FM2005: The No Team Dynasty

[Chief Rum]

Hello all,

I feel it is about time for me to start an FM dynasty. I have run CM dynasties in the past, but I have yet to start one with the new game. Since my Rome dynasty is on hold while we await a patch, this seems as good as any a way to pass the time.

I am about to start a new job, so my free time may be rather up int he air, but I will try to update this as much and often as I can.

So why the "no team" dynasty?

Well, the way I figure it, what I mostly like to get involved with, at least in dynasties like these, is the world of football. I personally enjoy my own attempts to raise clubs from mediocrity to new heights, but writing about just tends to bog me down, and take a long while.

So I have taken a club in England--a LL club, not Tamworth--and will run it as I usually do, trying to take the club to new heights. You all, however, won't know anything about that, because that's not what this dynasty is about.

Instead, this dynasty will follow the world of football (in Europe). I will be giving updates on European leagues, particularly detailed for the major leagues. I will follow the major moves of the transfer market. I will give round by round updates of the European competitions. And I will follow European qualifying for Germany 2006.

My model will in some ways be the magazine World Soccer, which gives concise updates of national goings on from around the world (and pays particular attention to European football). I will only, however, be following the leagues I have selected in Europe. That's actually all the ones that are in the game (but there is a league or two that aren't in the game--no major ones, but they are out there). So please don't expect to hear of the goings on in Liechtenstein's league (if it has one, and I think it does), but I will talk about Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Iceland, etc. And where non-league countries and clubs are involved, they will receive the same treatment as the better countries' clubs in those competitions.

Most of Europe will have at least two divisions going (if it has them), with the major ones going as low as they can go. I have not, however, selected a single league on any other continent. Hey, I'm not even sure if my computer here is going to run this without running into memory problems, so be happy with what you get.

When we enter the game, it is June 12, 2004. I will try and bring everyone up to date on the leagues and competitions to that point. BTW, I am going with FM's base player file, which already has transfers completed that were done in real life after the dynasty start up date (like Rooney to Man U, for instance), and just assume Euro 2004 went as it did, going to the surprising Greeks.

Maybe if I get far enough, you guys will someday figure out what team I am running.

CR

[BreizhManu]

Interesting concept

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by BreizhManu

Interesting concept

Thanks. Hopefully I will be able to carry this out some, even given my rapidly diminishing free time.

I'll set the table in the next post.

CR

[Chief Rum]

It's June 12, 2004.

In Portugal, group play for Euro 2004 is underway, and Zidane is about to break the hearts of millions of British footy fans, and Greece is going to stun the host country.

Greece won't raise the trophy for 2-3 weeks yet, but in this dynasty, the line between real life and fiction has already been drawn. While most of Europe is busy considering transfer offers and preparing their July friendly fixtures, a small handful of leagues are deep in the midsts of their seasons.

Most are in the north, as Scandinavian countries and Iceland need to take advantage of the more temperate climes of their summers, as their winters are dark and brutal. Additionally, Russia, Belarus and Ireland have also begun their seasons.

Here is a roundup of where these leagues stand going into this dynasty.

Russia (18th in European Coefficients)

It has become cliché that one of the dominant sides from around Moscow would generally win the Russian Premier League, and just as we near the halfway point, that is proving true once again.

Spartak Moskva are back on top after finishing outside of the top three in the top flight in 2003 for the first team in club history. The Russian power won nine of ten championships from 1992-2001. Spartak have fallen just twice, in recent road matches versus Lokomotiv Moskva and Zenit.

Lokomotiv, Spartak's primary rival to their dominant rule of the RPL during the 90s, have also returned to power, just two points off the mark.

The division remains very tight, though, with seven squads within seven points of Spartak. Last year's runner up finisher Zenit are fighting surprise contender Moskva for the third spot and the 2005 Inter-Toto spot that goes with it. They are two points back of Lokomotiv and four off of Spartak.

Defending champion CSKA Moskva are one of the early disappointments of the league season, although at five points from Spartak, they are hardly out of the running. They are battling Krylya Sovetov for fifth.

Not all of Moscow's clubs are playing well. Dinamo Moskva (8th) and Torpedo Moskva (12th) were both expected to contend for spots in Europe, but have fallen off from that considerably. Torpedo are just two points long of a relegation spot, in fact.

Aside from Moskva's charge up from midtable, the story of the season thus far is the triumph of Kuban. The last promotee from the first division in 2003 have beaten a relegation tipping and now stand solidly at ninth.

Amkar, last year's first division champs, bring up the bottom, as expected. They are four points shy of staving off the drop, and have only left the pitch victorious twice this season. Rotor, another pick for a relegation battle, also has just two wins, but they have been more successful in forcing draws (league-leading seven), so they are only short of safety on tiebreakers.

