject of multiple bids from big clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool.

Logan Pacer's contract with Getafe is expiring and various clubs have offered him new terms, including Nantes and Torino.

[MrBug708]

Was there a database to download for this?

[law90026]

Was there a database to download for this?

Heh no, I did it manually.

[law90026]

End of Season 2009/2010 Recap:

English Premier League:
Chelsea win the Premiership for a 3rd season in a row. They were 14 pts clear of Liverpool. Spurs experienced a slight dip as they dropped to 3rd. Reading, West Ham and Birmingham rounded out the top 6. Arsenal came in 9th. And surprisingly, Man Utd were relegated, along with Fulham and West Brom.

Chelsea signed Robben for 95 m and Path Twelve for 11.5 m, which made it a very expensive 106m for just 2 players. Still, they won and that's what counts ultimately. Liverpool signed a bunch of players for 62m, including Dean Ashton, Deco and .. Kevin Donnelly. Spurs were very restrained in their spending, just 41.5m on Monnet-Paquet and Atouba. That could be a reason why they dropped a bit this year as their quality starts to lessen. And Man Utd hardly spent on players this year, just 14.75m on Del Horno and DaMarcus Beasley. That plus their sale of players like Kalou, Kompany and van Persie probably contributed to their relegation (and these were players that had just joined the previous year too).

French League:
PSG retained their title. Lyon came in 2nd, just 1 pt behind PSG.

Again, of the top 5 French clubs, not much spending. Lyon spent the most, about 40m on 3 players, with PSG spending about 25m. Rennes, Auxerre and Marseille collectively spent a total of 15m, a miniscule amount in the context of the game.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern again won the title, 4 pts clear of Schalke.

This was a big-spending year for Bayern as they spent 110m on 8 players to bolster their squad. Big spending HSV were a disappointing 12th, even though they spent 82m on players like Castro, Chiellini and K.N. Smith.

Italian Serie A:
Roma dislodged Milan from the top of Serie A, ending the season 4 pts clear of Milan and 7 pts clear of Inter. Juventus were disappointing again, fininshing 9th.

Roma spent 135m this year to bring in players like Essien and Kompany. Milan spent 105m while Inter spent a comparatively low 62m pounds.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Sporting won the title, 9 pts clear of Porto.

The big 3 of Portugese football spent a total of 136m (40 by Sporting, 36 by Porto, 60 by Benfica).

Scottish PremierLeague:
Rangers regain the title this year and Jaime Moore has a league medal to his name. Celtic was the other big spender in the Scottish League but only managed 4th place. Hibernian went to 6th place after losing their super-loanee Karl Tone.

Spanish First Division:
Athletic won the title, 6 pts clear of Barcelona, Valencia and Athletico. Madrid were 5th.

For a second year in a row, the title was won by a club that hardly spent (3.9m by Athletic). The largest spender was Athletico at 106 m but that only got them 3rd place.

Champions Cup:
Deportivo beat Milan 1-0 in the Finals.

Euro Cup:
Valencia defend their title with a 2-0 win over Palermo.

FA Cup:
Newcastle beat Chelsea 3-2 in the finals. Path Twelve was the keeper and that means no winner's medal for him.

Italian Cup:
Inter beat Milan 2-2 on away goals. That means Milan lost 2 cup finals and came in 2nd in the league. Sucks to be them.

Thoughts:
Chelsea remain seemingly unstoppable and the gap appears to be growing every year. Man Utd's relegation comes as a major surprise and it'll be interesting to see if they can recover. In the Spanish League, I'm intrigued by the fact that spending doesn't seem to be as much of a factor in winning the title. 2 seasons is hardly conclusive proof but still, it's nice to see there's a chance for the smaller clubs there. In Germany, Bayern remains unstoppable and in Italy, Milan, Inter and Roma remain the teams to beat really.

[law90026]

16 Player Update, end of season 2009/2010:

So major moves seemed to be the trend this year as the players have a major shake-up in terms of where they are now.

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV
Sometimes all you need is one major move for your value to shoot all the way up. K.N. is now valued at 16m after his move from Nurnberg to HSV. Disappointing season though as HSV only managed 12th spot in the Bundesliga. K.N. also only played 26 games in the league this year though he did well enough to earn his first 4 caps for the US.

CA: 157 (+13)
PA: 186

Season Stats (league only):
26 games, 7 assists, 2 MOMs, 6.89 rating

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn
A breakout season of sorts for Landon Scott as his value shoots up to 12.5m. He was the subject of transfer speculation all season long though that appears to have died down now. 6 goals in 7 caps for the US is a great return.

CA: 151 (+10)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
26 games (2 as a sub), 10 goals, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.19 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Liverpool:
And Kevin Donnelly eventually join Liverpool on an 11.25m transfer. He had been setting the Championship on fire before that with 13 goals in 19 league games. He found it hard-going at Anfield though as he was never able to secure a first team place, making just 8 first team appearances and scoing 2 goals. Kevin Donnelly also earned his first 2 caps for Ireland this year and scored his first international goal on his 2nd appearance.

CA: 149 (+10)
PA: 186

Season Stats (just league):
27 games, 15 goals, 3 MOMs, 7.11

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Jace took the no. 1 keeper position at Arsenal this year while earning another 5 caps for Canada. He's valued at 12m and is regarded as one of the top keepers in the world already (joint 12th in terms of CA).
CA: 164 (+9)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
44 games, 48 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 6 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.57 rating

Karl Tone, Winger, Deportivo:
Niggling injuries plagued Karl Tone in his first season with Deportivo. A total of 13 weeks was lost with various injuries and resulted in Karl only appearing in 22 games for Deportivo. Valued at 11.75m, he's earned his first two caps for the US.

CA: 147 (+12)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
22 games, 6 goals, 1 assist, 1 yellow, 6.32 rating

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon
Despite rumours and bids all year, Lyon steadfastly refused to sell Rob Nielsen. He was unable to lead them to the French title but he's only 21 years old after all. The Danish international is valued at 11.75m.

CA: 162 (+1)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
26 games (10 as a sub), 8 goals, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.69 rating

Jaime Moore, Winger, Arsenal
It's very possible Jaime may not be at Ashburton Grove much longer. He's another player that has been the speculation of transfer rumours and he even came out to say he would welcome a move to Liverpool. He was one Ranger's best players and played a key role in helping them win the title in Scotland. Jaime won his first cap for the US this year as well.

CA: 159 (+8)
PA: 185

Season stats:
43 games (1 sub), 3 goals, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 1 red, 7.02 rating

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea
Path was eventually promoted to the first team near the end of the season and he made a few appareances for the first team (including their FA cup loss to Newcastle). The French U-21 international is valued at 9m and has to beat out Petr Cech (183) for a starting spot next year.

CA: 154 (+8)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
4 games (1 sub), 7 conceded, 0 clean sheets, 6.75 rating

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Manchester City:
The Scottish international is another player that was the subject of transfer bids. He may be on the move this off-season as he might be disappointed in Man City's 17th place finish this year.

CA: 147 (+6)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
38 games, 6 assists, 3 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.32 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Celtic
Aaron joined Celtic and sometimes found himself lined up against fellow youngster Jaime Moore (Rangers). He has 8 caps for Ireland now and is valued at 6m. Solid first season for him at Celtic.

CA: 145 (+6)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
37 games, 6 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.84 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Getafe
On the move again is Logan Pacer, this time signing for Feyenoord when Getafe did not renew his contract early. It's back to the Dutch league for Logan, where he didn't always have the best of times while at Gronigen.

CA: 144 (+13)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
37 games, 1 goal, 5 yellows, 1 red, 6.27 rating

Colton Mayes, Defender, Bolton:
Colton Mayes played with Aaron Gage at Celtic this year and had a solid season as well. He appeared in a large number of games and was always consistent in terms of his performances. The lack of development by the Irish international is disappointing though

CA: 139 (+0)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
46 games, 2 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.09 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Bolton
Larry stays on at Bolton who are a mid-table Championship side again. They may have been worse off without Larry as he played well for them. They should probably be prepared for Larry to leave though as he's probably too good to be playing at this level.

CA: 158 (+14)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
34 games (1sub), 47 conceded, 6 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 7.21 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Chicago Fire
The US U-21 international joined Liverpool and is currently valued at 3.3 m. He made some appareances for the club but doesn't seem to have adjusted to the pace of the Premiership yet.

CA: 141 (+5)
PA: 183

Season stats:
15 games (2 sub), 1 assist, 1 yellow, 6.07 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Porto
Deacon left the Spanish League for Portugal where he played some games in Porto's 2nd place finish. Just marginal improvement for him this year and he'll have to work harder at his game if he wants to get better.

CA: 134 (+2)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
14 games (5 sub), 1 goal, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.36 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Villareal
The Portugese U-21 international had a very average season at Villareal. He was regular in the first team but he never really impressed.

CA: 139 (+4)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
33 games (4 sub), 4 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.15 rating

[Blade6119]

I thought i had been capped by the US u-21, but now im an irish international? Either way, Kick Ass!

[law90026]

I thought i had been capped by the US u-21, but now im an irish international? Either way, Kick Ass!

If I'm not wrong, you can be capped by an U-21 side but change nationality later for a full cap. You're only stuck once you have made an official full international appearance for a country.

[law90026]

Start of Season 2010/2011:

Top 10 Major moves:
Giuseppe Rossi - Man Utd to Real Madrid, 55m
Per Mertesacker - Werder Bremen to Real Madrid, 54m
Thiago Ribeiro - Sao Paulo to Strasbourg, 43.5m
Wesley Sneijder - Chelsea to Roma, 43m
Rob Nielsen - Lyon to Juventus, 37m
Charles N'Zogbia - HSV to Roma, 29m
Libis Arenas - Espanyol to West Ham, 29m
Matias Fernandez - Milan to Barcelona, 22m
Diego Biseswar - Nurnberg to HSV, 21m
Larry McGillicuddy - Bolton to Man Utd, 19m

A few familiar sounding names there.

The richest clubs in the world as at 2010:
1. Roma (surprise)
2. Chelsea
3. Real Madrid
4. Barcelona
5. Milan
6. Atletico
7. FC Bayern
8. Arsenal
9. Inter
10. Juventus

Liverpool is 14th, Man Utd is 16th.

World Cup 2010 summary:
England won the 2010 World Cup.

Denmark were knocked out 1-0 by Croatia in the Quarter Finals. Rob Nielsen did not make a single appearance although he was in the squad.

The US were knocked out in the group stages, losing 3-1 to Colombia, 4-1 to Spain and beating South Africa 6-1 in an inconsequential last match. K.N. Smith, Karl Tone and Landon Scott were in the squad and played in all 3 games. K.N., Karl (x2) and Landon (x2) scored in that 6-1 win.

[law90026]

16 Players Start of Season update:

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Juventus
Huge move for Rob as he signs for Juventus for 37m. That's a lot of money to pay for a player that has only scored 33 league goals in 4 seasons. Juventus have struggled the past few years so they'll be looking to improve this year.

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd
Another major move as Man Utd sign Larry to bolster their chances of an immediate return to the Premiership.

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV
K.N. returns from a disappointing World Cup and will be looking to do well with HSV this year.

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn
Despite rumours of a move, Landon Scott starts the season in Blackburn's colours.

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Arsenal
Sean Treacy makes his 3rd move of his career as he joins Arsenal for 13.75m. Arsenal potentially has a very good team in the making right now.

Karl Tone, Winger, Deportivo:
Karl also returns from a disappointing World Cup and he will want to put his injury woes behind him for this season.

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal
Yet another signing by Arsenal as the 12.5m offered was too much for Celtic to resist. That makes 4 out of the 16 players in the Arsenal squad.

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Liverpool:
The Liverpool striker will want to establish himself in the first team this year and prove that he wasn't a poor signing.

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Jace is rapidly becoming one of the best players of his generation and he'll want to taste success soon. Maybe his fellow youngsters can help him achieve that.

Jaime Moore, Winger, Arsenal
Jaime recently signed a new contract with Arsenal. However, that hasn't detered Milan, who have placed a 23m bid in for him.

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea
Path Twelve may be wondering why he joined Chelsea as he appears to be behind Petr Cech in the goalkeeping rotation.

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Espanyol
Just one season at Villareal and he moves on as Espanyol pay 7.5m for him.

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Celtic
Aaron remains at Celtic for now but various English clubs are reportedly interested in him, including Chelsea.

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Feyenoord
Logan Pacer is still looking for the right opportunity to present itself in order to play good regular football. Maybe the move back to Holland will be the right one for him.

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Liverpool
Will Alex get a chance to prove his ability at Anfield this year? He'll hope so and he'll also be hoping to join his fellow Americans in the international team soon.

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Porto
Deacon is the lowest valued player of the 16 at 2.8m but he's young yet. There are still hopes he will develop into a world class player but it won't help that he's not slated to start for Porto this year.

[larrymcg421]

Oh no, Man United. I mean, it's good I'm playing for a high profile club, but I feel like I'm playing for the Yankees now. Excuse me while I go wash myself. Eck.

[RPI-Fan]

Wooooooooot!

[George]

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Espanyol
Just one season at Villareal and he moves on as Espanyol pay 7.5m for him.


Let's hope he plays better with Espanyol that he did last season with Villareal.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm becoming the mercenary of the world. People have dropped like a collective 100 million on me.

[Travis]

Welcome to Arsenal boys, now pretty please, score lots of goals.

[MrBug708]

Heh no, I did it manually.

Hmmm...too bad you didnt sasve it from the beginning...I would have loved to do it this way. I had an early version of CM which had a glitch in it and I ended up taking over a team that hadn't signed/resigned anyone in 3+ years and was down to one two players

[law90026]

Mid-season Quick Hits

Jaime Moore moved to Milan in a 23m move on 4 August 2010. He hasn't justified his move yet though, playing pretty badly for Milan.

Karl Tone is the subject of bids from Milan, Spurs and Inter. Kinda ironic that Spurs sold him previously and now want him back. He has a minimum fee release clause of 21m and the Milan and Inter bids both exceed that amount, so it's very possible he'll be moving soon.

Alex Kamelooski continues to fail to impress at Anfield and the manager has indicated he will consider selling Alex. Portsmouth has made a 5.5m bid for him. A number of other clubs are interested but whether they will bid is uncertain.

[law90026]

End of Season recap, 2010/2011

English Premier League:
Spurs finally dethrone Chelsea, ending their 3 year stranglehold on the title. Surprisingly, Chelsea were not even 2nd as they finished 4th this year. Boro and Liverpool were 3rd and 4th. Arsenal came in 7th, while Man City, Portsmouth and Watford got relegated.

