dan-likes-trees

Russian Revolution 0 - 3 DuD’s Baggies Perhaps the most tactically interesting of the games today, this match saw two opposing styles of football clash. Russian Rev set out to dominate possession, yet despite their 57% of the ball, the Baggies defence proved impenetrable, only allowing 2 shots. The disallowed goal in the 76th minute proved the decisive moment, Russian Rev subsequently losing heart and shipping two goals in the last ten minutes. Fullback S Bould should also be applauded, hurricaning down the wing and providing two assists from the flanks, proving complimentary to Shearer’s heading abilities. Rarely do DuD excel in all areas of the pitch, and today it was the midfield that was sacrificed as the central three were overwhelmed in the middle, quickly moving the ball further up the pitch. Bewilderingly, defender Unnarsson played as an attacker today, perhaps to make best use of his heading abilities. Whilst with his all round play he looked a little lost, he set up a goal for Izon - this was another unpredictable move from a manager who’s tactics are always surprising and never easy to read. For Russian Rev this admirable performance was merely a strong bonus for fans, given it has been a season about building for the future, and they can be proud of their effort here. Coloccini FC 1 - 3 Intergalactico Stars If this round could be defined by plucky performances from the lowers leagues overcome by stronger clubs this was the quintessential last-16 game. After an hour had passed Coloccini’s fans couldn’t help themselves from daring to dream. In many ways Coloccini were unlucky that a injury to youngster Figo meant that Zorro had to come on for Inter, bulking up their midfield - his all-round play was impeccable. Coloccini were unlucky here, having had almost equal shots on goal, but in terms of style the best team came out on top. Returning to 4-4-2, perhaps for the sake of DVs, Inter nonetheless dominated midfield, and ultimately had more fuel in the tank in the dieing minutes, as they ruthlessly pounced upon Colo, who first gave away a sloppy free kick and then were taken by surprises two minutes later with a howitzer from Grey. Inter look strong across the pitch - but this match shows fallibility - on another day Coloccini could have ground out a draw or better. Kippen 1 - 3 Yellow Sub In his post match press conference Charlie praised his players for a ‘valiant effort’, and the board will be pleased to have registered on the scoreboard and avoid a drubbing. Maceller again took his goal well, surely only a season away from being a top talent. Bedford meanwhile again solidfied the back line, whilst Charlie smartly allowed his youths to garner some last drops of Dv from the season, fielding a young selection. Yet this match was all about a supurb attacking masterclass from Zell, who took no chances with a first eleven that showed strength and intelligence going forward. Delipiano, bought five seasons ago as a 24-9, has proved to be the the kind of thoughtful acquisition that has fast-tracked this club to the top. Now a 29-12, he ran the game, captaining the team with a brace and an assist, and finishing the match with 17 skill. The way that these attacking players link up is near-terrifying, a host of potential playmakers that today ratchet up huge individual player ratings. This writer was not convinced of the Sub’s chances in the early stages of the league, but with this their 6th win on the trot, it is clear that in each game they are improving. A defence rating today of 10, however, will be exposed by stronger teams. Haden’s Legends 2 - 1 Dragooooo With a heavy heart this writers pens his final match report on Dragooooo - a team that have risen from the lower leagues alongside the new era of teams that have included Haden and Winston. After ten seasons of steady improvement and growth Dragooooo fought their last battle. The game itself was perhaps more one-sided than most have expected, Haden nailing every tactical battle and orchestrating perfect counter attacking football, taking advantage of a high line of pressing that left Ryding and Ravelli horribly exposed on the break for Dragooooo. Club legends Iacopino was silenced, and whilst Wielink performed well in his final game, was not able to pull out a final deadly rocket from outside the penalty area. For Haden the Mallet proved again to be the coach’s strongest tool, continuing an exceptional season, particularly for a player of only ten skill. His electric pace represented the kind of counter-attacking football that Haden will be relying on in the remaining knockout stages against teams that will dominate possession. At the end of the game both sets of fans cranked up the decibels as raucous applause accompanied the exit from the the dugout of one of the game’s great managers for the final time. @Ellmeister @Haden @Nikos9 @DuD @Fierce_LiNk @Zell @MilaGi @Charlie

@Nikos9 - Dont forget about me on your inter-views! My season will be over before I get the chance! Peepsy - dont forget about that Clownferret chap - saw him post in another thread about Champ Manager so I'm sure he'll fit right in. Not quite finished mine after all so mine wont be up till thursday, but ive got the Kippen, Colo, Russian Rev and Haden / dragoo games as my four if thats cool - left you a couple of good'uns.