CSKA Moskva's Croatian international forward Ivica Olic is building on his tremendous 2003 campaign, and is leading the league in goals (9) and rating (7.64). Olic is joined atop the league scoring lists by Zenit's impressive Russian international striker Alexandr Kerzhakov and Kuban's CSKA Moskva import Denis Popov. Kerzhakov, just 21, has already established himself as the dominant scorer in the league in the past few seasons, while Popov's move to Kuban has led them to higher heights, while his absence beside Olic at CSKA Moskva may be a primary reason for the defending champions' short fall from grace.

Spartak's return to prominence has been led by foreigners on the frontline and the league-leading (6 assists) creativity of veteran Russian international midfielder Dmitry Alenichev, brought home from the recently crowned champions of Europe at FC Porto in the offseason. While Alenichev surely regrets missing the opportunity to raise the Champion's Club's Cup, he is making waves as the offensive heart of the league's best offense. On the receiving end of Alenichev's passes are Serbian international Mihajlo Pjanovic and budding Argentinian star Fernando Cavenaghi, brought in from premier South American power River in the offseason. The two strikers each have seven goals. The defense, itself highly rated, is led by Czech fullback Martin Jiranek, the second highest rated player in the league (7.63).

The premier league clubs have lost a 2005 European spot, with first division promotion contender Terek taking the 2003-04 Russian Cup in May, defeating Krylya Sovetov. That will only make the battle atop the RPL all the fiercer.

The Russian Premier League Cup has just progressed to the semifinals, although the round will not be played until near the end of the summer. The cup has given two prime matchups, with the top two squads in Spartak and Lokomotiv battling in one tie, while surprising Kuban will take on midtable Dinamo Moskva in the other.

Norway (20th in European Coefficients)

Only 10 rounds of play have been completed in the Norwegian Premier Division, so the early results can either be considered a shocking upheaval, or far too early to read anything into it.

What signals the upheaval is embodied alone in the top spot: it isn't Rosenborg BK, the dominant Norwegian superclub out of Trondheim. The 12-time consecutive champions, soon to be representing the country in the Champions League, are three points shy of the lead, tied with SK Brann for fifth.

The second part of this strange turnaround is who are on top: Fedrikstad FK. They are not a longtime power, but just recently arrived on the NPD scene, ascending to the top flight last year after a second-place finish in the first division. While many experts expected Fredrikstad to be a far more solid squad than the usual recent promotee, even contending for one of Norway's five spots in Europe, few saw them gracing the top of the table at any point in June.

With 16 matches left, though, it's clear this league is far from over. Just eight points separate Fredrikstad and that one precious Champions League spot, and twelfth--and a battle against a drop versus the third best squad from the first division.

Hot on the heels of Fredrikstad are traditional Rosenborg heel-nippers Lillestrom SK (with a league-leading +9 goal differential) and Oslo-based SFK Lyn. They are both just a point off of Fredrikstad.

Outside of Fredrikstad, the most surprising performance have come from Vålerenga IF, the other Oslo-based squad. Tipped for a possible drop at the end of the campaign, Vålerenga have won half of their matches and sit in fourth at the moment, just two points behind Fredrikstad.

Besides Rosenborg, the top disappointments are likely Brann and Molde FK. Neither have scored more goals than their opponents in league to this point, despite being tipped with Lillestrom as contenders for the country's two table-based UEFA spots. Brann are tied with Rosenborg with 16 points (albeit with five wins in the ten matches), and Molde are tied with relegation battler Tromso at seventh with 14 points. Molde have finished in second more than any other club in the nation since Rosenborg began their string in 1992, and were thought to be as big a threat to end that streak as any coming into the season.

Other squads of note include last year's second place finishers FK Bodo/Glimt and another traditional Rosenborg challenger in Viking FK. Despite the strong 2003, Bodo were not expected to contend for the title and, indeed, they are not, at 9th. Viking, however, were thought as likely headed to a spot in Europe, so their drop to 11th and the second worst goal differential in the league (-6) early in is a troubling sign for Stavanger's top club.

As expected, last year's first division champ Ham-Kam Fotball and traditional doormat Sogndal are locked into two of the final spots, out of which if they do not depart, they will shortly earn their tickets for the drop )or have to fight off a challenge to avoid doing so). Ham-Kam is sitting at 12th, so they are not an automatic drop, but they have the top flight's worst goal differential (-8). Sogndal have won just one match in bringing up the rear fo the league with just six points. Odds BK are in the second drop position, also with just one victory, but their -3 GD suggests they are at least slightly better than their results have suggested thus far.