Man Utd were a very disappointing 7th in the Championship, missing out on the play-offs even.

Spurs only brought in one free transfer this year. Chelsea were moderate in their spending this year, only 38.5m on 3 players. In fact, it was a biggish spending year by Arsenal as they spent 69m.

French League:
Lyon finally regain their title this year, 10 pts clear of PSG.

In order to do so, Lyon had spent 90m on players but they did manage to recoup 37m of that from the sale of Rob Nielsen to Juventus. Of the other top 5 clubs in France, they spent a collective 69m ... equivalent to Arsenal.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern proves to be the unstoppable juggernaut of German football as they win the title again, 2 pts clear of Schalke.

They may have spent 55m on players but they also sold players for 46.5m, so just a slight loss in order to obtain their title.

Italian Serie A:
Roma holds on to their title for a 2nd year in a row, edging out Milan by one point. Inter were 4th, Juventus were 5th.

There was a lot of money spent by the top 5 clubs in Serie A, something in the vicinity of 370m.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Sporting won the title again, also 9 pts clear of Porto.

Scottish PremierLeague:
Rangers hold on to their title as well, with Dundee and Celtic coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Spanish First Division:
Valencia's turn for success this year as they edge out Barcelona. Atletico were 3rd and last year's winner, Athletic, were 4th.

Valencia spent 113m this year, which breaks 2 seasons in a row where the winner hardly spent anything.

Champions Cup:
Atletic beat Milan on penalties in the Finals. Milan have now reached 3 consecutive finals but lost in the last two.

Euro Cup:
Sporting beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the finals.

FA Cup:
Success for Arsenal has taken a long time to come but this year they win the FA Cup with a 3-0 win against Charlton.

Italian Cup:
Palermo beat Roma 2-1 on aggregate. That's Palermo's 2nd cup in 3 years.

Thoughts:
Nice to see Chelsea stumble this year and for Spurs to succeed (being a somewhat "lesser" club). Milan and Roma appear to have built really strong squads as evidenced by their continued success in Italy and Europe. Bayern may be too far ahead of their competitors in Germany at this time while Spain appears to be a complete lottery every year.

Man Utd's failure to return to the Premiership is an interesting side-story. I wonder if repeated failure to do so may eventually result in them having major problems?

[law90026]

16 players end of season update, 2010/2011

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon
Valued at 25.5m, Rob hasn't really justified his move to Juventus yet. Just 3 goals in all competitions made the fans wonder why their club paid so much for the Danish international.

CA: 166 (+4)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
23 games (12 sub), 3 goals, 2 yellows, 6.39 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd
Larry must be wondering what he has to do to get out of the Championship. Despite moving to Man Utd, they failed to get promoted and will have to fight it out again in the Championship next year. Larry earned his first 3 international caps for Ireland this year as well and is currently valued at 19m.

CA: 164 (+6)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
40 games (1sub), 47 conceded, 12 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.32 rating

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn
Landon Scott is one of those players that rumours seem to circulate around but never seems to move. His 4th season with Blackburn now and his most successful on a personal level so far. The US international has a good scoring record (12 goals in 16 international games) and is valued at 16.5m.

CA: 159 (+8)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
38 games (4 sub), 15 goals, 3 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.21 rating

Karl Tone, Winger, Inter:
Karl spent half the season at Deportivo before moving to Inter for 17.5m. His valued has dropped slightly since then to 16m though. He played decently all year round and managed 2 goals and 6 assists for Inter in 23 games.

CA: 152 (+5)
PA: 194

Season Stats (league only):
35 games, 4 goals, 7 assists, 3 MOM, 6.64 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Portsmouth:
A season of disappointment for Kevin Donnelly. First, he left Liverpool after being told he didn't fit in the first team plans and joined Portsmouth on a 14.5m pound transfer. This was followed up with Portsmouth getting relegated.

CA: 154 (+5)
PA: 186

Season Stats (just league):
27 games, 5 goals, 1 MOM, 6.5 rating

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal
Jace Hunter continues to impress and now has 29 caps for Canada. However, he'll be disappointed he wasn't in the first team for the FA cup win (no explanation why).

CA: 168 (+4)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
38 games, 42 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 8 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.50 rating

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Arsenal:
Sean was tremendous this year, winning the FA Cup as well as being named to the English Players' Premier Division Select (top 11 players in the Premiership for the year). Huge improvement for him and his impact on the game is evidenced by how much Man City have struggled without him since he left.

CA: 160 (+13)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
38 games (1 sub), 5 assists, 5 MOM, 1 yellow, 7.32 rating

Jaime Moore, Winger, Milan
Jaime decided that London wasn't the place for him and moved to Milan on a 23m move. Bad choice as he struggled to get acclimatised in Italy and only made 19 substitute appearances all year round.

CA: 162 (+3)
PA: 185

Season stats:
19 games (all sub), 5.58 rating

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
The Irish international also wins a FA cup medal with the Gunners. His solid performances all year definitely helped Jace out as well. He appeared in 36 out of 38 league games for the Gunners, showing how solid he was.

CA: 143 (+4)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
45 games, 7 yellows, 6.82 rating

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV
Another disappointing year for K.N. as he was relegated to substitute appearances. Despite this, he did manage 5 more caps for the US.

CA: 159 (+2)
PA: 186

Season Stats (league only):
17 games (all sub), 1 assist, 6.00 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Espanyol
The Portugese international (first cap this year) appears to have found a place he enjoys playing at. Espanyol like him too, which is why they gave him a nice big 4 year contract. 8 goals is a solid return from an attacking midfielder.

CA: 153 (+14)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
42 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 3 yellow, 6.93 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Celtic
Rumour is that Aaron Gage wants out of Scotland, disappointed with Celtic's repeated poor showing the past 2 years. Blackburn have indicated interest and it'll be interesting to see an Aaron Gage/Landon Scott combi there.

CA: 147 (+2)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
43 games (5 sub), 8 goals, 10 assists, 1 yellow, 6.77 rating


Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea
Path is biding his time for now but interest from Roma may be too good to turn down if a firm offer is made. 10 appearances for the first team this year but Pace will be looking wistfully at his peers like Jace and Larry who appear regularly for their clubs.

CA: 165 (+11)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
10 games (3 sub), 8 conceded, 3 clean sheets, 1 yellow, 7.10 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Feyenoord
Another player who appears to have found a home as he played a lot for Feyenoord, although not always well.

CA: 147 (+3)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
42 games, 1 goal, 6 yellows, 6.29 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Porto
Another season where Deacon didn't feature as much in the first team as he might have liked. He may be weighing his options but so far no team has indicated they are interested in him so he may be stuck at Porto for a while yet.

CA: 140 (+6)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
13 games (7 sub), 1 goal, 6.38 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Right Wingback, Liverpool
Is Alex on the way out of Anfield? Bids had been put in by various clubs, including Arsenal, but Liverpool eventually decided to loan him out to Watford instead, where he played well. However, Watford got relegated despite his best efforts.

CA: 144 (+3)
PA: 183

Season stats:
14 games, 3 assists, 2 MOM, 1 yellow, 7.36 rating

[Coffee Warlord]

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon
Valued at 25.5m, Rob hasn't really justified his move to Juventus yet. Just 3 goals in all competitions made the fans wonder why their club paid so much for the Danish international.


Rob Nielsen will not tolerate such questions about Rob Nielsen's football prowess. Rob Nielsen obviously did not receive the damn ball enough, which is why he did not score more goals.

[law90026]

Rob Nielsen will not tolerate such questions about Rob Nielsen's football prowess. Rob Nielsen obviously did not receive the damn ball enough, which is why he did not score more goals.

And apparently Rob's displeasure resulted in yet another move for him before the start of the next season. :eek: Seriously, won't you ever settle down?

[Coffee Warlord]

And apparently Rob's displeasure resulted in yet another move for him before the start of the next season. :eek: Seriously, won't you ever settle down?

Rob Nielsen is in it for the signing bonus, bitches. :D

[ArlingtonColt]

Landon is developing nicely... I just hope he can continue to stay healthy and really set the premiership on fire.

[George]

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Espanyol
The Portugese international (first cap this year) appears to have found a place he enjoys playing at. Espanyol like him too, which is why they gave him a nice big 4 year contract. 8 goals is a solid return from an attacking midfielder.

CA: 153 (+14)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
42 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 3 yellow, 6.93 rating

Nice! :D

[flere-imsaho]

Crazy stuff about Man Utd. Their in-game chairman must be really stingy, otherwise I'd expect them to have no problem recovering.

It'll be interesting to see if Kamelooski takes off a bit more if/when someone plays him at a position other than wingback. In all my time playing FM2007, I've just not seen many teams use that position.

[st.cronin]

Treacy is the man.

[oykib]

What the hell is up with Milan. Why pay 23m for me and then leave me on the bench?

[larrymcg421]

Nielsen couldn't score on me even if I was blindfolded.

[Coffee Warlord]

Nielsen couldn't score on me even if I was blindfolded.

Rob Nielsen challenges you to a duel.

To the death.

[law90026]

Around the world update:

Richest Clubs:
Roma are still first (840m) with Real and Barcelona at 2nd and third. Milan and Chelsea run out the top 5. In terms of the 20 richest clubs in the world, there are 5 Italian teams (Roma, Milan, Inter, Juventus and Palermo), 5 Spanish teams (Real, Barca, Valencia, Atletico, Deportivo), 7 English teams (Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, Man Utd and Newcastle), 2 French teams (PSG and Lyon) and 1 German team (FC Bayern).

Transfers:
A relatively quiet transfer market. There were quite a large number of transfers but no exorbitant prices, save for the transfer of Wayne Rooney from Chelsea to Roma for 113m.

Quick look at the richest club in the world, AS Roma:
Roma is by far the richest club in the world right now. In terms of their recent successes (since 2006), they have won 2 league titles and were runners-up twice. They also won 2 successive European Champions Cups in 07 and 08, as well as a few of the smaller international trophies (European Supercup, Club World Championship).

Currently, Roma have a strong squad. 22 players have at least a CA of 151 or more (19 of which are at least 160 or more). Their current stars are undoubtedly recent signing Wayne Rooney, Midifielders Michael Essien and Welsey Sneijder as well as 2 other forwards, Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Their squad is also youngish, with only 3 players in their thirties and the bulk of their players in their early to mid-twenties.

[law90026]

16 Player update:

This update is going to be slightly more in-depth and will break each player down a little more. Accordingly, it'll take a little more time so be patient :D The reason is that this marks the 6th season the players are entering into and I want to see how they have progressed in their first 5 years.

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Manchester United:
The 22 year old Irish international remains at Manchester United and is valued at 19 million pounds. Larry is probably one of the best keepers in the world at this time (CA 170, joint 7th in the world), especially at his young age. What is frustrating for him though is that he's slowly gaining a reputation as the best player never to play in the top-flight of European football. Strangely enough, Larry has only played in the Championship, League One and League Two.

Larry has also never tasted much individual or club success. No trophies to show for his considerable talent thus far in his career though it probably has a long way to go yet.

CA:170
PA: 182

Stats:
20: Aerial Ability, Command of Area, Eccentricity, Reflexes, Anticipation, Positioning, Agility, Balance, Jumping
18-19: Rushing Out, Concentration, Influence, Acceleration
15-17: Communication, Pace, Strength
Relevant Weak stats: Kicking (4), Throwing (6), Bravery (4), Creativity (2), Decisions (5), Flair (5)

Analysis:
Larry is a shot stopper, plain and simple. Beyond that, he's good at catching crosses, commanding his box and he's got strong physical attributes.

However, he does have some pretty major flaws for a keeper to be honest. He's very eccentric (think Jens Lehmann) and he's also a terrible distributor of the ball. He isn't the player who will be able to start attacks from the back though I guess that isn't what all clubs look for in their keepers.

Career Stats:
172 games (2 sub), 219 conceded, 36 clean sheets, 12 MOM, 7.22 rating
5 Irish caps

[law90026]

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
After 2 disappointing seasons in Scotland, Aaron Gage returns to England when a 19m transfer was agreed between Celtic and Wigan. He said the right thing when he returned, claiming that he wanted to join a bigger club .. newsflash though Aaron, Wigan is not bigger than Celtic.

The Irish international is a decent player. I don't think anyone would call him worldclass yet but he's good enough for topflight football. He can contribute by both scoring and creating goals, as evidenced by his league record, although most of those games were not actually played in the English Premier League.

CA: 148
PA: 174

Stats:
20: Dribbling, Aggression, Creativity, Flair, Natural Fitness, Pace, Stamina
18-19: Crossing, Passing, Determination, Acceleration, Balance
15-17: Bravery, Work Rate, Strength
Weak Stats: Corners (3), Finishing (3), First Touch (8), Long Shots (6), Tackling (3), Technique (8), Concentration (4), Decisions (6)

Analysis:
Aaron is the prototypical winger. He's great when he's on the ball and he's just so tricky on the wings with the ability to deliver killer balls on the run. He's also not a lazy player and is willing to track back to help defend.

His flaws? Well, he's horrible at set-pieces. He's also got surprisingly poor first touch and technique, which prevents him from being more dangerous. And don't let the fact that he scores some goals fool you ... he's a really poor finisher.

Career Stats:
97 games (7 sub), 15 goals, 24 assists, 7 MOM, 6.80 rating
2 Euro Vase Cups with Celtic
14 Irish caps/ 2 goals

[law90026]

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon:
The self-proclaimed Danish mercenary made another move again this year, back to Lyon for 18.5m, half the amount Juve had paid for him last summer. Acknowledgement perhaps that they overpaid for Rob Nielsen last year? Bad business for Juve, good for Rob though in terms of signing bonuses.

Rob is undoubtedly a talent but he's never quite put it together in the course of an entire season besides showing tantalising glimpses of it. He's probably around the top 25 players in the world as an offensive player (169, joint 23rd) at this time and he's got time to blossom further. He just needs to show this talent now and he'll be hoping that a return to Lyon will give him that chance.

CA: 169
PA: 185

Stats:
20: Finishing, First Touch, Technique, Decisions, Influence, Off the Ball, Acceleration, Pace, Stamina
18-19: Composure, Flair, Agility
15-17: Balance
Weak Stats: Crossing (3), Dribbling (3), Heading (6), Long Shots (7), Passing (3), Penalty Taking (4), Creativity (5)

Analysis:
Rob is never going to be mistaken as a target man. He's more of a speedy striker, like Michael Owen. He's got great predatory instincts on the pitch and he moves without the ball very well, allowing him to stretch defences.