Heroic goal by Elroy. Like Becks he'd had about 4 free kicks through the game that he'd duffed up and finally nailed one in at the end of the game. Sure to be an even tougher game on friday and I've got some war wounds so I think this might be my last. Leaves only one team bro. And may I remind you of the result Rangers played them? Horrific last Eight for us udnerdogs though. Was hoping for an upset or two. How epic was Famila's effort??? Reports: Lets split the match reports 4 - 4 yeah? I've got the day off so might do mine this afternoon - you pick the four you'd like to do. (Unless youve already started them all)

Yeah sounds good. Or we could do it so one of us does writeups the other does previews of the coming games? I wouldn't mind doing previews for the friday games if you we went for that option. Or if the former - you can pick the four you fancy writing up and I'll do the rest Psyched for tomorrow. Peepsy looks stronger than I thought for their group. Winston will be ready.

A review of the group stages - Mushroom and Special leagues Flower League As a result of the strong performance of 5th placed Atletico Aqui1la, the points tally for flower league’s top four was lower than in any other league. It took a long time for the running order to be decided, whilst the qualification spots went right down to the wire. Anything less than a spot in the final will be unacceptable. 1- Intergalactico Stars - Inter aim for the stars with perfect finish In an early report I asked ‘ Why are inter not cleaning up?’. Since then they have taken 27 points out of a possible 27 and conceded two goals. Papadopoulos has been the star performer of a team with considerable depth. Not once in the past five games has a team had more than three chances on goal. Monday’s win against Elites threw up some daunting stats - 14/15/15 ratings. After two frankly disappointing Elite league campaigns this is a team with a point to prove. With form averaging 16 Coloccini will need a gargantuan performance to scrape through. 2 - AC Elites pipped by Inter to marr otherwise Elite season If their opening game of this season was one of caution and evenly matched tactics, Monday’s game saw Inter try out a packed midfield where Elites have stuck to their guns. Gary Lineker tweeted during the match that ‘Ell’s Dinosaur tactics and his stone age 442 will be the death of Elites’. Inter ran away with the match - though to score three was perhaps lucky. An away win here would have taken Elites top of the table going into the knockouts to secure an easier path to the quarters. In the past two games AC have created only two chances - a poor end to an otherwise impressive knockout campaign. Zell and Bodin have formed a brilliant partnership up top - the latter will want to take this team as far as he can - at 33 he will want to get his hands on silverware - if he can keep up his form, 12 goals from 9 games, he will be a danger to the strongest of defences. The manager will be unhappy with a trickier draw than he would like - beating Federer is no easy feat, as too many gram slam hopefuls have found over the years. 3 - Leeds MOT - Final day big winners as Woodlands is MOT MotM Mushroom League’s big winners on the final day of the season, winning a tight game by the majestic Pispek’s penalty, one of only two chances for the team. The ‘twighlight trio’ of Jarvie, Howson, and Pispek have carried the team this season, all players for whom this might be a final shot at glory. Goals have been no problem, a tally of 31 being only one less than Inter’s 32. Their defence, however, is bafflingly bad for a team with such quality - this has been pounced upon by superior teams in Inter and AC - one would not place much faith on further progression in the knockouts, and fans will no doubt make noise at the board for failing to invest in such an important and obviously lacking area of the pitch. Silverdale are fallable, but a win here looks unlikely. 4 - Kippen - No Kip for Kippen in final push Kippen have done well to achieve qualification with a relatively mediocre set of players. However their promotion should not be taken lightly, as two wins over AC Elites and an away draw away at Inter show that this manager is capable of surprises. Against strong teams the preferred formation is a cautious 4-5-1, with MacEllar the target man up front - he will need to continue his strong season if Kippen are to progress any further. The reward for such an impressive few weeks is a tough game against Yellow Sub - Charlie will need to pull out another tactical masterclass to progress here. 5 - Atletico Aqui1la After a strong start, Aquil1a fell away right when it mattered. Ultimately it was the head to heads with Leeds that cost them a qualification place - unlucky not to secure a point from the thrilling final day cclash with Leeds MOT. One would hope that this has been a good season for DVs - Rafalski, Kuchta and den Turk represent a strong future for this ever improving team, for whom the cup has come perhaps a season or two too early.