This early in the season, it's hard to read too much relevance into player statistics, but it seems clear that Rosenborg's troubles are not due to the offensive capabilities of their two biggest scorers, Norwegian international veterans Frode Johnsen (league-leading eight goals) and Harald Martin Brattbakk (five goals). They have scored almost all of Rosenborg's 15 league goals.

Rosenborg has been disappointed, though, with the contributions of young Daniel Omaya Braaten, an offseason acquisition from first division Skeld. Braaten, 22, is considered one of the brighter young stars in Norway's international future, but he has only scored one goal in 12 matches for Rosenborg this season while taking the third spot on the super power's three-man frontline.

Ironically, Fredrikstad's league-top defense is anchored by young Alexander Lund Hansen, a netminder loan from Rosenborg. The 21-year-old has conceded just 11 goals in 10 matches, although he has just one clean sheet. Still, his presence at Lerkendal Stadion would not improve Rosenborg any, as they remain satisfied with the play of Espen Johnsen, Norway's international team goalkeeper and Rosenborg's steady starter the past two years. Johnsen has allowed 14 goals in 12 matches.

Lillestrom look like a very dangerous squad, with a league-leading 19 goals, but no player with more than four, and just 10 goals conceded, tied with Fredrikstad in league defense. Steady winger Pål Strand may be the early nod for the NPD player of the year, with a league-leading 7.80 league rating (and 7.92 overall), four goals and nine assists, and South African Emille Barron remains a strong presence in the net (12 goals conceded in 11 matches, three cleans). Six of Strand's assists came in league play as well, tying him with three others for the league lead in that department.

Rosenborg's problems were not held to just league play. They were also shockingly dropped in the Norwegian Cup's second round in May, dropping a shocking 2-1 road decision to awful Sogndal.

The third round was recently completed, and Sogndal and Lyn fell there as well. Only half of the 16 teams remaining in the competition for the nation's cup and an automatic UEFA Cup spot are from the top flight, and table-topping Fredrikstad is not one of them, having the horrible luck to enter a first round tie with Lillestrom.

The fourth round will be completed in late June, although the competition won't see a final until November. The best match of the upcoming round is Lillestrom hosting Bodo.

Sweden (23rd in European Coefficients)

The Swedish Premier Division hasn't progressed much further than its Norwegian counterpart, having played 11 rounds of its similar 26-match fixture.

Unlike Norway, though, this league didn't enter its campaign with a foregone conclusion on the identity of the eventual champion. As many as five different squads were tipped for the title, including two-time defending champion Djurgårdens IF and current table-topping AIK Solna, both based out of Stockholm.

Not even to the halfway point of the season, there is naturally still a bit of a logjam in the table, with nine of the 14 clubs within seven points of AIK, which have 22 points and seven wins in their 11 matches.

IFK Göteborg, another preseason contender, are tied with the lone shocker, IF Elfsborg, at two points off the lead, while dangerous Djurgården are just three points back.

The fact is that, on the whole, this league has a lot of parity, and even the second tier teams were thought to have a decent chance of qualifying for one of the country's four table-based European spots. Elfsborg was one of those second-level clubs, and top contenders like Malmö FF and Helsingborg are also still within reach of the top, despite not starting off as well as AIK or Göteborg.

The lone true surprise are Hammarby. They, too, were considered in the top half of the league, and they finished second to Djurgården last year. They have been shockingly bad, winning just one match in their eleven and sporting by far the worst goal differential in the league at -13. They have allowed five more goals than any other squad in the SPD.

AIK has done the job with the league's best offense, led by the surprising Martin Aslund. The forward hadn't scored in two years prior to this one, but has tallied five times thus far on AIK's three-man frontline. He and returning steady scorer Andreas Andersson form a potent duo.

The best scoring duo, though, reside in Malmö, which is one reason why many think this club that finished third last year and second the year before will still have a significant say in things before the season has ended. Malmö brought in young Brazillian forward Afonzo Alves from Orgryte, and he hasn't missed a bit. The young star who scored 23 goals for Orgryte in two seasons, has seven in 13 matches so far this year. He is paired with national (if not international) super striker Niklas Skoog, who exploded on the SPD last season, scoring 22 goals in 23 matches. Skoog has eight goals in 12 matches thus far this year.

Alves replaced Peter Ijeh, the Nigerian striker who scored 10 goals for Malmö last year. Ijeh hasn't missed out, though, as he is now the leading attacker on Göteborg now, and leads the SPD with eight league goals.

Meanwhile, Elfsborg is doing with defense, leading the league with just 11 goals conceded. The defense is headed by Sweden's former U-21 netminder Johan Wiland, whom at 23 has already been starting regularly for Elfsborg since 2000. Wiland has conceded 14 goals in 13 matches, and just 11 in league play. He also has three clean sheets.