On the negative side though, once Rob goes wide, he becomes useless and defences know that. He can't dribble well enough to get back into a central position, he can't pass the ball well enough to assist the offence from the wide positions and he can't cross at all. Don't expect to see Rob create many goals.

Career Stats:
113 games (25 sub), 36 goals, 3 MOM, 6.79 rating [
Bear in mind 16 goals came in his first season with Horsens. His top-flight record is more like 13 goals in 58 games, a 1:4 return]
9 Denmark caps/ 4 goals
French Chapions Trophy Winner
Euro Vase Winner with Lyon
European Champions Cup runner-up with Lyon

[law90026]

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn:
Landon will be starting his 5th season at Ewood Park this year, despite the constant rumours every year that he'll be leaving. Boro and West Ham are the latest rumoured clubs interested in him but we'll only believe he'll go when he actually signs a contract with some other club.

The US international has really developed since his initial days with QPR. Concerns about his proneness to injury have long since been overcome and Landon is steadily proving that he's a very good player. Landon has also not tasted much success however and it'll be interesting to see if his loyalty to Blackburn can eventually be overcome by ambition.

CA: 164
PA: 193

Stats:
20: Finishing, Heading, Composure, Determination, Off the Ball, Pace
18-19: Technique, Acceleration, Agility
15-17: First Touch, Anticipation, Influence, Balance
Weak Stats: Crossing, Dribbling, Long Shots, Passing, Bravery, Concentration, Decisions, Teamwork, Work Rate

Analysis:
He's got some of the key attributes to be a great striker. Strong in the air, fast on the ground, good movement, composed in front of goal ...

But he's also got some serious issues. Most importantly perhaps is that he's not the best teammate in the world. Coupled with his poor work rate sometimes pisses the hell out of his teammates.

Career Stats:
110 games (22 sub), 34 goals, 5 MOM, 7.03 rating (about 28 goals in 91 games for Blackburn, 1:3 ratio)
17 US caps / 12 goals

[law90026]

Karl Tone, Winger, Inter:
Karl has not managed to stay very long at his various clubs (through no fault of his own). He's only ever managed to stay for about 2 seasons or so at Deportivo and Hibernian (on loan from Spurs) but his decent performances have allowed him to attract interest from other clubs along the way.

Karl has had some success at club level thus far, winning a league title with Hibernian as well as Champions Cup winner's medal with Deportivo. His most recent success was a runners-up medal with the US in the Gold Cup but he did suffer a broken cheekbone in the process. Valued at 16m currently, he's slowly becoming a world-class player.

CA: 154
PA: 194

Stats:
20: Natural Fitness
18-19: Crossing, Dribbling, Passing, Creativity, Decisions, Off the Ball, Acceleration, Pace
15-17: Aggression, Agility, Stamina, Strength
Weak Stats: Finishing, First Touch, Long Shots, Technique, Tackling, Concentration

Analysis:
Karl generally looks the part of a good offensive player. Able to pass well as well as attack defenders with his pace and dribbling, it's little wonder clubs like his performances.

However, if he was more efficient in front of goal, he would be a complete package. As it stands, players are prepared to let him shoot as they understand that's less of a danger than trying to mark him too closely and letting him get past them to put a dangerous ball into the box.

Career Stats:
168 games (1 sub), 22 goals, 37 assists, 12 MOM, 6.63 rating
10 US caps / 3 goals
Gold Cup runner-up with the US
Club World Championship winner with Deportivo
European Super Cup runner up with Deportivo
Champions Cup Winner with Deportivo
Scottish Premierleague winner with Hibernian

[law90026]

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Portsmouth:
Another nomadic player who has moved clubs so many times in his early career. His biggest disappointment at this time is probably the fact that he is back to playing in the Championship at this time as he was unable to help save Portsmouth from relegation.

His closest brush to success thus far is the League Cup runners-up medal he won with Portsmouth at the end of last season. The Irish international will be seeking to push Portsmouth back to the Premiership this year.

CA: 160
PA: 186

Stats:
20: Flair
18-19: Dribbling, Finishing, First Touch, Marking (!), Composure, Determination, Flair, Acceleration, Agility, Pace, Strength
15-17: Off the Ball
Weak Stats: Crossing, Heading, Long Shots, Passing, Concentration

Analysis:
Definitely not the striker to hold the ball up, Kevin Donnelly is one of those tricky players that can astound the fans with moments of sheer brilliance. Think Maradona in his prime, though Kevin Donnelly probably isn't at that level yet.

Still, Kevin's weakness is his inability to bring his other teammates into the game because he can't hold the ball up and he can't pass the ball well enough to provide any link-up play between midfield and the strikers.

Career Stats:
171 games (18 sub), 68 goals, 13 MOM, 7.03 rating (15 goals in 45 Premiership games, 1:3 record)
English League Cup runner-up with Portsmouth
4 Irish caps / 2 goals

[Alf]

Maybe a stupid question, but what is " Euro Vase" ?

[law90026]

Maybe a stupid question, but what is " Euro Vase" ?

If I understand it correctly, it's like the third tier European cup competition. So in terms of prestige, it would be like:
European Champions Cup
Euro Cup
Euro Vase

[Travis]

Great writeups, very much like the recap/analysis format for these. Good timing for it too, should be interesting to see how the analysis compares 5 years from now for those still playing.

[RPI-Fan]

Maybe a stupid question, but what is " Euro Vase" ?

Inter-Toto Cup

[ntndeacon]

Deacon expects Porto to play him more. Deacon expects to be the star thst he is supposed to be. Soon Deacon will give Rob Neilson a run for his money.

[law90026]

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
32 caps for Canada at the young age of 22 indicates how much talent Jace has (or perhaps how little talent Canada have). The first choice keeper for Arsenal last year, Jace will be looking to build on that success this year and win his first medal (he missed out on the FA cup last year).

Jace is another very good keeper already, only slightly behind Larry McGillicuddy in terms of ability. Jace's physical attributes are quite astounding as well, with his lowest stat at 18.

CA:168
PA: 180

Stats:
20: Aerial Ability, One on Ones, Reflexes, Anticipation, Positioning, Agility, Balance, Jumping, Natural Fitness, Pace, Strength
18-19: Composure, Determination, Acceleration, Stamina
15-17: Tendency to Punch, Bravery
Relevant Weak stats: Kicking (8), Rushing Out (9), Concentration (6), Decisions (8)

Analysis:
Jace is fundamentally very sound as a keeper. He's got the basic abilities as well as the physical abilities to be a world class keeper.

The concern about Jace though is that he's not always as focused as he should be and he can occasionally make bad decisions. It may not be a major issue but there's always concern whether he will make a mistake in an important match.

Career Stats:
148 games (2 sub), 177 conceded, 38 clean sheets, 19 MOM, 7.41 rating
32 Canada caps

[law90026]

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Arsenal
The Scottish international is a player who has made an impact with the 2 of the 3 teams he has played for in the past 5 years. With Manchester City, he drove them to promotion back to the Premiership. With Arsenal, he helped them win their first medal in a long time (FA Cup) and he'll want to win more this year.

He's valued at 13 million pounds and that relatively low price tag has clubs interested in acquiring his services, although the suspicion is that Arsenal will not let him go easily. Sean isn't quite in the upper echelon of central midfielders yet but he's nearly there if he continues to improve.

CA: 160
PA: 172

20: Free Kicks, Passing, Aggression, Natural Fitness
18-19: Marking, Positioning, Teamwork, Work Rate, Acceleration, Stamina, Strength
15-17: First Touch, Anticipation, Composure, Decisions, Influence, Agility, Pace
Relevant Weak stats: Corners (4), Crossing (4), Dribbling (4), Finishing (4), Long Shots (4), Tackling (4), Creativity (6), Determination (4)

Analysis:
There are 2 sides to Jace, the good and the bad. On the good side, Jace is a super teammate on the pitch and his passing is top class. He's also prepared to work hard and mark the opposition's players well.

However, on the bad side, Jace is not a creative or offensive force. He isn't the player who will play throughballs or dribble past opponents with ease to set up teammates. And despite his strong marking abilities, Jace is not a good tackler, which can occasionally put his teammates in a difficult position.

Career Stats:
169 games (5 sub), 3 goals, 32 assists, 12 MOM, 7.20 rating
13 Scotland caps
English FA Cup winner with Arsenal
English Players' Premier Division Select (2011)
English Players' Young Player of the Year Runner Up (2010)
English Players' Championship Select (2008, 2009)
Bolton Supporter's Player of the Year (2007)

[law90026]

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Wigan
Logan Pacer makes his 3rd move in as many seasons, this time on a 12m pound transfer from Feyenoord to Wigan Athletic. It's a sizeable amount of money to pay for a player that hasn't really excelled in his 2 previous clubs. Hopefully this is the year it changes for Logan.

One good thing about Logan though is that he does play a part in club-level success. At Getafe, he helped them win the Spanish Liga B title, ensuring their promotion back to the top-flight. At Feyenoord, he was part of the Dutch League championship winning side. Wigan will hope he can bring some of that success over with him. Logan's one major regret thus far is that he has not been capped by the US yet as he is only a former U-21 international.

CA: 151
PA: 190

Stats:
20: Heading, Marking, Tackling, Anticipation, Influence, Work Rate, Balance, Natural Fitness, Stamina, Strength
18-19: Acceleration
15-17: Determination, Flair, Teamwork, Agility, Jumping, Pace
Relevant Weak stats: Dribbling (4), Crossing (5), Passing (8), Composure (6)

Analysis:
Logan knows what his role is and he's ensured that he has the right skill set to excel as a defensive midfielder. He covers a lot of ground on the pitch with ease and is always in a position to tackle or cut off dangerous balls from the other side. His strong physical abilities also makes him more impressive in such a role.

While some may view it as being overly critical, the one criticism of Logan is that he's very one-dimensional. He will not be the player to change defence to attack with one pass and he's never going to be a strong offensive force.

Career Stats:
98 games (2 sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 6.23 rating

[law90026]

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal
The third of the youngsters at Arsenal, Colton is one of those workhorses that will probably never be a flashy star but that managers appreciate. Colton was part of the FA Cup winning team last year, which is his first taste of success and washes away two disappointing seasons with Celtic before that.

The 22 year old Irish international is currently valued at 11.75m pounds and, together with Jace Hunter and Sean Treacy, forms a strong backbone for the Arsenal side. Colton isn't quite world-class yet though he still has some time to develop further.

CA: 143
PA: 181

Stats:
20: Heading, Marking, Tackling, Positioning, Work Rate, Balance, Jumping, Strength
18-19: Determination, Stamina
15-17: Teamwork, Agility
Relevant Weak stats: First Touch (7), Passing (3), Technique (3), Composure (5), Natural Fitness (3)

Analysis:
Colton is a bit of a throwback to a different era of defenders. He's in the mould of players like Tony Adams and Martin Keown, defenders who defended very well but had less than optimal technical ability, unlike some of the current flashier defenders like Rio Ferdinand.

Still, you want strong defensive abilities in a defender and Colton has tons of that. His major issue though, besides his poor technical abilities, is the fact that he is not naturally fit and it takes him longer than others to recover between matches.

Career Stats:
174 games (2 sub), 3 goals, 5 MOM, 6.87 rating
6 Irish caps
FA Cup winner with Arsenal

[law90026]

Jaime Moore, Winger, Milan:
Jaime is probably regretting his move to Italy. He spent a miserable season on the bench and his performances were absolutely horrible all year round. The US international will be hoping that things change this year, either at Milan or at Barcelona, who have made a sizeable bid for him.

Jaime has played for 6 clubs in 5 years, and a sizeable period of time was spent in Scotland, where he became a hero at Rangers. Last year wasn't a complete waste for him as he did pick up a European Champions Cup runners-up medal.

CA: 162
PA: 185

Stats:
20: Crossing, Long Shots, Passing, Determination, Flair, Work Rate, Acceleration, Agility, Natural Fitness, Pace
18-19: Off the Ball, Strength
15-17: Teamwork, Jumping, Stamina
Relevant Weak stats: Dribbling (8), First Touch (8), Technique (7), Creativity (5), Positioning (6)

Analysis:
Jaime is nearly the classing winger. Blindingly fast, a good crosser, a good passer and with bags of tricks in his repertoire, Jaime is a target man's dream come true.

Where Jaime fails to impress though is in terms of this actual technique. A poor first touch and less than adequate dribbling ability means that Jaime has to be passed the ball in dangerous positions because it's unlikely Jaime can get to the byline by himself. It helps though that teammates can play balls into the channels for him to chase.

Career Stats:
120 games (18 sub), 5 goals, 13 assists, 3 MOM, 6.52 rating
3 US caps
European Champions Cup runner up with Milan (2011)
Scottish PremierLeague winner with Rangers (2010)
Scottish Cup Winner with Rangers (2010)
Scottish League Cup winner with Rangers (2010)
Scottish Premierleague team of the Year (2010)
Scottish Premierleague 3rd place Young Player of the Year (2010)
Olympic Games runner-up with France U-23s

[law90026]

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV:
K.N. has spent his past 4 years in Germany, where he has been a bit of a disappointment. His 17m pound move to HSV from Nurnberg hasn't quite worked out so far as he has not appeared in many games for HSV. Last season was really bad as he just performed badly in all 14 appearances he made.

A move is possibly on the cards as Karlsruhe has indicated an interest in the US international.

CA: 159
PA: 186

Stats
20: Creativity, Decisions, Flair, Teamwork, Natural Fitness, Strength
18-19: First Touch, Passing, Technique, Acceleration, Pace
15-17: Determination, Work Rate, Agility
Relevant Weak stats: Dribbling (4), Marking (4), Tacking (7), Anticipation (5), Positioning (5)

Analysis:
For K.N., he's a technically solid central midfielder who will distribute the ball well. Think of Xabi Alonso, i.e. the player who will collect the ball from defence and spread it around as the starting point of the attack.

However, where K.N. fails is in terms of his defensive abilities. That's one possible reason why he's struggling right now as teams have started to attack his spot on the pitch. It doesn't help that K.N. can easily be caught out of position on the pitch.

Career Stats:
113 games (22 sub), 1 goal, 13 assists, 4 MOM, 6.35 rating
12 US caps / 2 goals
Dutch Premier division champions with Vitesse (2007)

[RPI-Fan]

Thanks for the write-up... interesting description, as that's exactly the type of player I was thinking of when I picked K.N.'s attributes (and in factlargely the type of player I am in real-life). Even though K.N. is an athletic specimen, he doesn't like to tackle or play defense. Curiously, despite being big and strong, he has a deft touch and delivers great balls from a deep-lying position.

Not a particularly useful type of player in real-life, but perhaps interesting nonetheless.