* *Since the time of writing it has become apparent that the manager has packed in the game. The fans will be hugely disapointed given the quality of youth coming through. Special League Eights wasted no time powering through to the top of the league, as it quickly became apparent that they would not be topped. The battle for second raged throughout the season with Familia and Rossers providing bumps along the road, but Winston scraped through on top. Whilst for a long time Familia looked nailed on for fourth they faced a last minute scare from Rosser's Rovers, who ultimately were let down by a poor first few games. 1 - Eights - Eights top the seven without a hitch The series’s evil overlords have had another unmatched, even indominatable campaign this season. They have scored 41 and won all but one game, only proving remotely fallable with an away draw at Winston. These results have reportedly produced some fine DVs, meaning the knockouts will be free for the first eleven to run rampant. The team continues to leak goals, but through sheer power they have as of yet to never fail to register on the scoreboard. Granas has so far been the player of the tournament, a midfielder with an astonishing 22 G&A’s - his presence alongside Emil Beck means tightly marking one will leave the other too much space to roam and run the game. There is little depth here, but Eights goes into the knockouts with a fresh team of players, Seljevord aside. Tales will be rightly expecting to add to the trophy room - but over one leg anything can happen. Will be happy their knockout campaign has lead to an easy draw at Familia. 2 - Winston - Lions begin to roar at the end of the season Leaving aside a narrow away defeat to Eights, Winston have enjoyed a strong back half of the season, narrowly knocking out Rossers to steer the team to second place. In a draw away to Eights and a win against Haden they have done about all that could be expected of them recently. Ingham and Goodison upfront are a daunting prospect for any back line. There has been a good spread of goals across the squad - and even in points dropped the team has performed admirably. However much like the manager’s beloved Spurs, one would feel that the players in the squad remain a level below those of Eights or Inter, and are not quite yet ready to make it to the summit. The forthcoming match against Lylats, who had played in the league above them in the past two seasons, is a tougher proposition than the manager would have liked. 3 - Haden - Solid foundations as rangers show range Like Winston one would feel that this team is one of talent and under the command of a versatile manager, but whose players are right now a level below that required to finish top. More worringly for the manager Mullholand’s suspension and Mossley’s injury mean that there is a midield crisis for the Tuesday game. Mallett has hammered in over half of the squad’s goals and this season, but star talent Condon will need to step up a gear - the twentyfive year old has failed to hit top form, with only three assists to his name so far in the compeition. The team have averaged only a goal a game so far in the competition, but with Palmer and Zabel lending stability and experience at the back they are capable of tight wins against superior clubs. The match against Dragoo if perhaps the pick of the bunch on Tuesday. 4 - Familia The mid-season double header against Rosser’s Rovers effectively secured the 4th spot - necessary given the final fun of games - an expected series of three loses against Haden, Winston and then Eights. The manager can thanks Tommy Gibbs, an intelligent old hand who solidifies and organises the back line, making the xpert 7 times this season. If Roy Hodgson hasn’t already booked his seat to Brazil in the summer then the conspiracies about players from lower clubs failing to make it into international manager’s thoughts will be proved true. Familia are the only team to qualify for the knockouts with negative goal difference - they will need a miracle to overcome Eights - though the two games they have played this season have been tight, encouraging for manager Chris. 5 - Rosser’s Rovers - New boy on the block threatens Familia scenes A team that started the season under everybody’s radar, Rossers announced themselves as a future top team with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Haden which shocked fans all over, and the highlight of an impressive debut season for Oleg Fedosov. The manager will point to the early dropped points against Lords of Hydra as the explanation for this early knockout. There is talent in the squad and talent at the helm - the surprise package of Special league, who have been a facourite amongst neutrals and pundits alike. --- --- Whew! Wrote most of that before the knockouts were announced (and before Haden's post hence just doing mushroom and Special - my apologies to the other two leagues! @Peeps - haven't played you for ages, but our head to head record is pretty similar - I think you've won a couple more so it could go either way for sure. Poor effort by Aquil1a. Toys well and truely thrown out of the pram. And I'd just learnt to spell his team name right! Some great games on the cards already. Haden Dragoo is my pick - sure to be a great match (or a nil-nil draw knowing Haden) kind of wish I'd have gotten 3rd @Haden, would have liked to finish off Dragoo myself!