The Swedish Cup has similarities to the Norwegian Cup, although the top two divisions must play on the road in the second round (the first round they enter the competition).

Not surprisingly, there have been a number of high profile exits, although AIK, Djurgården and Malmö are all still in it. Both Göteborg and Elfsborg were escorted out of the competition in upset losses in the third round, just completed in early June.

The fourth round, with just sixteen clubs remaining, will be played at the end of the month. The premier matchup is between AIK and GIF Sundsvall, the relegation-skirting SPD squad that stunned Göteborg in the last round.

The following leagues are below my arbitrarily-imposed standard for getting the full league treatment. I will instead give a relatively shorter rundown of what is going on in those leagues.

Finland (30th in European Coefficients)

The Finnish Premier Division takes after its Scandinavian cousins, with a 14-club top flight playing a 26-match spring-to-fall fixture.

The FPD hasn't progressed as far as Sweden or Norway, though, at just seven rounds into its fixture. At this stage, it's questionable to project the meaning of the current table on how the season will turn out.

Still, one club that is no surprise is HJK Helsinki, the two-time defending champion. They have resumed their traditionally strong pace and are just a point off of FC International Turku in the lead. Inter Turku, picked to be a middle of the table squad, has been surprisingly strong, with a league-leading goal differential of +9.

In the end, it seems likely that Tampere United and FC Haka will have a say in things. Tampere finished in third last season, and was the last club to win the FPD before HJK. Haka finished in second last year, and third the year before that. Tampere is currently fourth, with Haka in seventh.

Along with Inter Turku, FC KooTeePee is another midtable surprise. They are currently in third, two points back of the top, and a point off of HJK.

Like the other Scandinavian cups, the Finnish Cup is already running, and has progressed through two rounds involving top teams (and five rounds overall). Surprisingly, HJK was eliminated on penalty kicks by a nonleague squad in the fifth round in May. They are the headlining upset, although KooTeePee has also exited.

Otherwise, the field remains relatively strong with FPD teams (including Inter Turku, which dodged its own penalty kick battle in the fourth round). Inter Turku will meet Tampere in the high profile matchup of the sixth round, which will played on June 20.

Iceland (36th in European Coefficients)

Iceland is a new addition to the FM family, and probably isn't one of the ones I would have thought to add. Nevertheless, it has turned out to be interesting.

They have two seasons, kinda like Brazil does with their state championships followed by league play. They start off with two simultaneously run cups that have their own match tables. The Upper League Cup takes the 16 top teams (seems to be the whole top division and half of the first division), while the next 24 teams are in the Lower League Cup. Both of these competitions run from March to May.

Then divisional play starts, including the Icelandic Premier League. Because of how long the league cups last (and Iceland's short window of good weather), the IPL only plays 18 league matches, with home-and-homes for the 10 top clubs.

The IPL fixture runs from mid-May to September.

Iceland also has a national cup that is also run in the summer. The first round of the relatively small-field cup competition will be played in mid-June, and also wrap up in September.

Currently, the IPL is six matches into its 18-match fixture. That's way too early to be talking about the table.

As it stands right now, FH Hafnarfjördur came into the season favored as the premier title contenders, but have won just one of their first six matches and are in dead last. So that shows you a little of the value of the table at the meoment.

Despite the tipping of FH by the media, the unstated favorite has to be Reykjavik's premier club, KR Reykjavik. KR has won the league four of the past five seasons, including the last two. They are currently third.

As many as six of the ten-cluib league were tabbed as fighting off the drop, so it's hard to know what team is really quality right now. On top of that, two of those "potential relegatees" are sitting atop the table in Fylkir and Keflavik.

Belarus (38th in European Coefficients)

The Belarusian Premier League is ten rounds into its 30-match fixture, whixh is akin to calling the results of Iceland's premier division (six matches in 18). Despite the higher number of matches (comparable to Norway and Sweden, for instance), the relation of the current table to the end result is highly suspect.

That said, there aren't a ton of surprises atop the table in the early going. FC Torpedo Zhodino was not tipped for the championship, but they were thought to be a strong club and have started well. They have a solid four-point cushion on their lead at 22 points, and their +9 goal differential is tied for the league-lead with second place and top Belarussian power FC BATE Borisov, which won the league championship in 2002.

The early surprise is the fall of FC Gomel, the defending champion. They have had an uneven start and now sit at 10th, solidly midtable, and are 10 points off the lead.

Outside of Torpedo Zhodino's cushion, the top of the table still has that early season look of a glut to it. BATE are tied with Belarusian Cup holder FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk with 18 points, and three other teams are within two points of the pair.

One of those three are fallen power Dinamo Minsk. The club dominated the league in the 90s, but have fallen on harder times recently. Still, as the premier club in the country's capital and largest city, they are not to be discounted. Dinamo Minsk also have the highest GD outside of the top three clubs.