[bbgunn]

Man, I should've been quicker to join this. Good work, Danny!

[law90026]

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo
The 7.75m pound midfielder moves to Palermo in the off-season after one good year at Espanyol. Will that be a good decision? It's unclear at this time but Palermo is probably a bigger club than Espanyol at this stage.

Capped twice by Portugal so far and he's also scored 2 international goals. He hasn't won anything of note so far and he may have more success in that regard with Palermo, who won the Italian Cup last season and were runners-up in the Euro Cup in 2010.

CA: 156
PA: 186

Stats:
20: none
18-19: First Touch, Passing, Technique, Anticipation, Decisions, Off the Ball, Acceleration, Agility, Balance, Pace
15-17: Stamina
Relevant Weak stats: Crossing (4), Dribbling (3)

Analysis:
Jorge is a solid offensive player at this time. Good first touch, ability to distribute the ball, reads the game well and makes good decisions, he's potentially a player you could build your midfield around.

What holds him back though is his inability to move with the ball at his feet. That limits what he can do offensively as players can back off from him and dare him to try to dribble past them, which often doesn't work.

Career Stats:
119 games (6 sub), 8 goals, 11 assists, 1 MOM, 6.61 rating
2 Portugal caps / 2 goals

[law90026]

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Liverpool:
Alex is a player who may potentially be at a crossroads in his career. His move to Liverpool in 2009 may potentially be turning into a nightmare, what with comments that he doesn't fit into his boss' first team plans and now a dispute over his contract. Will he stay on at Anfield or will he move? That's the major question now.

Alex managed to win his first cap for Poland last season when he spent the second half of the season on loan at Watford. He showed his ability there when he played very well and he'll at least hope his boss will give him an opportunity this year.

CA: 153
PA: 183

Stats:
20: Heading, Marking, Tackling, Bravery, Work Rate, Natural Fitness, Stamina, Strength
18-19: Determination, Teamwork
15-17: Technique, Composure, Positioning, Acceleration, Balance, Jumping
Relevant Weak stats: Crossing (4)

Analysis:
Alex is quite possibly the most well-rounded of the group of 16 players. He's not terribly weak in many areas and the only possible gripe with him is that he doesn't cross the ball very well, which is a drawback for a wing-back.

Other than that though, Alex has all the abilities to play as a defender or holding midfielder and he is a real workhorse on the pitch.

Career Stats:
147 games (7 sub), 16 goals, 14 assists, 8 MOM, 7.07 rating
1 Poland cap

[law90026]

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea:
A player who is wondering where things started going wrong for him. Path undoubtedly has talent but he made the wrong move when he opted for a high-profile move from Arsenal to Chelsea because he finds himself behind a very very good goalkeeper in Petr Cech. Path is good but he's not good enough and a move would probably be in his best interests.

Path's club level success thus far is a bunch of runner-up medals, in the FA Cup, the European U-21 Championship (France) and the Olympic Games (France).

CA: 168
PA: 183

Stats:
20: Aerial Ability, Handling, Reflexes, Rushing Out, Anticipation, Decisions, Positioning, Acceleration, Agility, Balance, Jumping, Natural Fitness
18-19: Pace, Strength
15-17: Determination, Stamina
Relevant Weak stats: Kicking (5), One on Ones (7), Throwing (6), Composure (3)

Analysis:
He's got more or less the entire package of skills a good keeper needs. Good shotstopper, great in handling crosses, makes good decisions, Path just needs an opportunity to play regularly.

He's another poor distributor of the ball though with his poor kicking and throwing ability. He's also not very good when faced one-on-one with a striker and he'll have to rely on his defence to prevent that from happening.

Career Stats:
66 games (6 sub), 73 conceded, 17 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 7.03 rating
English FA Cup Runner Up with Chelsea (2010)
European U-21 Championship Runner Up (France, 2010)
Olympic Games runner-up (France, 2008)

[law90026]

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Porto:

The former Bulgarian U-21 international's career hasn't really taken off yet. He has only made sparing appearances for both Fiorentina and Porto thus far and he really needs to get more games under his belt. A potential move to Monaco may fix that for him as the French side have made a 2.1m pound bid for his services.

Deacon hasn't won anything of note yet in his career, save for a Euro Vase runners-up medal with Porto two seasons ago.

CA: 140
PA: 178

Stats:
20: Flair
18-19: Creativity, Determination, Off the Ball
15-17: Crossing, Dribbling, Heading, Positioning, Acceleration, Balance, Pace, Stamina
Relevant Weak stats: First Touch (2), Concentration (4), Decisions (3), Teamwork (7)

Analysis:
The difficulty for Deacon is that he's a really creative player on the pitch ... the only problem is that he doesn't quite have the ability to carry them out. He moves well without the ball but even when he gets it, he can't do that much with it unless he's whipping in crosses from the flank.

Not all is lost though because it's not like Deacon is a bad player. It's just that he hasn't really had a chance to develop yet.

Career Stats:
46 games (21 sub), 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 6.11 rating
Euro Vase Runner-up with Porto (2009)

[law90026]

16 Player Quick Hits Mid Season update:

Jaime Moore moved to Barcelona at the start of the season, as anticipated. He's playing regularly but badly.

Sean Treacy broke his leg and is out for 5 months. Good luck in rehab.

Alex Kamelooski is still at Liverpool but a number of firm bids have been made for him. Expect him to move in the transfer window, possibly to Arsenal.

Deacon Palmieri signed his contract with Monaco. Unfortunately for him, it hasn't resulted in more playing time.

[law90026]

End of Season Recap, Around the World, 2011/2012:

English Premier League:
Spurs retain their title, 10 pts clear of 2nd placed Everton. Boro were 3rd and Crystal Palace and Charlton were 4th and 5th. Liverpool ended 7th and Arsenal were 14th. The most surprising news perhaps was that Chelsea was relegated, bottom of the table with only 39 pts, fully 5 pts behind 19th placed Newcastle.

Man Utd bounced back and won automatic promotion to the Premiership with a 9 pt lead over Portsmouth.

I honestly don't know what to say. We're talking about a Chelsea team which is by no means weak, though not as strong as before. Their starting 11 has players like Cech, Kolo Toure, John Terry, Robben, David Villa, Xavi, Gerrard and Frank Lampard. We'll see how they bounce back next year.

2 teams have dominated English football in the past 6 years, Chelsea (x3) and Spurs (x3). Spurs are quite possibly the most succesful side in the same span as they managed 2 2nd place finishes and 1 3rd place finish, which means they haven't been out of the top 3 for 6 years now.

French League:
Marseille win the French title. Rennes were 2nd and Lyon were 3rd.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern continues to dominate the German league with their 8th consecutive title. HSV were 2nd and Werder Bremen 3rd.

Italian Serie A:
Milan win the title, Palermo were 2nd, Inter and Roma were 3rd and 4th respectively. Juventus was 6th. The Series A in the past 6 years has largely been dominated by Milan (3 out of 6 titles, 3 2nd placed finishes), with Roma (2 titles) and Juventus (1 title) being the other winners. Palermo has managed 1 2nd placed finish and 2 3rd placed finishes in that period. Inter has only managed 4 3rd place finishes during the same 6 year period.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
In the Primera Liga, Sporting won the title for another year running, beating little-known Braga on goal difference. Porto were 3rd.

Spanish First Division:
Barcelona win the title at last after a long drought of 6 years. Sevilla, Real Madrid and Athletico were 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

We have had 5 different winners in the past 6 years, Barcelona, Valencia, Athletic, Deportivo (x2) and Espanyol. Barcelona have been consistently good, with 4 2nd place finishes during that period. Real Madrid are a disappointment, with no titles and only 3 3rd place finishes in that period.

Champions Cup:
Atletic beat Milan on penalties in the Finals. Milan have now reached 3 consecutive finals but lost in the last two.

Euro Cup:
Inter beat Valencia 2-1.

In the past 6 years, Italian clubs have dominated this competition. Roma (x2), Milan and Inter have won 4 out of the last 6 finals, with Atletico and Deportivo being the 2 Spanish clubs that broke this dominance.

FA Cup:
Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties after the match ended 2-2 after extra time.

Italian Cup:
Inter beat Milan 3-1 on aggregate, which means that Inter manages a cup double this year.

Thoughts:
So Man Utd return to the Premiership at last. The shocking news obviously was that Chelsea got relegated. It honestly doesn't make sense to me that such a team would be bottom of the table. I could understand it if they struggled but bottom of the table is hard to believe.

Around the world, not much changes. The same few clubs are in the mix for their league titles though I must say the Italian and Spanish clubs look strong overall compared to other teams.

[law90026]

16 Player Update, Season 2011/2012:

Landon Scott, Striker, Blackburn:
The year Landon Scott apparently becomes a superstar. Landon continued to play well for Rovers and, at the end of the season, is the subject of huge bids for his services. Don't expect him to be at Ewood Park much longer because the board has forced his manager to accept some of those bids.

CA: 165 (+1)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
33 games (3 sub), 15 goals, 2 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.12 rating

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
The Irish international has matured and is now tutoring Paul Bywater, a 16 year old winger in the U-18s team. Aaron played well this year although success again eluded him. He was great for Wigan though, 10 goals and 10 assists is a really good return for any player.

CA: 151 (+3)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
43 games, 10 goals, 10 assists, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.02 rating

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon:
Rob plays a full season for Lyon and plays decently. Considering the amoun paid for him though, decently probably isn't good enough. 13 goals in 37 games isn't the best goalscoring record as well. Rob did manage to win the French League Cup this year though and scored in their 3-1 win over Auxerre.

CA: 173 (+4)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
37 games (3 as sub), 13 goals, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.00 rating

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
The Canadian will be disappointed at how badly Arsenal performed in the league this year (14th place). Surprisingly, Jace was again kept on the bench for Arsenal's League Cup win this year, which will be baffling for him.

CA: 171 (+3)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
44 games (1 sub), 52 conceded, 10 clean sheets, 4 MOM, 3 yellows, 7.27 rating

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Portsmouth:
Kevin completely outclassed the Championship defenders this year, scoring 22 league goals and pushing Portsmouth to 2nd spot and a return to the Premiership. All that has led to bids for the young striker though, including bids from Boro and West Ham.

CA: 162 (+2)
PA: 186

Season stats:
49 games (1 sub), 26 goals, 3 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.33 rating
3rd placed top goalscorer in the Championship

Jaime Moore, Winger, Barcelona:
It was surprising that Jaime was kept in the first team, considering how badly he played throughout the season. However, that didn't stop Barcelona from winning their first title in 6 years so perhaps it wasn't such a bad decision.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
50 games (8 sub), 3 assists, 4 yellows, 5.86 rating
Spanish First Division champion
Spanish League Cup winner

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Arsenal:
Sean played only in parts of the 2nd half of the season as a result of his horrific injury. He played well in those games though and the Arsenal fans will be hoping that Sean will be back at full steam next season.

CA: 165 (+5)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
17 games, 5 assists, 2 yellows, 7.18 rating

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea:
Path stayed on at Chelsea and his dedication was rewarded with some playing time this year. 21 games and he played well in all those games, garnering his first 3 French caps as well.

CA: 170 (+2)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
21 games (3 sub), 18 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 1 red, 7.48 rating
English FA Cup runner-up

Karl Tone, Winger, Inter:
The US international had a pretty bad season for Inter this year and only managed a 6.05 rating. He may have scored a little more this year but that didn't necessarily mean he played well.

CA: 158 (+4)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
39 games (9 sub), 4 goals, 3 assists, 3 yellows, 6.05 rating

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Wigan:
Logan Pacer won his first cap for the US this year as he played regularly for Wigan alongside Aaron Gage. He didn't perform particularly well though a defensive midfielder seldom wins accolades anyway.

CA: 152 (+1)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
39 games, 1 goal, 4 yellows, 2 reds, 6.21 rating

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo:
Jorge was given every chance to succeed this year but he played in very average fashion for Palermo. His season was cut short when he suffered a serious hip injury and missed the last 3 months or so of the season. Jorge has become a regular in the Portugal team though, which is nice to see.

CA: 161 (+5)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
28 games (3 sub), 2 goals, 4 assists, 1 yellow, 6.25 rating

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV:
K.N. again appeared sparingly for HSV, which came in 2nd in the Bundesliga this year. It'll be frustrating for K.N. not to play more regularly but he'll be the first to acknowledge that his performances have not been up to the mark.

CA: 159 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
17 games (all sub), 1 assist, 5.94 rating

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Newcastle:
Alex definitely does not have luck on his side. He chose to join Newcastle during the transfer window and Newcastle subsequently got relegated. The Polish international will have to get stuck-in and try to help Newcastle get promoted again next year.

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 183

Season Stats (league only):
23 games, 6.00 rating (12 games for Liverpool)

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
It looks like Colton Mayes is on his way out of Arsenal, despite him having a decent season. Portsmouth have indicated their interest and the Arsenal manager has indicated he isn't averse to Colton Mayes leaving.

CA: 148 (+5)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
53 games (2 sub), 3 goals, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 6.72 rating

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Larry returns to the Premiership this year and had a fine season for the Reds. His value has dropped significantly since the days he first joined Man Utd though, as he's only valued at 6m now. It could be a result of his phenomenally high number of yellow cards for his eccentric behaviour on the pitch.

CA: 170 (+0)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
37 games, 38 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 12 yellows, 7.49 rating

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Monaco:
Deacon signed for Monaco at the start of the season and was left on the bench on a regular basis. Luckily for him, he managed to get more games during the 2nd half of the season and he played decently for Monaco in a right wing position.

CA: 140 (+0)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
28 games (4 sub), 4 goals, 2 assists, 4 yellows, 6.43 rating

[MrBug708]

I love this thread..:) One of my favorite reads...Too bad I couldnt get in on it though :(

[larrymcg421]

Yay! Finally made it to the top!

This yellow card stuff is BS. The refs need to get their heads straight.

[law90026]

I love this thread..:) One of my favorite reads...Too bad I couldnt get in on it though :(

Thanks!

I'm contemplating trying to get another add-on for FM that will allow save game editting. If that works, it's possible to actually add players to the game. My only concern is if it breaks the save game so I'm still reading up on it.

[Coffee Warlord]

Time for me to move again.

[path12]

This really is awesome. Thanks for doing it.

[George]

This really is awesome. Thanks for doing it.

+1

[Celeval]

Sheesh... seems like I've scored a ton everywhere I've been. Here's hoping for a couple of seasons in the Premiership to prove it out.

[larrymcg421]

Time for me to move again.

Yeah, maybe to a team that doesn't care about scoring goals.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yeah, maybe to a team that doesn't care about scoring goals.