Yeeeaaahhh, outmuscled!! Made up for you knocking me out the pre-season cup a little there. Still got a toughie against Rossers in my final game to secure second. Yess Dazzy! Show Sherwood how it's done. We're in the middle of a cup at the moment so the league will start in two / three weeks. There are two weekly games that you need to set your tactics before - then you kind of watch it playout. Things to consider.. - It's all about the long game, development of the squad. You'll start with a ragtag bunch of players and you'll need to develop them but playing the youngsters until they're a team of Bales and Eriksons. Each season you get a report about how much each player has improved (or gotten worse) - There are three tiers to the series (or four if we go 7-7-7-7 system, which incidentally I'd opt for, Peepsy) and you'll start in lower league - you'll need to work your way up the leagues - Big time success if a real long haul project! You might top the lower and middle league fairly quickly but to challenge the likes of Eights (Tales' team) at the very top you'll need to work on the squad for months.

What a stat!! The fortress that is Winston. Come at me!! 5 Talking points from Star and Flower leagues 1 - Top spot up for grabs as Federer demolishes Dragoooo Federer’s team were ruthlessly incisive in their finishing today, and by doubling up on Dragooo star Ernesto Iacopino Dragoo looked devoid of creativity and ideas. It has been an astounding and high scoring campaign for this relatively new team, following on from draws at Yellow Sub earlier in the season. This game was a warning for anyone who might encounter them in the knockouts. David Foster Wallace once described my forehand as a 'great liquid whip'. I think this quote is relevant today, as the Crew well and truly - to use the English colloqualism - 'whipped' their opponents! Just like I whipped the competition at Indian Wells last week! But we must also bear in mind Wallace's other famous saying, which, today, is perhaps even more prescient - 'it is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive as a DRAGOOOOO fan, day in day out'. - Federer in his post-match press conference At the other end of the dugout, Fierce Link seemed to seeth throughout, and was rumored to be furious in the dressing room, berating his team’s lack of character as the floodgates opened after the second goal. He will want a strong finish to a solid managerial career, but his team has largely struggled in the big matches this season. Iacopino is the beating heart of this team and when he his silenced his team is too - the manager needs a plan B. 2 - DuD’s begin to express themselves as top spot is assured With top spot virtually guaranteed given their two final fixtures, it is as if the team have been liberated to play the kind of football they are capable of. Flower league was a tough league to guarantee top spot in and earlier in the season DuD showed caution with 5 at the back. DuDs has shown his side’s capabilities going forward in recent games, scoring 12 in the past two games under a 4-5-1 and 3-5-2, Szymanek pulling the string in Friday's 8-0 over Bob. This is a manager who plays pragmatic football and gets results - perhaps DuD is the true Mourinho of this league - his tactics vary hugely week to week, and recent routs recall the 6 - 0 demolition of Arsenal by Chelsea this weekend. They will be feared in the knockouts. 3 - Another bizarre week at Madpool as manager pushes youth. The 2 - 0 victory on Monday against a competitive Russian side had fans of the club thinking the knockout stages were still on the cards - only for no tactics to be set to gift 64’ers their first win of the season. Given that this is now clearly a club focused on development from the very youngest of youth academy projects, this will not come as too much of a shock to the fans. The policy itself, however, is questionable. One would suspect that this week’s two 17 year old recruits have been promoted to the first team with the intention of being sold in the summer - with two games remaining this season it is highly unlikely the necessary dv levels could be attained by these young talents. Tyack will surely sell for millions given his free kicking and goal scoring tendencies,* but Maddog is historically not a player to spend money, so what would be the purpose? Maddog will be disappointed that these two players were not brought to his attention at the start of this season. Meanwhile some have suggested that the manager is looking for silverware from the ‘Europa League’ alternative cup rather than the upper knockouts. * Since the time of writing, Tyack has sold for a mazzive 4.2 million econ 4 - Coloccini barely lift a finger with an easy route to the knockouts The 6 - 0 victory for Coloccini against a disastrous Sheffield Blades was emblematic of Coloccini’s qualification into the top 4 this season. Quila and Stockley were wonderful to watch as they took apart an abject Sheffield defence with some lightful one-twos. Yet this is a team who have qualified by beating off the teams that by all rights they should have been beating, rarely making a dent in any of the high placed teams in their group - aside from an impressive 2 -1 win against Silverdale. Qualification has been secured through two solid wins against Fedex, but tougher opponents await them. Ivan Aaslicher and Dogaru will both have benefitted hugely from extended runs in the first time this season, and you feel Rockenrole, Costa, and Mallow are only a couple of seasons from being top tier players. For now, though, Coloccini will be one of the names rival managers will be hoping to draw in the knockouts. 5 - Back to the drawing board for Bob after a disappointing season. Always a favourite amongst the neutrals, this has been a poor couple of months for Bob’s boys. Some attacking talent remains, but given the 47 goals the team has shipped this season, fans will be keen for the manager to look at a revamp of him squad after this season comes to a close. There is the backbone of a quality team but even more so than Maddog there is too much youth here, none getting enough games for apt development - a much tighter focus is needed. A new, talented defender will be top of fans shopping list come the end of the season - Bob can and surely will rise again