FC Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk, another Minsk-based club, is the surprise among potential relegatees. Tipped early on as a possible drop, Zvezda has surprised and surged forth to seventh, just two points off of rival Dinamo Minsk.

The Belarusian Cup is an oddity in spring-to-fall leagues, as the country's football association has chosen to play the nation's premier cup competition from June to May of the following year, much like other countries do. So at this point, the six-round cup has only just played its first round, a limited eight-match affair that involves no BPL clubs as of yet.

The second round won't be held until August. As noted, Shakhtyor Soligorsk won the 2004 Belarusian Cup just last month.

Republic of Ireland (39th in European Coefficients)

As a warmer clime than the Scandinavian nations or the frigid contiental winetrs of the Russian nations, Ireland can start their league a little earlier, so it's no surprise they have advanced the furthest in their fixture.

The ten-club Irish Premier Division has just about reached the halfway point of a 36-match fixture that began in March. All of the top flight squads have played either 16 or 17 matches, so it seems likely the table as is stands right now is a fair representation of the quality of the sides in play.

It's no surprise that Shelbourne should be on the top. They are the defending champions and have won three of the last five championships. They have won 10 of 17 matches and sit atop the table with 33 points. They also have a very strong +16 goal differential that dwarfs that of any other club in the league.

Although Shelbourne were tipped for the championship, it wouldn't come as a surprise if their fellow Dubliner rivals Bohemians took it in the end. The latter club won the IPD the two years Shelbourne didn't, and they finished second last year. They are currently third with 27 points.

Cork City have finished second or third four times in the past six seasons, but have yet to break through the Dublin stronghold on the league title. Last year's third place finisher is off to a good start and sit in second place with 30 points. In fact, they have a game in hand on both Shelbourne and Bohemians, and would draw even with the top with a victory in their odd match. They also have the highest GD outside of Shelbourne, with +8.

Drogehda United is still within range as well, with 25 points and a match to play to level up.

The sad story on the other end, though it does not come unexpected, is the fall of the Shamrock Rovers. The Rovers finished third two years ago, and second the year before that, but they have fallen on hard times and carried that forward to this season, where they are currently in line for the drop. Apparently now the weak sister on the Dublin football scene, they have lost 11 of 17 matches and their -14 GD is by far the worst in the IPD.

There are a ton of cups played in Ireland, and at the moment, I couldn't begin to tell you what governs who is in what. So I will just tell you what is going on in them.

The Irish League Cup has reached the quarterfinal stage. Twenty-six clubs, including the 22 squads in the IPD and first division, played out a brief group stage in April and May, in which they competed in eight groups of three or four clubs.

Shelbourne failed to advance, falling to fellow Dublin top flight club Dublin City. Cork City and Bohemians both moved on, though. Derry City and Longford were the only other two IPD squads to go forward. The quarterfinal will be played on June 23, with the premier matchup being the only IPD tie in the mix, between Cork and Derry cities.

Two other cups, which I think are regional, are currently in action. They are the Munster and Leinster senior cups.

The Munster Cup just completed the quarterfinal round on June 2, with Cork City and Waterford United, the only premier division squads, winning through. They are joined by first division Cobh Ramblers and lower league Tramore. This was the first round clubs above the lower leagues were in this competition, so the competition here is light. Interestingly enough, the semifinals are scheduled for June 23--the same day Cork City is due to meet Dery City in the League Cup. Something will have to give there.

The Leinster Cup seemed to have a higher quality of entries, including all of the Dublin squads, from the first round on. This competition has also reached the semifinals, but they have advanced far enough to actually have pairings. St. Patrick's Athletic will meet the Shamrock Rovers in an all-Dublin match in one end, while Bohemians will take on Drogheda United in the higher profile match in the other tie. Shelbourne also bowed out of this one early, falling to St. Pat's in the first round. All four are IPD squads. This semifinal will also be played on June 23.

***

Finally!

Now you know how the leagues currently in the middle of their fixtures stand.

Next I will take a look at the big news in the transfer markets and in manager doings in the major leagues.

CR

[Chief Rum]

In the "you learn something new every day" department, I discovered that editing a post doesn't bump the thread, so I decided to add this post to bump up this thread.

I have added to the post above, which will eventually include updates of all of the leagues in action at the entry point of this dynasty (June 2004).

CR

[Blade6119]

MLS involved in this, or no?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

MLS involved in this, or no?

Sorry, Blade, but FM screwed the pooch big time on the MLS. IMO, it's pretty much worthless to play or to even have running at the moment. While SIGames is working on a fairly comprehensive patch, I don't know when that's coming out, and I didn't feel it was important enough to delay starting this dynasty.