Rob Nielsen will not be inviting you to his monthly parties in Paris.

[larrymcg421]

Rob Nielsen will not be inviting you to his monthly parties in Paris.

Whatever. I'm the eccentric keeper for ManU. Translation: I'm getting laid nightly and don't have time to go to your stupid parties even if I wanted.

[Coffee Warlord]

Whatever. I'm the eccentric keeper for ManU. Translation: I'm getting laid nightly and don't have time to go to your stupid parties even if I wanted.

Translation: You are jealous of Rob Nielsen because he makes more money than you will ever see, AND has access to far better women.

[Passacaglia]

Hey, did any of you guys have double-digit assists and goals this season? No? Oh, sorry..

[larrymcg421]

Hey, did any of you guys have double-digit assists and goals this season? No? Oh, sorry..

Well, that's not very likely to happen since I'm a keeper and Rob can't pass gas much less get the ball to a teammate.

[Coffee Warlord]

Well, that's not very likely to happen since I'm a keeper and Rob can't pass gas much less get the ball to a teammate.

You mean...give someone else on Rob Nielsen's team the ball once Rob has it in his possession? Intentionally?

Rob Nielsen does not understand this concept.

[bbgunn]

Thanks!

I'm contemplating trying to get another add-on for FM that will allow save game editting. If that works, it's possible to actually add players to the game. My only concern is if it breaks the save game so I'm still reading up on it.

Yay! If that works, I'm definitely in.

[Celeval]

Hey, did any of you guys have double-digit assists and goals this season? No? Oh, sorry..

My goals > Your goals + your assists.

[law90026]

Soooooooooooo, in the interest of preventing all-out war amongst some of our players, let's head on over to the update for 2012/2013!!

Major Transfers:
Jan Hampf from Milan to Roma for 57m. Jans Hampf is a 20 year old German keeper and it's interesting that Milan would sell to their rivals Roma, especially since their remaining keepers are 38 year old Dida and 32 year old Sebestian Frey.

Largest transfer of the season so far? Cesc Fabregas from Real Madrid to Milan for 118m. Cesc is only 25 years old and is in the prime of his career but that's a lot of money to pay.

2nd largest transfer? Landon Scott from Blackburn to Lyon for 94m. That's right, Lyon acquired Landon Scott for a huge amount, hoping to bolster their strike force. What does this mean for Rob Nielsen, considering Lyon play a 4-5-1 formation? Note: One thing I notice about Lyon is that they always always seem to play a 4-5-1.

Other notable transfers were Jefferson Farfan (Villa to Man Utd, 46.5m), Freddy Adu (Bayern to Milan, 46.5m), Charles N'Zogbia (Chelsea to Juventus, 30m), Karl Tone (Inter to Real Madrid, 24.5m), Jaime Moore (Barcelona to Tottenham, 24.5m), Ahmen Al-Beshi (Anderlecht to Marseille, 22m), Marius Marin (Sporting to Marseille, 21m), Nilmar (Atletico to Palermo, 20.5m), Renato Augusto (Atletico to Sevilla, 20.5m) and Hatem Ben Arfa (Liverpool to Barcelona, 20m).

Richest Clubs in the World:
1) Milan, 774m (overtook Roma this year)
2) Roma, 710m
3) Barcelona, 661m
4) Real Madrid, 582m
5) Inter, 414m
6) Man Utd, 395m (Promotion has done wonders for their worth)
7) Tottenham, 360m
8) Atletico, 345m
9) FC Bayern, 325m
10) Valencia, 297m

Lyon were 11th, 3 Italian sides were in the top 20 (Juve, Palermo and Lazio), Sevilla were 20th and 5 English sides rounded out the top 20 (Charlton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton).

Quick look at Milan, new richest club in the world:
Milan have been one of the most successful sides in the past 6 years, both in Italy as well as in Europe. This is a squad that is potentially in a state of transition however as 6 of their top 20 players are in their 30s, which is generally when players start to hit the downside of their playing careers.

It's a pretty strong squad, headlined by new signing Cesc Fabregas (184). A bunch of their other players are in the 170s in terms of CA (Freddy Adu, Kaka, Reyes, Ramos, Frey, Xabi Alonso, Julio Baptista) and 20 out of their 22 first team players have at least 153 CA (the last two are 18 year old fillers).

It's an unbalanced squad though, with possibly too many attacking players. 8 of the players are attacking midfielders/forwards and it'll be interesting to see how the manager juggles the team selection.

[law90026]

16 Player Update, Start of Season 2012/2013:

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
A huge move for Landon Scott to Lyon, where he's slated to spearhead the Lyon attack. It'll be interesting to see how this affects the team though as there are 4 strikers vying for that one striker position, including Rob Nielsen. Rob is regarded as a better player (175 CA) but Landon Scott appears to have a better record than Rob thus far in their respective careers.

CA: 165
PA: 193

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Even though he didn't have the best of years, that didn't stop Real Madrid from acquiring his services for the upcoming campaign. Real haven't won anything in a while and they'll hope that Karl can help turn that around. Karl is Real's best winger, along with Spaniard Jesus Navas (AM R), so expect to see the two of them terrorising opposing defences this year.

CA: 166 (+8)
PA: 194

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Another player who managed to get a biggish move despite a poor prior season. Spurs acquire the 23-year old US international to bolster their squad in an attempt to defend their title. Jaime is likely to start this year as the other real competition to a spot on the wing are Joe Cole (AM RLC, 168) and Xabi Prieto (AM RC, 153) and Joe Cole may start in the middle of the park instead.

CA: 164 (+2)
PA: 185

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
Aaron Gage has a really good season last year but he's probably desperate to win something by now. He hasn't developed much over the off-season and that'll be disappointing as he appears to be falling behind his peers at this stage. Aaron will be a likely starter this year again as he is Wigan's 3rd best midfielder, behind Skjelbred and Logan Pacer.

CA: 151 (+0)
PA: 174

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Lyon:
A season of uncertainty for Rob Nielsen this year as he may no longer be the starting striker for Lyon. Rumour has it that he is considering his options and there are number of clubs waiting with interest, including Bayern, Milan, Roma and Atletico. Oddly enough, Rob is Lyon's best player by far but it's his lack of performance that is the issue, not his talent.

CA: 175 (+2)
PA: 185

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Jace will likely be the starter again this year as he is 20 pts better than Robert Green. It's surprising though that his manager chooses not to play him in the various cup finals over the past years and he may want to speak with his manager about that.

CA: 171 (+0)
PA: 180

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Middlesborough:
Kevin Donnelly left Portsmouth on a 15.25m pound move before the start of the season to Middlesborough. This will be disappointing for Pompey, who are immediately relegation candidates again without Kevin's goalscoring abilities. Middlesborough were 3rd in the Premiership last year and they will hope that Kevin can push them up the table further. Kevin is Boro's 2nd best player and their top striker.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 186

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Arsenal:
Ah how the Gunners missed Sean last year. The driving force in their midfield is back at full force this year. A number of smaller clubs have indicated an interest in him though and it'll be disappointing if he leaves Arsenal for one of them. Sean is Arsenal's no. 2 midfielder, behind Ismael Aissati (AM LC, 175).

CA: 166 (+1)
PA: 172

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Wigan:
The oft-unappreciated defensive midfielder has garnered interest from Portugese side Benfica. Wigan will hopefully recognise Logan's worth to the team (he's their 4th best player and 2nd best midfielder) but stranger things have happened in football.

CA: 152 (+0)
PA: 190

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo:
Jorge has recovered from his injury and will look to start in the Palermo midfield again this year. Disturbingly, his ability took a slight downward turn this year and it may be an indication that his injury was more serious than everyone thought. Jorge is only Palermo's 5th best midfielder though so playing time may be scarce.

CA: 160 (-1)
PA: 186

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, HSV:
Another year for K.N. at HSV and one wonders if he'll ever be given the opportunity to start again. This could be that year though as K.N. is HSV's joint-2nd best player (3 players on 160) and is their best central midfielder.

CA: 160 (+1)
PA: 186

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea:
The French international stays on for another year at Chelsea though there are rumours he could be on his way out soon. He has not been able to agree on terms in relation to his contract, which expires on 30 June 2013 and will be available on a free transfer in 6 months time. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out, especially since Chelsea are playing in the Championship this year. He is still behind Petr Cech though in terms of ability (Petr Cech is at 184, which is better than Path will ever be).

CA: 172 (+2)
PA: 183

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Newcastle:
The Polish international will be looking to help Newcastle get back to the Premiership this year. It's likely he'll blow away the competition at this level but thus far he hasn't been able to do that at the higher levels of competition. He is Newcastle's 6th best player but he's 3rd in terms of ability for both a rightback and defensive midfield position (4 of the 5 players ahead of him play similar positions, believe it or not).

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 183

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
Colton Mayes remains the subject of interest from other clubs at the start of the season. The interesting move that could happen? Man Utd have indicated they want to acquire him to protect Larry McGillicuddy. It may be silly for Arsenal to let him go though as he is their 2nd best defender.

CA: 148 (+0)
PA: 181

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Larry will start this year for Man Utd and he'll want to help Man Utd keep their Premiership spot. That's odd to say but anything could happen in football, not least of which was Man Utd getting relegated in the first place. Larry is Man Utd's best player and by far their best keeper.

CA: 170 (+0)
PA: 182

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Monaco:
Deacon will be at Monaco for his 2nd straight season. If his record holds true, he'll be moving at the end of this season. Hopefully that won't happen as Deacon probably needs to settle down someplace to develop before it's too late. Deacon is Monaco's 8th best player but his best hope of starting is if he plays on the right wing (3 of the players in front of him are central midfielders and/or left wingers).

CA: 140 (+0)
PA: 178

[law90026]

Mid-Season Quick Hits update:

K.N. Smith comes out publicly to complain about his lack of first team opportunities. Rumours abound that K.N. and his manager had a major falling out over this issue and K.N. was subsequently transfer listed at his request. Plenty of interest for the midfielder, including bids by Arsenal, Man Utd, Hertha and West Ham.

Sean Treacy out for 2 months with a hip injury. Is his body breaking down? A number of bids have also come in for Sean Treacy, which Arsenal have not wanted to consider. Sean shocked his team though when he came out publicly to say that he was looking for a move to a bigger club.

That's followed up by Colton Mayes being out for 2 months with a hip injury as well. Is it the Arsenal physios/trainers that are doing a bad job?

A possible move is on the cards for Alex Kamelooski as clubs have started bidding for his services, including a 26m pound bid by Werder Bremen.

Path Twelve has been offered contracts by Bayern, Lyon and Sevilla. Valencia are hoping to trump all of these clubs by actually buying Path Twelve from Chelsea.

[law90026]

End of Season 2012/2013 Update:

English Premier League:
Apparently the acquisition of Kevin Donnelly helped as Middlesborough win the Premiership, 4 pts ahead of Derby County. Arsenal were 3rd (despite losing Jace Hunter with a broken leg in March and Sean Treacy's move to Juventus in January), while last season's champs, Tottenham, were 4th. Liverpool rounded out the top 5. Man Utd only managed 8th spot this year.

Chelsea won promotion back to the Premiership quite easily, 6 pts ahead of 2nd placed Coventry. Newcastle were a disappointing 8th.

French League:
Despite having 2 star strikers, Lyon had their worst season in years, coming in 8th in the French League. Lille won the title, with PSG and big-spending Marseille 2nd and 3rd. Monaco were 5th.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern win their 9th consecutive title, 16 pts clear of 2nd place Schalke. HSV were 4th.

Italian Serie A:
In Italy, Milan retained their title, making it 3 out of the last 5 and 4 out of the last 7. Inter were 2nd, Roma 3rd, Palermo 4th and Catania 5th. Juve were 6th.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
Academica, a club with very little history, won the title. Sporting, Benfica and Porto were 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

Spanish First Division:
Barcelona retain their title, the first time in 7 years that a club has done that (Barca last did it in 2006). Valencia were 2nd, Zaragoza were 3rd and Real Madrid 4th. Athletico came in 5th despite the sale of some of their stars and Athletic were 5th.

Champions Cup:
Inter win the title, continuing the Italian dominance of this competition. They beat Athletic on penalties after a 2-2 draw at fulltime. This makes it the 2nd successive European trophy for Inter, who won the Euro Cup last season.

Euro Cup:
Everton beat Recreativo 1-0 in the finals.

FA Cup:
Liverpool win their 2nd FA cup in a row, beating Blackburn 2-1 in the finals.

Italian Cup:
Bologna win the Italian Cup on away goals after drawing with Milan 3-3 on aggregate. This is Milan's 2nd successive loss in the finals.

Thoughts:
Chelsea immediately return to the Premiership, clearly their squad was too strong for the Championship. Good to see that one of our players apparently had a strong impact on the game as his club won the title (Kevin Donnelly, Middlesborough). Lyon's performance was surprising this year, considering they switched to a 4-4-2 formation to accomodate both Landon Scott and Rob Nielsen. Perhaps unfamiliarity with the formation had something to do with this?

[twothree]

Lyon's performance was surprising this year, considering they switched to a 4-4-2 formation to accomodate both Landon Scott and Rob Nielsen. Perhaps unfamiliarity with the formation had something to do with this?

Any truth to the rumor that Rob Nielsen wants the team to switch from a (4-4-2) formation back to a (4-5-I'm #1) formation next year?

[law90026]

Any truth to the rumor that Rob Nielsen wants the team to switch from a (4-4-2) formation back to a (4-5-I'm #1) formation next year?

Might have happened if not for the fact that the Mercenary moves yet again in the off-season.

[George]

Quite a few hip injuries within the 16 players.

[Celeval]

We are the champions, my friends.
And we'll keep on fighting, 'til the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for losers, 'cuz we are the champions...

[path12]

I hope I got the hell out of Chelsea.

[Travis]

despite losing Jace Hunter with a broken leg in March

D'oh!

[st.cronin]

Juventus!

[law90026]

16 Player Update, End of Season 2012/2013:

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
A disappointing year for Lyon in the French league this year as the much heralded strike force of Landon Scott and Rob Nielsen wasn't good enough apparently. Landon wasn't an all-out star for Lyon but he generally played well enough. Perhaps he's trying to get used to France.

CA: 167 (+2)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
41 games (9 sub), 16 goals, 2 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.98 rating, 94m value

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Real Madrid:
Or perhaps it was the fact that Landon and Rob never quite got along that was the issue? It won't be a problem next year as Rob is leaving Lyon for Real Madrid on a 90m pound move. This was Rob's best season by far though, 19 goals in all competitions.