Well I think this is a double bluff to make sure I don't tightly mark him!! I'll do Flower and Star leagues this week then if that's cool. And nah - we don't, sorry Me and Fed used to run a private league with a few friends but noone else really got into it - aside from Fed's brother and Rosser (of Rosser's Rovers fame) who were in NE league for a couple seasons each. Wont be able to make any more recruits I dont think - I'll check with RF though.

Quality games all over the shop today, great play by roger and well done to @Haden for almost sneaking one away at eights! Bit of a better performance than your narrow 3-2 home with over Hydra on monday anyway.. hoping your performance on monday is more along the lines of that game! Bring it on! Even Rossers could sneak 4th spot in our group if he can get a surprise results against me or Eights. Haden - which two leagues would you like me to cover on the reports this week? Meaty stuff to write about! Haha I think it was I tried to do some mind games but you read them to a tee. Lets just say Winston will not be fearful of the 'Legends' on Tuesday.

Well considering last season we drew at home to West Brom and drew both Norwich fixtures (one of which I went to, and was emblematic of the tedious kind of game we played week in week out under AVB - aside from the standard Bale slice of beauty), I'm not so sure we would have. There are always results you can point to as why we don't get champions league - this year is no different -Last year I'd put it down to losing at home to Fulham - almost to this day last year. Don't buy the whole bullshit about Sherwood being massively inferior to AVB. Do you remember how boring our play was at the start of this year? Tedious play, poor results. Talk about a negative spiral after the City & Liverpool games. Would be grinding out draws if it weren't for Ade being back in the squad. Not that I think Sherwood's doing a particularly good job, though to be honest he's had some good games and were it not for his insistence on playing his youth academy players (If I see Harry Kane in one more big fixture I'll tune out) I'd be happy enough with him until the summer. Fair play to the man for chopping and changing every week if the nature of your job means that you've got absolutely no time to work on a project / set formation. Hope we somehow grind out a win with some wacky Sherwoodian tactics today, a great glimmer in this river of shit of a season, Friday Night Lights Season 4 style. A Game of Thrones Red Wedding style bloody bath more likely though. Incidentally I hope we don't finish too low down in the league, not sure Van Gaal would be too keen on taking a team who are too obviously dire... COYS

As one of my big rivals from my first season - you'll be hugely missed. Hope Dragoooo go out with a bang!