My computer is a pretty good one, but FM takes up a lor of resources, and I can't run the whole shebang for this like I have in the past. So I had to make some harsh choices, leaving out all leagues not in Europe, and going without some third and second divisions in some of the European leagues as well (not to mention going with a Large database, instead of a Huge one). It's for that reason that I have made this a Europe-focused dynasty.

Now, that doesn't mean there won't be information on other countries' players or events there. I have included all players from many of the top non-European copuntries in the world, and the best ones (the international ones) will likely find their way into Europe's leagues. I will also be covering international events fully.

CR

[Chief Rum]

June Manager Moves

Normally, June is a busy time for everything from manager moves to loan announcements to transfers (and attached rumours galore).

At the beginning of an FM game, though, for the most part, the real life transfers have been set, and teams have less of a need to make moves.

So this June isn't so exciting so far. All of the major managerial hirings were for clubs that went into the dynasty without a headman. Here are the biggest signings:

NAC Breda (NED) Hires Wim Koevermans To Lead Club (June 23) Former Dutch international defender and U-21 manager Wim Koevermans was hired by midtable Dutch Premier Division club NAC Breda on June 23. The 44-year-old manager had been serving as a scout for the Dutch Football Association since his resignation as head of the country's U-21 squad in 2003. The former FC Groningen, Fortuna Sittard and FC Vlaardingen player was a member of Holland's 1988 European Champions. He has been managing since 1990, including a stint with his former club FC Groningen.

RAEC Mons (BEL) Hires Wim De Coninck (June 17) In a strange coincidence, the two highest profile manager hires in June were both named Wim. A former Belgian international and Anderlecht goalkeeper, Wim De Coninck was hired to his third manager's position in the Belgian First Division, and first since being sacked by FC Antwerp in 2002. The 45-year-old also used to coach Aalst in 2000. In his playing career, De Coninck also played with Antwerp and Waregem. De Coninck will have a tough test, as Mons just missed the drop last year.

Other signings: Rotor (RUS) hired Vasyl Uschapovskyi, Torpedo Zhodino (BLR) hired Sergey Pishnik, FC Koper (SVN) hired Milan Miklavic.

CR

[Chief Rum]

June Transfers

This is going to be a short post.

As I mentioned, most clubs have already made their moves (in the real life close window, reflected here in the data). Not too many were into making high profile moves here either, at least not yet.

There was only one transfer for more than £1 M. Polish midfielder Miroslaw Szymkowiak was bought by French First League club Strasbourg from Polish First Division power Wisla Krakow for £1.4 M. The 27-year-old Polish international was with Wisla for three seasons after moving over from current Polish Second Division club Widzew Lodz, with which he had spent his entire professional career to that point. Szymkowiak has been capped with Poland 11 times, and has two international goals. He had one goal in 17 matches with Wisla in 2003-04.

There were other transfers, and on the level of each individual league, they may come into play. But this was the only transfer that came close to qualifying as international transfer news, and that was just barely.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Heading Into The Inter-Toto Cup

It might be the middle of the offseason, but the Inter-Toto Cup, Europe's third and lowest international club competition, runs its entire course during the first transfer window.

The Inter-Toto has three automatic entries for its champions into the UEFA Cup first round. The UEFA Cup is Europe's second most prestigious club competition.

Forty-two clubs, usually second-place and third place sides from the lower quality leagues, and some third, fourth and fifth place squads from mid-level leagues, play in 21 individual matchups in the first round. The winners advance to the second round, where they are joined by 11 new clubs, usually better teams from midlevel to the highest clubs, generally fourth place to as low as eighth or ninth, depending on the league. Then the 16 winners from the second round, go to the third round, where they are joined by the final top eight clubs, usually all from the most powerful leagues in Europe, and around fifth to seventh place.

Two more rounds with no new additions whittles the numbers down to three teams, which are awarded their own Inter-Toto Cups and receive the automatic bids into the UEFA Cup. The Inter-Toto Cup finals will be played in August.

The first round, though, begins in mid-June, and runs from June 19-July 3.