CA: 175 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
49 games (5 sub), 19 goals, 4 MOM, 6 yellow, 7.04 rating, 90m value

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
Sean decided to pack his bags and move to Inter on a 24m pound move, where he sparkled for his new club. He played well as always and was proved to be a creative force by creating goals for his teammates.

CA: 168 (+2)
PA: 172

Season Stats (league only):
31 games, 9 assists, 1 MOM, 7.02 rating, 24m value

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Karl will have a new target to aim for next year when Rob Nielsen joins Real. Karl was a good signing for Real this year as he played very solidly for them, although Real were a disappointing 4th in the Spanish League. He ended his season prematurely though, tearing a groin muscle but he should be back in full force next year.

CA: 166 (+0)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
48 games (1 sub), 6 goals, 8 assists, 4 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.06 rating, 23m value

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
A better season for Jaime this year compared to last year's performances with Barcelona. Jaime plays pretty well all year round this year and manages to get double figure assists. No trophies will be a disappointment for him though.

CA: 164 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
48 games, 4 goals, 11 assists, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 6.65 rating, 21.5m value

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Werder Bremen:
Another player who had a somewhat career year as he played well for Newcastle in the first half of the season. That led to his 19.5m pound move to Werder Bremen during the mid-season transfer window where he continued to play solid football for the rest of the year.

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 183

Season Stats (league only):
40 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 2 MOM, 7.08 rating, 19.5m value

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Middlesborough:
And what a sensation Kevin was at Boro as he drove them to the Premiership title with 16 league goals (26 in all competitions). Kevin has now proven himself to be a top knotch goal scorer at all levels and that's what impressed Atletico Madrid to fork out 22m (a pittance really) for his services next year. Goalscoring competition may be on between Rob and Kevin as they suit up for the two opposing Madrid sides.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
51 games (6 sub), 26 goals, 7 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.29 rating, 22m value
English Premiership Champions with Boro (2013)

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
A player who had his season cut short with a broken leg and it's a real question whether he'll be back in time for the start of the new season. Prior to the injury, Jace was playing some phenomenal football though (7.50 rating).

CA: 171 (+0)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
36 games, 43 conceded, 11 clean sheets, 5 MOM, 3 yellows, 7.5 rating, 15m value
English League Cup runner-up (2013)

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Another keeper who had a really good year as the Irish international continues to be a pillar of strength for Man Utd between the sticks. A pity Larry can't do everything for his club, maybe that would allow Man Utd to perform better in the league.

CA: 171 (+1)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
35 games, 43 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 3 yellows, 7.34 rating, 14.25m value

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
6th place in the Premiership for Wigan this year means that Aaron will be playing in Europe next year. Slight drop off in performance for Aaron this year though as he doesn't quite score as many goals.

CA: 153 (+2)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
37 games (1 sub), 5 goals, 9 assists, 2 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.86 rating, 9.75m value

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Crystal Palace:
K.N. could not take it anymore and eventually signed for Crystal Palace in a 10.5m pound deal. Bad choice for him though as Crystal Palace got relegated from the Premiership, especially since he rejected an offer from Arsenal as well. Thus far, we can't say K.N. has made the best career decisions.

CA: 160 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats (league only):
22 games, 2 assists, 6.19 rating, 9.75m value

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo:
Despite only being the 5th best midfielder in Palermo, Jorge took his opportunities to play when given the chance and continues to impress his international manager. 18 league appearances this year surpasses last year's 15 and he played much better in those games.

CA: 163 (+3)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
27 games (14 sub), 4 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.67 rating, 9.75m value

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Leverkusen:
Perhaps Logan felt he wasn't appreciated enough, which is why he decided to leave Wigan for Leverkusen in the mid-season transfer window. He became a regular in the Leverkusen side but he knows he can play better (6.40 rating in 25 league games). He may possibly be on the move again as Ajax and PSV have made offers for him.

CA: 155 (+3)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
26 games, 1 goal, 6.42 rating, 9.5m value

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
Despite rumours that Colton might leave, he eventually didn't as no firm bids were made for his services. Colton didn't let that distract him as he managed to continue with his usual better than average performances for the Gunners this year.

CA: 150 (+2)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
38 games (1 sub), 1 goal, 6.79 rating, 6.5m value
English League Cup runner-up (2013)

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Monaco:
A regular starting job for Deacon this year on the right wing as expecteda and he has his best season yet in his career. 6 goals for him and an overall 6.72 rating is a nice improvement and he also managed to finally get his first 2 caps for Bulgaria this year (as well as scoring his first international goal too).

CA: 141 (+1)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
36 games, 6 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellows, 1 red, 6.72 rating, 5.25m value

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Chelsea:
Path stayed on for his last season at Chelsea. Perhaps out of spite, Path refused to sign a new contract with the Blues and will move on a free transfer to Sevilla next year, where he'll hope to start regularly at last.

CA: 174 (+2)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
22 games (3 sub), 18 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 4 MOM, 3 yellows, 7.50 rating, 1.9m value
English Championship champions (2013)

[path12]

Si Sevilla!

[Coffee Warlord]

Karl Tone.

Get me the damn ball.

[George]

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo:
Despite only being the 5th best midfielder in Palermo, Jorge took his opportunities to play when given the chance and continues to impress his international manager. 18 league appearances this year surpasses last year's 15 and he played much better in those games.

CA: 163 (+3)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
27 games (14 sub), 4 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.67 rating, 9.75m value

Nice to see him bounce back from the injury. :)

[oykib]

How the hell is Path only worth 1.9m?!

[path12]

How the hell is Path only worth 1.9m?!

It's a travesty.

[Passacaglia]

Time for Gage to take Europe by storm!

[Katon]

Karl Tone.

Get me the damn ball.

No problem - that's what I do best.

[Coffee Warlord]

No problem - that's what I do best.

Excelllllent. Rob Nielsen will allow you access to the naked french women he imported when he moved to Espana.

[law90026]

Round the World we go, Start of Season 2013/2014 (close of transfer window):

The major moves of the summer
1) Rob Nielsen, 90m: Lyon to Real Madrid
2) Lasse Qvist (26 yr old Danish striker), 67m: Charlton to Chelsea
3) Nani (26 yr old Portugese Winger), 67m: Sporting to Chelsea
4) Thiago Ribeiro (27 yr old Brazilian Striker), 29m: Strasbourg to Lyon
5) Raul Jimenez Cerdan (24 yr old Spanish Striker), 26m: Sampdoria to Inter
6) Jo (26 yr old Brazilian Striker), 24.5m: Sporting to PSG
7) Gomes (22 yr old Portugal Forward), 24m: Reading to Charlton
8) Aaron Niguez (24 yr old Attacking Midfielder/Forward), 24m: Aston Villa to Middlesborough
9) Manuel Fernandes (27 yr old Portugal Midfielder), 24m: Palermo to Real Madrid
10) Carlos Vela (24 yr old Mexico midfielder), 23.5m: Villa to Middlesborough
11) Watson Renteria (28 yr old Columbian Striker), 23.5m: Ajax to Man Utd
12) Kevin Donnelly (25 yr old Ireland Striker), 22m: Middlesborough to Atletico

1) Milan, 774m (overtook Roma this year)
2) Roma, 710m
3) Barcelona, 661m
4) Real Madrid, 582m
5) Inter, 414m
6) Man Utd, 395m (Promotion has done wonders for their worth)
7) Tottenham, 360m
8) Atletico, 345m
9) FC Bayern, 325m
10) Valencia, 297m

Richest clubs in the world:
1) Barcelona (from no. 3 to no. 1): 764m (103m increase)
2) Real Madrid (no.4 to no. 2): 694m (112m increase)
3) Roma (no. 2 to no. 3): 691m (19m decrease)
4) Milan (no. 1 to no. 4): 678m (96m decrease)
5) Chelsea (top 20 to no. 5): 470m
6) Inter (no. 5 to no.6): 461m (47m increase)
7) Man Utd (no. 7 to no. 6): 394m (1m decrease)
8) Arsenal (top 20 to no. 8): 354m
9) Atletico (no.8 to no. 9): 345m (unchanged)
10) Bayern (no. 9 to no. 10): 343m (18m increase)

2 Spanish clubs (Valencia, Deportivo), 4 English clubs (Tottenham, Everton, Liverpool, West Ham), 1 French club (Lyon), 2 Italian clubs (Palermo, Juventus) and 1 Portuegese club (Sporting) round out the top 20.

Quick look at Barcelona, richest club in the world:
19 players with at least 152 CA out of a squad of 26. Their best players look like 32 yr old Andreas Bazargli and 29 yr old Andres Iniesta. I'm not sure this is a star-studded squad as the bulk of their players are in the 150-160 range of CA but it's definitely a good squad.

9 out of the 19 are 30yrs old though, so it looks like another somewhat aging squad. Their potential superstar is Carlos Alonso, an 18 yr old Spanish striker (141 CA, 192 PA).

[law90026]

16 Player Update, Season 2013/2014:

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
This will be Landon's 2nd season at Lyon and all indications are that it's going to be a phenomenal year (3 goals in his first 4 games). Lyon has switched back to their preferred 4-5-1 formation and Landon will likely be the first choice striker for the season.

CA: 168 (+1)
PA: 193

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Real Madrid:
Scoring on your debut for your new team is always a good way to win the fans over and that's what Rob Nielsen did. Another player who is looking to improve on a good season last year. Rob has a good international scoring record too, 15 goals in 25 games for Denmark.

CA: 177 (+2)
PA: 185

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
Sean is about as good as he's ever going to be as there isn't much room left for improvement. That's still a lot better than most other players in the world. The Serie A hasn't started yet but Sean has managed one assist already this season in Inter's 3-0 win over Everton in the Euro Supercup.

CA: 168 (+0)
PA: 172

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
A bit of a shock for Karl Tone as he appears to have been relegated to the bench. Whether it's to allow him some time to get back in shape after his injury last year or whether it's bad news for Karl remains to be seen. Oddly enough, the Real coach is playing a central midfielder in one of the wing spots.

CA: 166 (+0)
PA: 194

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Jaime has started the season on fire for Spurs. 2 assists in 3 games for Spurs in the league and an overall rating of 8.20 in 5 games thus far. This has helped Spurs be at the top of the table at this early stage of the season.

CA: 164 (+0)
PA: 185

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Atletico:
Kevin played decently on his debut for Atletico but he failed to score. It's early yet though and he should open his accounts soon. More disturbing was the fact that Atletico lost their first game 3-0.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 186

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Werder Bremen:
Alex appears to be enjoying his time at Bremen as he plays very solid football in his first 3 games (7.33 rating). He's being used as a rightback and he appears to be relishing that role.

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 183

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Jace recovers from his injury to play one game for Arsenal .. then breaks a cheekbone. Rough way to start the season for him though he did play well in that one game (8.00 rating)

CA: 173 (+2)
PA: 180

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Larry may have played well in 2 games thus far (7.50 rating) but he has to be concerned by the fact that he has already conceded 4 goals. It's going to be a long season for Man Utd if they don't tighten up their defence.

CA: 171 (+0)
PA: 182

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, PSV:
Logan starts for his 6th club in his career as he agreed to move to PSV on a 12.25m pound move in the off-season. He's playing his usual average football in 3 games (6.33 rating).

CA: 156 (+1)
PA: 190

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
Aaron appears to be struggling a little now for some reason as he starts the season really slowly (3 games, 6.33 rating). Are clubs getting used to his style of play and effectively countering him now?

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 174

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Crystal Palace:
K.N. is back in the Championship this year with Crystal Palace and he appears to be letting that affect his overall performance. 6.25 in 4 games is bad for a player of his standard, especially at the lower league level.

CA: 161 (+1)
PA: 186

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Sevilla:
Path must really be wondering whether he's doomed to be a career back-up. He's no.2 in Sevilla because Iker Casillas (182, 32 yrs old) is the first choice keeper there. Looks like few starting opportunities for Path again this year.

CA: 174 (+0)
PA: 183

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Palermo:
Jorge is currently tutoring 17 year old Paulo Vaccaro (73/138). For now at least, Jorge doesn't look like a starter in the squad, which will be disappointing for him (he's too good not to start really).

CA: 164 (+1)
PA: 186

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
Another player who is having a rough start to the season (3 games, 6.33 rating). Colton is only now starting to enter into the level of higher ability players but he still has some time to develop (defenders tend to play better later).

CA: 150 (+0)
PA: 181

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Monaco:
Deacon is playing well for Monaco as he manages to score a goal and create one more in the first 5 games of the season (7.20 rating). He'll be hoping to keep this level of performance up and push Monaco to a good finish (currently 3rd).

CA: 141 (+0)
PA: 178

[path12]

OH COME ON!!!!!!!

[law90026]

Mid-Season Quick Hits:

K.N. Smith's time at Crystal Palace comes to an abrupt end as he moves to Chelsea on a 14.25m transfer during the January transfer window.

Despite playing well for Werder Bremen, Alex Kamelooski is transferred to Porto for 10.25m (significantly less than the 19.5m Werder paid for him).

Jorge Antonio also moves, leaving Palermo for Middlesborough for a 9.25m pound fee.

This will be Deacon Palmieri's last season at Monaco. Unfortunately, he was not able to come to terms with Monaco over his contract and he signed a pre-contract with Serie A side Messina.

Top Goalscorerers thus far? Rob Nielsen with 17 goals, Kevin Donnelly and Landon Scott with 10 each.

Top Assists: Jaime Moore with 9, Karl Tone and Sean Treacy with 7 each.

Most Man of Match: Jaime Moore with 4, Aaron Gage and Deacon Palmieri with 2.

Top average rating: Path Twelve (7.50 in 8 games), Larry McGillicuddy (7.35 in 17 games) and Rob Nielsen (7.21 in 33 games).

[law90026]

End of Season 2013/2014 Update:

English Premier League:
Tottenham are back as they win the title, 1 pt ahead of Liverpool. Chelsea, Blackburn and West Ham rounded out the top 5. Man Utd were 6th. Arsenal were a very disappointing 16th, which resulted in their manager, Gordon Strachan, being sacked.

French League:
Marseille win the title, beating Lyon by 1 pt. Monaco ended the season in 5th place.

German Bundesliga:
Bayern win their 10th consecutive title, 21 pts clear of 2nd place Nurnberg. The gap seems to be getting wider and wider each year.

Italian Serie A:
Inter finally win the title after a long absence, 7 pts clear of surprise team Livorno. Milan, Roma and Palermo round out the top 5.

Portugal Primeria Liga:
Benfica win the title with Sporting and Porto 2nd and 3rd. It's been a long time since the big boys of Portugese football finished in such fashion.