Wouldn't say that, have you seen your friday fixture? Practically 3 points in the bag! Bit worried for my buddy Federer after the games today. PS @Haden I've got a mega busy few days + weekend coming up so do you fancy taking a week off reports? Unless anyone wants to cover for me. Also - just sold my 17-4 youth for 5 mill. Cashback.

Haden - Was wondering on this note - does playing an all rounder in a different position give a knock to their form? I think it has when Ive done it in the past, so havent risked it since. Would be interested tt hear if yours have. Good interview as always Nikos - looking forward to mine! 1 - Dragooooo capitalise on the top of table double-header Despite rumors of tension in the changing room following F’Links comments to the press about taking early retirement the past two seasons, the troops have been well and truely rallied and capitalising on the Zell-Fed stalemates the team have gone four clear at the top of the league. Iacopino is the team’s standout player, and has excelled the past two games, but what is more exciteing for the fans is the sheer quality of the youth just on the edge of their prime - 5 youths can be seen ahead of the skill curve for their age, already appearing more than capable of the first team, YA product Van Djik being the most exciting of these talents. The front line might be lacking - reflected by a goals scored total which is a few less than their rivals, but this is an exciting time for a team who have been long in development. We all hope the manager will stick it out long enough to see his work complete and flourish. A big ask, but a win on Tuesday away at Zell would make it look unlikely that anyone could topple them off Star league’s top spot. 2 - Great games for the neutral as Federer and Zell finish their match at 3 - 3 I'm not sure how I didn't win this one. - Zell I suspect playing most of the game with 2 defenders had something to do with it. - Roger Neither team took game set and match in the pick of the cup’s double headers but we saw two great contests here. Where Zell’s home leg was a tense affair with both teams eager not to let the other clock a victory, Friday’s game was explosive. It looked like Zell would take an easy win as Federer had failed to capitalise on Zell’s back line of three by playing only one forward, but a red card for YS’s Villa kicked the game into life. Weyerrmann was brilliant for Federer, setting up two easy goals for Figni, though none were as good as Ataisik for the Sub, who played some delightful forehands up the flank, setting up two. Yellow sub will be frustrated not to have come away with 3 points, still behind Fed in the league despite having twice as many chances. That Zell risked a 352 here, in such a big game even away from home suggests that this will be his prefered formation come the knockouts. 3 - Identikit formations yield reverse results for DuD and the Salmon DuD’s felt the effects of the home advantage as their visit to Silverdale saw a lineup that had won their home leg 3-0 lose 3-0, and their astonishing clean sheet record in the process. Silverdale, playing like a team with a point to prove, pressed high up the pitch with fluid, aggressive football, Scrimshaw being ruthless up front as he scored a delightful goal and set up two. Theirs is as good a squad as any. This is the first real test DuDs have faced - fans might take this game and worry about how far their manager’s defensive tactics will get their team in the knockouts. 4 - Can Lylat go beyond being merely ‘Solid’? One might draw comparisons between the Wanderers and David Moyes’ Everton. Elite league regulars for the past few seasons, Lylat have produced the odd suprise result and have been solid performers but have failed to break into the top echelon of clubs in the series. Like Dragoo they have taken advantage of rival double headers to sneak into first - this could be the season that Peeps really kicks on. One would suggest that the players coming through are still a couple of seasons away from their prime, but this might be Phelan’s final season - he will not go out without a bang and with Pilgrim he forms half of a formidable midfield duo that will worry any team in the knockouts - as emphasised by the demolition job against Bob last friday. 5 - Game in hand puts pressure on Madpool Star league is perhaps the most all-round exciting of the groups at this stage. Whilst we can discount Cubic and 64ers, there remain 5 teams more than capable of making an impact in the knockouts, should they make it through. Madpool loom 4 points below the drop,but the Dog is lucky that Reggie Hales red card will only rule him out of an easy fixture at home to Cubic - surely a guaranteed 3 points to get back in the running. The other two fixtures in the league tomorrow will be huge - Federer will be in trouble if he allows Russian Rev an away win (having already narrowly won the home fixture), whilst Yellow Sub might be out of the running for top spot if they don’t grab 3 points off Dragooo. The final shape of this group will surely become a little clearer by midweek.