First Round Ties

Dila (GEO)                    vs          Debrecen (HUN)
Fylkir (ISL)                  vs          Cork City (IRL)
Grevenmacher (LUX)            vs          Teplice (CZE)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)       vs          Publikum (SVN)
Marek (BUL)                   vs          Spartak Moscow (RUS)
NSI (FRO)                     vs          Ballymena United (NIR)
Odra Wodzislaw (POL)          vs          Zlin (CZE)
Saint Julià (AND)             vs          AA Gent (BEL)
Slaven Belupo (CRO)           vs          Trnava (SVK)
Sloboda (BOS)                 vs          Atlantas (LTU)
Smederevo (SER)               vs          Dubnica (SVK)
Sporon (HUN)                  vs          Vardar (MAC)
Teuta (ALB)                   vs          Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
Trans (EST)                   vs          Thun (SUI)
Vetra (LTU)                   vs          Gloria (ROM)
Achna (CYP)                   vs          Hibernians (MLT)
Dinaburg (LVA)                vs          Vilaznia (ALB)
Esbjerg fB (DEN)              vs          Bregenz (AUT)
OB (DEN)                      vs          MOIK (AZE)
Aberystwyth (WAL)             vs          Tampere United (FIN)
MyPa (FIN)                    vs          Malmö FF (SWE)

It may seem like this is a very low end competition, and indeed, it doesn't get too much media play, like the UEFA or the Champions League. But these aren't bad clubs, but actualyl some of the best squads in their respective leagues. It's sorta similar to what a leadup tourney to the NCAAs would look like if the tourney only involved the second and third place teams of all leagues except for the major ones.

There are plenty of intriguing matchups in this first round. Fylkir and Cork City are both doing well in their respective leagues. Marek is a big Bulgarian club, and Spartak Moscow is one of the Russian Premier Divisions Muscovite heavyweights. Although I haven't taken a close look at Poland or the Czech Republic yet, the Odra Wodzislaw-Zlin matchup should be a good one. Achna and Hibernians aren't in leagues followed in this dynasty, but I find that matchup interesting because it involves two Mediterranean island nations' teams. Esbjerg fB against Bregenz might be the strongest tie in the first round. And MyPa and Malmö FF are both in the thick of their league seasons up north and should be a good Scandinavian matchup.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Inter-Toto Cup First Round

First Leg Results

Home Team is listed on the right. Most matches were played on June 19-20, with a couple more on June 23.

Dila 0, Debrecen 4
Fylkir 2, Cork City 1
Grevenmacher 2, Teplice 2
Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2, Publikum 1
Marek 0, Spartak Moscow 2
NSI 2, Ballymena United 3
Odra Wodzislaw 3, Zlin 3
Sant Julià 1, AA Gent 2
Slaven Belupo 2, Trnava 2
Sloboda 2, Atlantas 1
Smederevo 2, Dubnica 2
Sopron 2, Vardar 1
Teuta 2, Dinamo Minsk 2
Trans 2, Thun 0
Vetra 3, Gloria 0
Achan 3, Hibernians 1
Dinaburg 1, Vilaznia 2
Esbjerg fB 1, Bregenz 0
OB 2, MOIK 2
Aberystwyth 2, Tampere United 1
MyPa 1, Malmö 1

My general thinking in two-leg rounds like this is that if you open at home, you want to win by at least two goals to be comfortable. If you open on the road, anything better than losing by two or more goals sets you up with a pretty good shot at your place.

So with that in mind, you can begin to see who the surprises were, who is in trouble and who is looking pretty good.

Fylkir took a 2-1 win over Cork City in a matchup of top Icelandic and Irish clubs, but that is hardly a convincing advantage with a trip to Cork at the other end.

One of Russia's best teams in Spartak Moscow is showing it's not just good in league, with a strong 2-0 win on the road against Bulgaria's Marek.

Poland's Odra Wodzislaw and the Czech Republic's Zlin looked like a top matchup for this round and it is proving to be a tight win, with a high-scoring draw to open the tie. That's not good news for the Polish club, though, as they must now go the Zlin's home ground to take this one (and allowed Zlin three away goals to boot).

The once strong Dinamo Minsk from Belarus didn't exactly impress in drawing, 2-2, with Albania's Teuta as, even on the road, they should have taken that one. Still, they seem to be odds on favorite to pull through with the next match in Minsk.

Swiss Super League squad Thun embarrassed itself with an ugly 2-0 loss on the road to Estonia's little Trans. They will need to play much better at home to get to the second round.

Romanian club Gloria should also have done better, but they lost even worse on the road, 3-0, to yet another Baltic state club in Lithuania's Vetra.

One of the best matchups going in was that of Esbjerg fB and Bregenz, two of the better teams in two midlevel leagues in Denmark and Austria, respectively. The Danish squad's 2-1 close win likely means this one will be a tight one right through the match in Austria.

Esbjerg fB's fellow leaguemate OB underwhelmed in a 2-2 draw to MOIK, a little club that came to northern Europe from all the way over in Azerbaijan. Now OB will have to make a similarly long journey and win on the road to move on.

The Welsh Premier League is generally considered a weaker league than Finland's top flight, so Aberystwyth's 2-1 decision over Tampere United in the home end of their match gives them hope they might score a minor upset in the return.