Spanish First Division:
Valencia win the title, 3 years after winning their last. Real Madrid were 6 pts behind in 2nd place, with Getafe, Barcelona and Sevilla rounding out the top 5. Atletico were 7th this year.

Champions Cup:
Inter win the title, completing a nice double for them. This is also their consecutive win in this competition, a feat seldom achieved. They beat Bayern 3-0 in the finals and Sean Treacy captained the side.

Euro Cup:
Levante (Spain) beat Ajax on penalties in the finals.

FA Cup:
Charlton beat Chelsea 1-0 in the finals after extra time. K.N. Smith did not play in the finals.

Italian Cup:
Milan finally win the Italian Cup in their 3rd consecutive final, beating Bologna 2-0 on aggregate.

Thoughts:
Spurs return to form this year as they also managed to win the League Cup. Interesting to see this club maintain its dominant position over other clubs like Man Utd and Arsenal. Bayern really should consider playing in a harder league, they're unstoppable right now. And it was a really good showing by Inter this year as they build on last season's Champions Cup win with a league title and a successful defence of the Cup. Interesting to see where they shoot up to in terms of the richest clubs standing next year.

[law90026]

16 Player Update, End of Season 2013/2014:

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Real Madrid:
Superb season for Rob Nielsen this year and it wouldn't be surprising to see him in the running for a top player title next year. The Real Madrid striker scored 25 goals this season and was quite unstoppable overall. No trophies for him though.

CA: 177 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
52 games, 25 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.17 rating, 90m value
Third Place in Spanish First Division Top Goalscorer (2014)

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
A solid season for Landon as well though he was unable to push Lyon to the top of the table. He suffered some injuries this year too, a sprained ankle (1 month) and fractured ribs (ended his season), so he'll wonder what might have been if he has been able to play a few more games (Lyon was just 1 pt behind Marseille).

CA: 167 (-1)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
30 games (6 sub), 15 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.23 rating, 24m value
Confederations Cup winner (USA, 2014)
North American Gold Cup winner (USA, 2014)

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
A very successful season for the Inter captain as he leads them to 4 trophies this year, the Serie A League title, the Champions Cup, the Euro Supercup and the Club World Championships. He may not be totally satisfied with his performances though as he may be able to play slightly better.

CA: 168 (+0)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
52 games, 4 goals, 14 assists, 2 MOM, 9 yellows, 2 red cards, 6.90 rating, 23m value
Serie A League Champion (2014)
Champions Cup Winner (2014)
Euro Supercup winner (2014)
Club World Championships winner (2014)

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, Atletico:
A good debut season for Kevin in Spain though he can probably score more once he gets used to the Spanish league. 14 goals in all competitions is low for Kevin, considering his track record.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
37 games (2 sub), 14 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellow, 7.00 rating, 22m value

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Another player who had a successful season as he helps propel Spurs to a league title and a league cup win. He was also part of the US team that won the Confederations Cup and the North American Gold Cup. He was good on the pitch as he contributed both goals and assists in all competitions.

CA: 164 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
58 games, 9 goals, 12 assists, 4 MOM, 8 yellows, 6.95 rating, 21m value
English Premiership Champion (2014)
English League Cup winner (2014)
Confederations Cup winner (USA, 2014)
North American Gold Cup winner (USA, 2014)

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Man Utd did get their defence in order after all but they only managed 6th place. Larry split some time with the 2nd choice keeper this year and it's unclear why that was the case to be honest.

CA: 171 (+0)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
33 games, 35 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.45 rating, 15.25m value

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Very disappointing season for Jace as goals were let in like water this year. It's not all his fault but Jace definitely slipped in terms of his performance this year.

CA: 173 (+0)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
38 games, 57 conceded, 7 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.16 rating, 15m value

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, Sevilla:
In a repeat of his previous seasons, Path managed to get some playing time in and was very good when given the opportunity. If only he could find a club where he could be the undisputed no. 1.

CA: 174 (+0)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
17 games (3 sub), 10 conceded, 10 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 7.76 rating, 14.75m value

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Chelsea:
K.N. moved to Chelsea in the middle of the season and he played quite well in the 11 league games he started. K.N. was also part of the US team with Jaime Moore.

CA: 161 (+1)
PA: 186

Season Stats (Chelsea only):
11 games, 1 assist, 6.64 rating, 13.75m value
Confederations Cup winner (USA, 2014)
North American Gold Cup winner (USA, 2014)

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Karl buckled down and fought for his spot and managed to get it back. he didn't play nearly as well as last season but he was still a useful provider for goals for Real Madrid. Karl is part of a strong US squad with Jaime Moore, Landon Scott and K.N. Smith

CA: 166 (+0)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
43 games (4 sub), 4 goals, 8 assists, 4 yellows, 6.56 rating, 13.5m value
Confederations Cup winner (USA, 2014)
North American Gold Cup winner (USA, 2014)

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, PSV:
Logan was decent for a poor PSV side (11th in the Dutch league) and he even managed to score 2 goals (his best ever record!) in the league. Logan was only called up for the Confederations Cup and did not play a part in the North American Gold Cup for the US.

CA: 156 (+1)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
39 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.62 rating, 11m value
Confederations Cup winner (USA, 2014)

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Porto:
Alex helps Porto to 3rd place in the Portugese League. He was very solid in the games that he played and Porto should be pleased they acquired his services. Alex also managed to win the Portugese Cup with Porto.

CA: 153 (+0)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
23 games, 2 yellows, 7.09 rating, 10.25m value
Portugese Cup Winner (2014)

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Middlesborough:
Jorge's move to Middlesborough wasn't a complete surprise, largely because Jorge wasn't getting many opportunities at Palermo. Jorge managed to play adequately for Boro but they might have expected a little more from him than just 2 goals.

CA: 164 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
13 games, 2 goals, 1 yellow, 6.54 rating, 10.25m value

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Wigan:
Aaron's worst season so far with Wigan as he only managed 3 goals and 6 assists in all competitions. He'll have to figure out a way to be more effective for Wigan, who came close to relegation this year (17th place out of 20).

CA: 155 (+2)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
42 games, 3 goals, 6 assists, 2 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.74 rating, 9.75m value

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
Colton signed a nice extension to his contract this year and looks to be a stalwart in the Arsenal side for years to come. Not sure if Colton will develop much more at this point, which would mean he's a solid dependable defender but perhaps not much more than that.

CA: 149 (-1)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
50 games, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 1 red, 6.54 rating, 6.5m value

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Monaco:
Deacon continues to improve in his performances and this is the best year of his career. Unfortunately, he says goodbye to Monaco and will be headed to Messina and he'll have to hope that he doesn't take too long to adjust in Italy.

CA: 141 (+0)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
42 games, 7 goals, 5 assists, 4 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.90 rating, 1.4m value

[law90026]

World Cup 2014:

Denmark beat Holland 3-1 in the Finals! Rob Nielsen named Man of the Match.

Denmark beat Brazil, Germany and Spain enroute to the Finals. Rob Nielsen was also the Golden Boot winner with an amazing 8 goals. It was little surprise he was named as the Best Player of the tournament.

The US and Portugal failed to get out of the group stages. Spain topped that group and Colombia were 2nd. USA were third while Portugal were 4th.

Rob Nielsen subsequently came in 2nd in voting for European Striker of the Year, losing out to Wayne Rooney.

[Coffee Warlord]

Boooyah! Fear the Danes!

[law90026]

16 Player Update, Start of Season 2014/2015:

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Real Madrid:
A tiring but ultimately rewarding off-season for the World Cup's best player. He'll head back to Madrid with the accolade as 2nd best European striker in the world as well.

CA: 178 (+1)
PA: 185

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, FC Bayern:
An exciting off-season for Path Twelve as well, though for completely different reasons. Path is the subject of a bid by one of the biggest clubs in the world for his services. And FC Bayern finally secure his signature for an initial fee of 33.5m, with the potential of rising to 40.5m! Path looks set to finally be the number 1 keeper at a club and he'll be joined by another of the 16 ...

CA: 174 (+0)
PA: 183

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Jaime's impressive season last year sees him more or less maintaining his value at 21m. He will be looking forward to another season with Spurs and hoping for more medals. Jaime had a somewhat disappointing World Cup tournament with the US though, who failed to impress.

CA: 165 (+1)
PA: 185

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, FC Bayern:
And we apparently have a new mercenary in town as Kevin Donnelly makes a move after just one season in Atletico to FC Bayern. The agreed on fee was 19m pounds and Kevin rejected moves to Chelsea, Liverpool and Marseille in the process.

CA: 163 (+1)
PA: 186

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
Landon starts the season is hot form for Lyon with 3 goals in 5 games. If he can maintain that record, there's every reason to believe he can lead Lyon to the French title. He's also a prolific scorer at the international level, with 28 goals in 47 games for the US. There are concerns though that Landon may be past his prime, despite being only 28 years old (more regression in his PA).

Note: for some reason, Landon is 2 years older than everyone else. I must have inserted his details wrongly while editting. Sorry!

CA: 164 (-3)
PA: 193

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Birmingham:
Another player who is making a habit of moving on a regular basis, Logan makes his 3rd move in 3 years and 6th in 9 years. This time, Logan moves to Birmingham for 18.5m pounds, back to England after 2 years overseas.

CA: 156 (+0)
PA: 190

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
The Inter captain starts his 3rd season at the San Siro stadium where he'll be hoping to help Inter defend their titles from last year. He's part of a star-studded midfield, which has Messi on the left wing, Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing and Michael Carrick partnering Sean in the middle of the park.

CA: 168 (+0)
PA: 172

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
The Man Utd keeper has been a stalwart in the side for the past 4 years and this will be his 5th season as their number 1 keeper. Man Utd are starting slowly again though as they have conceded 6 goals in their first 3 games, although 4 of those came in a 4-0 loss to Charlton.

CA: 173 (+2)
PA: 182

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Jace will be hoping that both he and his club can bounce back strongly from last season's horrible performances. At least early on this season, Jace is showing that he's back to his solid self with a 7.50 rating in 2 games.

CA: 173 (+0)
PA: 180

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Chelsea:
K.N. Smith is playing his first full season at Chelsea after his move last year. He's part of a very offensive 4-5-1 formation which has 3 attacking midfielders and 1 striker. This leaves K.N. Smith with Diego Masia as the defensive midfielders, a role which K.N. isn't actually suited to play (poor tackling and marking).

CA: 162 (+1)
PA: 186

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Karl will be starting this season as Real's right winger. Hopefully the starting position will allow him to be slightly more consistent in his performances for Real this year as his delivery of crosses will be deadly as part of Real's attacking options.

CA: 166 (+0)
PA: 194

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Blackburn:
Aaron and Wigan finally part ways after 3 years as Blackburn for a fee of 12.75m. Aaron will be hoping that the change of scenery will be good for him as his performances for Wigan had been slipping steadily. All indications are that he will be back to good form as he has managed 2 assists and 1 MOM perfomance in his first 3 games for Blackburn.

CA: 157 (+2)
PA: 174

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Middlesborough:
The Portugese international is another player that will be starting his first full season at his club. Hopefully he has acclimatised to the English game now. Jorge is a player that plays brilliantly during international games but is sometimes not as impressive in domestic matches.

CA: 165 (+1)
PA: 186

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, Porto:
The Porto rightback is playing well early on in the season, with a 7.25 rating after just 4 games. He's also managed a goal, an assist and a MOM award already and hopefully he can maintain this performance.

CA: 154 (+1)
PA: 183

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Messina:
Deacon's first season in Messina should be an interesting one. There aren't huge expectations, largely because Messina isn't a club with much history at all (they've never really won any trophies other than lower division titles). Maybe Deacon can help steer them to some measure of success?

CA: 141 (+0)
PA: 178

Colton Mayes, Defender, Arsenal:
3 sold performances from Colton in the first 3 league games for Arsenal is what the fans have come to expect from the Irish defender. Birmingham is reportedly interested in acquiring his services but Colton has been steadfastly loyal to Arsenal as this will be his 5th season with the Gunners (and 132 league games for them).

CA: 148 (-1)
PA: 181

[law90026]

Mid-Season Quick Hits:

Rob Nielsen moves to Roma, a quite shocking move. The move was valued at 88m pounds and Roma also threw in a 7.25m midfielder, Australian John Thomas, in exchange.

K.N. Smith moves from Chelsea to Blackburn, joining Aaron Gage. The transfer fee was 10.5m pounds.

Colton Mayes leaves 20th placed Arsenal (!?!?!?!) for Aston Villa in an 8.5m pound move.

Alex Kamelooski joins West Ham on a 5.5m pound transfer.

Bids for Landon Scott were rejected and he stays on at Lyon, who are having a very disappointing season thus far (13th placed).

[Coffee Warlord]

Yep, was time for me to move again.

[ArlingtonColt]

sucks I'm about to exit my prime as a striker!

[path12]

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, FC Bayern:
An exciting off-season for Path Twelve as well, though for completely different reasons. Path is the subject of a bid by one of the biggest clubs in the world for his services. And FC Bayern finally secure his signature for an initial fee of 33.5m, with the potential of rising to 40.5m! Path looks set to finally be the number 1 keeper at a club and he'll be joined by another of the 16 ...

CA: 174 (+0)
PA: 183

Jawohl!

[path12]

Will we ever know what happened?

[George]

Will we ever know what happened?

I was thinking the same thing. I hope so.

[law90026]

Ah sorry, i've been busy at work and preparing for my coming wedding, so I haven't had time to do this in a while. I'll see if I can start it again if things quiet down a bit.

[path12]

Ah sorry, i've been busy at work and preparing for my coming wedding, so I haven't had time to do this in a while. I'll see if I can start it again if things quiet down a bit.

Pffft. A wedding? That's all? C'mon man, let's focus on the important things!!

;)

[law90026]

16 Player Update, End of Season 2014/2015:

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Roma:
The move for Rob to Roma didn't really work out for anyone. Rob didn't win any trophies and neither did Roma or Real.

CA: 176 (-1)
PA: 185

Season Stats (league only):
31 games, 12 goals, 3 MOM, 7.12 rating, 46.5m value

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, FC Bayern:
Path is the nominal no.1 keeper at Bayern but he did end up splitting time with his backup, 30 year old Brazilian Renan. A good year for Path though as he wins the German Championship with Bayern. Check out how few goals he conceded too, very impressive.

CA: 176 (+2)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
28 games (1 sub), 15 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 6 MOM, 7.50 rating, 33.5m value
German Championship winner

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, FC Bayern:
Kevin is also part of the FC Bayern team that wins yet another German championship. He plays well during the season as well and is the no.2 goalscorer in the Bundesliga, justifying the 19m pounds paid for his services.

CA: 165 (+3)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
41 games, 21 goals, 3 MOM, 2 yellow, 7.20 rating, 25m value
German championship winner
German League Cup runner-up

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Less club level success for Jaime this year as Spurs only manage a 5th placed finish in the league. Jaime's performances were also a disappointment compared to previous years.

CA: 165 (+1)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
38 games (10 sub), 2 goals, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.53 rating, 16.25m value

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Another disappointing year for Man Utd as they come in 8th in the league. Larry generally played well but he conceded way too many goals to be satisfied with his performances.

CA: 173 (+2)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
45 games (1 sub), 61 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.16 rating, 14.25m value

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
Major disappointment for Landon this year as his personal performances were definitely not up to the mark and he appears to be steadily losing his ability to play at the highest level. This eventually led to him being dropped from the first team entirely. Lyon also only managed 10th place in the French league.

CA: 162 (-5)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
23 games (6 sub), 8 goals, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 7.09 rating, 14m value

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Things continue to get worse for Arsenal as they get relegated fromthe Premiership. Jace played well personally but, similar to Larry, he conceded way too many goals, nearly 2 goals a game in the league.

CA: 174 (+1)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
39 games, 66 conceded, 4 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.28 rating, 13.5m value

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
A drop off from last year's performance as Inter fail to win any major trophies this year (save for the Club World Championship). Sean's season ended with a broken cheekbone near the tail end of the season.

CA: 168 (+0)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
49 games (1 sub), 6 assists, 4 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.78 rating, 13.25m value
Club World Championships winner (2015)
Italian Cup runner-up (2015)

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Blackburn:
Aaron refound some new life at Blackburn as he played pretty well for Rovers. 11 assists in all competitions is a nice return from the attacking midfielder who had seemed jaded at Wigan the past 2 years. He helped propel Blackburn to a 3rd place finish, their highest in recent years.

CA: 158 (+3)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
48 games, 4 goals, 11 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 6.73 rating, 12.75m value

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Birmingham:
Logan was acquired by Birmingham and he carried out his role as required. Not flashy, not spectacular but he did help Birmingham to a 6th place finish this year.

CA: 157 (+1)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
29 games (7 sub), 1 red, 6.21 rating, 12.75m value

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Middlesborough:
Jorge's first full season at Boro is a good one as he gets used to life in the English Premiership. His 7.00 rating is his highest ever in his career and he was a very good provider as his 11 assists prove. Boro finish 4th in the league which is a slight disappointment for them.

CA: 165 (+1)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
34 games, 1 goals, 11 assists, 3 yellows, 7.00 rating, 12.25m value

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Karl maintained his form for Real Madrid. Not a true star at Real but he is an integral part of the team as he plays decently on the wing and provides service for his strikers (9 assists).

CA: 166 (+0)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
54 games (1 sub), 4 goals, 9 assists, 1 MOM, 6 yellows, 6.54 rating, 11.75m value

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Chelsea:
K.N. moved to Blackburn in the middle of the year as he found it hard-going at Chelsea. He took up his place in the middle of the park and played well there. He'll be hoping to improve on his performances next year though as he can probably play better.

CA: 162 (+1)
PA: 186

Season Stats (league only):
29 games, 4 assist, 1 MOM, 6.20 rating, 9.75m value

Colton Mayes, Defender, Aston Villa:
Colton is probably glad he decided to join Villa at mid-season as it meant he avoided being relegated with the Gunners. Villa isn't a great team as they only managed 14th place but at least Colton gets to play on in the Permiership next year.

CA: 150 (+1)
PA: 181

Season Stats (league only):
35 games, 6.80 rating, 8.5m value

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Messina:
Deacon's new club maintains its mid-table position so nothing terribly exciting to report from that front. Deacon plays well for them though as he drives them from midfield with 5 league goals and ends up being their 3rd highest scorer.

CA: 140 (-1)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
25 games, 5 goals, 3 yellows, 7.00 rating, 6.5m value

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, West Ham:
Alex made a mid-season move to West Ham for 5.5m pounds. He performed well for West Ham and was even named to the European Champions Cup Dream Team.

CA: 154 (+1)
PA: 183

Season Stats (league only):
29 games, 1 goal, 1 MOM, 6.93 rating, 6.25m value
Named to European Champions Cup Dream Team (2015)

[law90026]

Start of Season 2015/2016 Quick Update:

Interestingly, this is the year when not a single of the 16 players moved. There was interest in Landon Scott and Logan Pacer but their clubs rejected bids from rivals.

[law90026]

Mid-season Quickhits:

Rob Nielsen comes in 3rd in World Footballer of the Year voting, after teammates Michael Essien and Wayne Rooney!!

Middlesborough's manager, Stanley Menzo, upset that his board decides to sell Jorge Antonio to Chelsea for 37m pounds. He had steadfastly refused to accept offers but his board eventually intervened.

[law90026]

16 Player Update, End of Season 2015/2016:

Rob Nielsen, Striker, Roma:
Despite having 3 of the best players in the world (based on world footballer of the year voting), Roma only manages a 3rd place finish in Serie A. Rob did manage to win some personal awards though, being the European Champions Cup Best Player runner-up and also part of the Dream Team. On an international level, Rob won the Confederations Cup with Denmark, for which Rob has scored 44 international goals in 55 games.

CA: 178 (+2)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
47 games, 19 goals, 4 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.28 rating, 49m value
Confederations Cup winner (Denmark)
European Champions Cup Best Player runner-up / Dream Team

Jorge Antonio, Attacking Midfielder, Chelsea:
Jorge Antonio moved to Chelsea on the strength of his performances with Middlesborough. He doesn't quite rediscover his form of last year though as a result of the move and Chelsea finish a disappointing 10th in the league.

CA: 165 (+0)
PA: 186

Season Stats (league only):
22 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 6.85 rating, 37m value

Kevin Donnelly, Striker, FC Bayern:
The FC Bayern machine keeps roaring on, winning its 12th consecutive league title. Kevin is again instrumental in that achievement by contributing 15 league goals. Kevin is also very popular in Munich, as evidenced by his Supporter's Player of the Year award for last season's efforts.

CA: 163 (-2)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
40 games (1 sub), 20 goals, 4 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.10 rating, 22m value
German championship winner
German League Cup winner
2014/2015 Supporter's Player of the Year
Player of the Month for November

Jaime Moore, Winger, Tottenham:
Tottenham finish 3rd this year, a slight improvement from last season. Jaime played really well this year too, with his highest overall rating in his career thus far (7.24 in the league alone). He was rewarded by being named to the English Players' Premier Division Select. Spurs managed to win the Euro Cup on penalties and Jaime also was part of the US team that won the North American Gold Cup.

CA: 165 (+0)
PA: 185

Season Stats:
58 games, 2 goals, 14 assists, 2 MOM, 8 yellows, 7.12 rating, 21m value
Euro Cup winner
English Players' Premier League select
North American Gold Cup winner (USA)

Path Twelve, Goalkeeper, FC Bayern:
Path wins his 2nd league title with Bayern as well as the League Cup as he establishes himself as the first choice keeper in Munich. He'll be slightly disappointed he didn't win any personal accolades though and that he has been overlooked for the French national team for some time now (only 4 caps so far).

CA: 177 (+1)
PA: 183

Season Stats:
36 games, 31 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 6 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.47 rating, 19.5m value
German Championship winner
German League Cup winner

Sean Treacy, Midfielder, Inter:
Another year without trophies for the Inter captain. The glorious season 2 years ago is rapidly becoming a memory and Sean will be wondering how much more he can do for this team.

CA: 169 (+1)
PA: 172

Season Stats:
45 games (3 sub), 1 goal, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.82 rating, 13.75m value

Aaron Gage, Attacking Midfielder, Blackburn:
A really solid year for Aaron in terms of his own performances though he fails to win anything with Blackburn. He appears to be back to his best as he manages double figures in both goals and assists. Aaron was also named as the 2016 English Players' Player of the Year runner-up (behind Rafael Sobis), as well as to the English Players' Premier Division Select and the European Champions Cup Dream Team.

CA: 158 (+0)
PA: 174

Season Stats:
50 games, 11 goals, 13 assists, 6 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.28 rating, 12.75m value

Larry McGillicuddy, Goalkeeper, Man Utd:
Man Utd get relegated again and Larry will wonder whether his continued loyalty to the Red Devils is really worth it. Despite being one of the best keepers in the world, Larry has not won anything of note in his career yet.

CA: 173 (+0)
PA: 182

Season Stats:
30 games (1 sub), 44 conceded, 4 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.30 rating, 12.75m value

Karl Tone, Winger, Real Madrid:
Karl tastes club level success this year as Real win both the League and the Spanish Cup. He was also part of the US team that won the Notrh American Gold Cup.

CA: 168 (+2)
PA: 194

Season Stats:
49 games, 5 goals, 11 assists, 5 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 6.78 rating, 12m value
Spanish League winner
Spanish Cup winner
North American Gold Cup winner (USA)

Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper, Arsenal:
Arsenal make an immediate return back to the Premiership, though it's troubling to the fans that they only managed this via the play-offs and not automatic promotion. Will Arsenal be able to stay up? Jace played well again this year and conceded significantly less than last year.

CA: 174 (+0)
PA: 180

Season Stats:
42 games (1 sub), 45 conceded, 12 clean sheets, 4 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.38 rating, 10.25m value

Landon Scott, Striker, Lyon:
Landon chose to sign a new contract with Lyon but he was hardly an impact this year, making only 13 appearances throughout the year. At least Landon was part of the US team that won the North American Gold Cup.

CA: 162 (+0)
PA: 193

Season Stats:
13 games (8 sub), 2 goals, 6.77 rating, 10.25m value
North American Gold Cup winner (USA)

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Blackburn:
A strong year from K.N. as well for Rovers this year as he and Aaron Gage form a really strong nucleus for Blackburn in midfield. K.N. was part of the Rovers team that were runners-up in the English FA Cup (Aaron Gage was injured with a sprained ankle), losing 1-0 to Liverpool. K.N. was also part of the US team that won the North American Gold Cup.

CA: 161 (-1)
PA: 186

Season Stats:
48 games, 1 goal, 6 assists, 2 MOM, 6.69 rating, 9m value
English FA Cup runner-up
North American Gold Cup winner (USA)

Logan Pacer, Defensive Midfielder, Birmingham:
Logan was again regular for Birmingham and his performances helped them improve one position to 5th this year. He also won the North American Gold Cup with the USA.

CA: 157 (+0)
PA: 190

Season Stats:
44 games, 3 goals, 1 assist, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.48 rating, 8.75m value
North American Gold Cup winner (USA)

Colton Mayes, Defender, Aston Villa:
You can only avoid fate so much. Villa get relegated this year and Colton is going down to the Championship. Ah well, such is life.

CA: 149 (-1)
PA: 181

Season Stats:
37 games (6 sub), 4 yellows, 6.70 rating, 7.25m value

Alex Kamelooski, Wingback/Defensive Midfielder, West Ham:
Alex played competently this year when he had the chance. The issue this year though was the number of niggling injuries he suffered. He missed 15 weeks of the season with various assorted injuries, hence the relatively few games he played for the Hammers.

CA: 156 (+2)
PA: 183

Season Stats (league only):
29 games, 1 goal, 6.90 rating, 6.25m value

Deacon Palmieri, Attacking Midfielder, Messina:
Messina flirted with relegation this year and finished the season 16th out of 20 clubs in Serie A. Deacon played pretty well though he wasn't as regular as he might have liked.

CA: 142 (+1)
PA: 178

Season Stats:
27 games (5 sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 yellows, 6.96 rating, 5.25m value

[George]

Thanks for the update. :cool:

[Passacaglia]

K.N. Smith, Midfielder, Blackburn:
A strong year from K.N. as well for Rovers this year as he and Aaron Gage form a really strong nucleus for Blackburn in midfield. K.N. was part of the Rovers team that were runners-up in the English FA Cup (Aaron Gage was injured with a sprained ankle), losing 1-0 to Liverpool. K.N. was also part of the US team that won the North American Gold Cup.

Sorry about that, dude. We probably could have won that FA Cup if I weren't out.

[flere-imsaho]

WOOHOO!!! It's back! :D

[Coffee Warlord]

Time for Rob Nielsen to move again, me thinks. We've done all we can with these Roma losers.

[law90026]

Start of Season 2016/2017 Quickhits update:

Rob Nielsen comes in 2nd in European Striker of the Year voting. He loses out to Valencia's Theo Walcott.

Landon Scott is out of Lyon and will be playing for Manchester United next year. The transfer fee was 13.5m pounds and Landon expressed his relief that his nightmare at Lyon was finally over. This is a move by Man Utd to get their team back to the Premiership immediately.

Spurs beat Barcelona 3-0 in the European Super Cup (it's like the English Charity shield, where the European Champions Cup champs play against the Euro Cup champions). Jaime Moore started for Spurs and managed a 7 rating.

Colton Mayes signs for newly promoted Norwich in a 9.75m pound move. He'll hope to shore up the Canaries defence so that they can stay in the Premiership.

International records thus far:
Current Internationals
USA
Landon Scott - 63 caps / 25 goals
Jaime Moore - 29 caps / 3 goals
Karl Tone - 41 caps / 4 goals
K.N. Smith - 59 caps / 6 goals
Logan Pacer - 32 caps / 1 goal

France
Path Twelve - 8 caps

Denmark
Rob Nielsen - 58 caps / 46 goals

Scotland
Sean Treacy - 44 caps / 1 goal

Canada
Jace Hunter - 48 caps

Ireland
Colton Mayes - 46 caps / 2 goals
Aaron Gage - 57 caps / 9 goals

Bulgaria
Deacon Palmieri - 23 caps / 4 goals

Ex-internationals
Alex Kamelooski - Poland, 24 caps / 1 goal
Larry McGillicuddy - Ireland, 37 caps
Jorge Antonio - Portugal, 30 caps / 5 goals
Kevin Donnelly - Ireland, 31 caps / 15 goals

[Celeval]

Ex-international?? I've got 15 goals for the Green.

[law90026]

Ex-international?? I've got 15 goals for the Green.

Heh, at the time I posted the stats, Kevin Donnelly wasn't in the national team. He's back again though.

[Celeval]

Heh, at the time I posted the stats, Kevin Donnelly wasn't in the national team. He's back again though.

Damn straight. :D

[law90026]

End of Season 2016/2017:

Deleted :( Game crashed and I have to re-sim the season. Update incoming.

[path12]

I'm so glad you're back. I'm currently more interested in this career than my regular FM one. ;)