Malmö FF did well to draw, 1-1, with MyPa on the road, although they are probably a stronger side in the first place.

Second Leg Results

Once again, the home team is listed first. Almost all of the matches were played on June 26-27, but one match was played on June 30, and the MyPa:Malmö Ff return match wasn't actually played until July 3--on the same day the second round began for many clubs.

AA Gent 1, Sant Julià 1
Atlantas 0, Sloboda 3
Ballymena United 1, NSI 2
Cork City 0, Fylkir 1
Debrecen 2, Dila 2
Dinamo Minsk 0, Teuta 2
Dubnica 3, Smederova 3
Gloria 2, Vetra 1
Publikum 3, Hapoel Beer-Sheva 1
Spartak Moscow 2, Marek 0
Thun 3, Trans 0
Trnava 2, Slaven Belupo 3
[b]Vardar 3[/b[, Sopron 1
Zlin 2, Odra Wodzislaw 1
Bregenz 3, Esbjerg fB 1
Hibernians 1, Achna 2
MOIK 0, OB 3
Teplice 3, Grevenmacher 0
Vilaznia 2, Dinaburg 2
Tampere United 3, Aberystwyth 0
Malmö FF 3, MyPa 1

Final Tally

Highlighted teams are the winners on aggregate, with the total two-leg score in the middle.

Dila (GEO)                 2  :  6        Debrecen (HUN)
Fylkir (ISL)               3  :  1        Cork City (IRL)
Grevenmacher (LUX)         2  :  5        Teplice (CZE)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)    3  :  4        Publikum (SVN)
Marek (BUL)                0  :  4        Spartak Moscow (RUS)
NSI (FRO)                  4  :  4     a  Ballymena United (NIR)
Odra Wodzislaw (POL)       4  :  5        Zlin (CZE)
Saint Julià (AND)          2  :  3        AA Gent (BEL)
Slaven Belupo (CRO)        5  :  4        Trnava (SVK)
Sloboda (BOS)              5  :  1        Atlantas (LTU)
Smederevo (SER)  a         5  :  5        Dubnica (SVK)
Sopron (HUN)               3  :  4        Vardar (MAC)
Teuta (ALB)                4  :  2        Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
Trans (EST)                2  :  3        Thun (SUI)
Vetra (LTU)                4  :  2        Gloria (ROM)
Achna (CYP)                5  :  2        Hibernians (MLT)
Dinaburg (LVA)             3  :  4        Vilaznia (ALB)
Esbjerg fB (DEN)           2  :  3        Bregenz (AUT)
OB (DEN)                   5  :  2        MOIK (AZE)
Aberystwyth (WAL)          2  :  4        Tampere United (FIN)
MyPa (FIN)                 2  :  4        Malmö FF (SWE)
a- won on away goals

The results are in, but as it turns out there were few surprises, despite many favorites entering the second leg with uphill climbs. In fact, the only serious upset was in Belarus, where not only did Dinamo Minsk fail to win at home, they didn't even score a draw in losing 2-0 against little Teuta from Albania. One of Belarus's better clubs went out with a whimper, falling 4-2 on aggregate. The only other mild upsets were Macedonia's Vardar edging out Hungarian club Sopron, 4-3, and Lithuanian club Vetra beating bigger Romanian side Gloria, 4-2.

Many teams overcame losses and draws in the first leg to pull through. Chief on the list was Swiss club Thun, which dropped a 2-0 decision on the road to Estonia's Trans, only to turn around and beat the smaller club 3-0 at home to win 3-2 overall. Teplice of the Czech Republic won 3-0 at home to avoid what could have been a huge upset from Luxembourg's Grevenmacher, winning 5-2 overall. Denmark's OB did even better, matching Teplice's score, but dropped their 3-0 goal win on MOIK on the Azerbaijani club's home ground. Tampere United of Finland played better at home to beat Welsh squad Aberystwyth 4-2 overall.

Only two matches went to tiebreakers, with Serbian squad Smederevo defeating Slovakian club Dubnica, 5-5, and Northern Irish squad Ballymena United over Faroe Islands' club NSI, 4-4, both winning by virtue of scoring more away goals.

The premier matchups remained tight to the end. Iceland's Fylkir continued to be too tough for Cork City, beating them 3-1 overall. Czech club Zlin did indeed use its home pitch advantage to score a close 2-1 win at home over Pland's Odra Wodzislaw to give them the overall 5-4 win. Similarly, Bregenz in Austria also played well at home to overcome a one-goal deficit to Danish club Esbjerg fB and win 3-2 on aggregate. Malmö FF held serve at home, beating fellow Scandinavian club MyPa, 3-1, in Sweden, and 4-2 overall.

The second round begins almost immediately, played out in early July--along with 11 new and higher level clubs.

CR