What is up with your youth academy?? How much money are you pumping in? it's one quality player after another. Also managed to get in my first decent youth for a while this late in the season, he's current at 3m bill day one. Useful cash injection Cheers boss - yours great as always. Have slightly stolen your thunder for this week as some of my points were written after tuesday's game! Nice to climb above you, if only due to the game in hand Great work so far this season @Fierce_LiNk - didn't notice how well the Dargoo were doing.

@Haden - I initially (mistakenly) thought I was doing reports for Flower and special - started to write them and left it a day - by which time you posted yours, we picked out the same points for our punditry!

This one looks like your real-life photography snaps! Love the GTA black and white ones too, lots of character This thread's great to look through!

LOVE THIS SHIT Hey at least you're keeping the league nice and spicy with a thrilling race for second on the cards! All eyes on your visit to Winston! Loving the cup, the runnings are so tight in most of the leagues, its great!

To be honest if we go three more points off fourth we're not getting it back - I actually wouldn't mind a good stab at the Europa this year, give Timmy a chance to win something before he inevitably gets the chop next season. No reason we can't win it. Pretty sure most of that is standard Wii-talking-rubbish, but I've got to say the Vertonghen thing was really dodgy. Definite contact / headbutt but nowhere near enough for that reaction. Not happy with it.

Haaha well alright, I've skillfully pixelated the sensitive info. Of course a manager of your talents wouldn't be one to run with the same tactics week in week out anyway, one would imagine? And yeah - fair point I suppose bout the time factor. Ha yeah, comprehensive beating there I cannot deny - but my point at eights mightve been enough to place above you had I not thrown away two points to Familia

Can't believe you keep sneaking by with wins by one goal! Devastated to be 7 points adrift when I've got the lads playing to ratings like these Desperately want some clarification on effects of placing on knockouts - if it's all totally random I'll be letting the young lions in the pride go out and get some experience on the field while they can - if not I'll be snapping at Eights and Haden's heels... Also someone said it's straight knockouts on neutral ground - thought we were doing two legs in the knockouts a la champions league in lived reality?

5 Talking points from Star and Flower leagues 1 -To what degree will a top 2 ensure an easy ride in the first knockout stage? Were positions to stay as they are now, teams from the top two of each group might find themselves up against the likes of Draggoo, Inter, Lylat, Winston or even Silverdale in the first round of knockouts. Given the impact of securing a top two finish on youth development, teams may begin to place less pressure on securing that top-two spot. 2 - Can DuD sustain their three game clean-sheet record? After Eights in the special league, DuD’s Baggies have been the standout performer in the champion’s league so far, albeit with a team that couldn’t be described as top-tier. Impressive performances have seen the team keep three clean sheets in the league thus far - couple this with an impressive away with in a friendly with Yellow Sub last week and we could be looking at a real title contender. However with Coloccini, Lylat and Silverdale coming up, this will be a more testing period for the club. 3 - Federer takes the first set this season The managers of N-Europe by now are familiar with the talents of Roger not only as a 17 time grand slam winning tennis player but as a talented manager. Even with this in mind, given a team that is still in it’s adolescence of development, his results this season have been extremely impressive, compounding his strong start last week with a 4-0 victory over Draggoo, then a solid performance away to Winston. All eyes are on the top of the group double-header against Zell on Friday. 4 - More mad results for the Pool Madpool over the past three seasons have been a team that have never failed to baffle, frustrate, and entertain. With an insistance on offensive tactics and a preference toward playing 3-5-2, the club’s results this season have been emblematic of their problems. Last week saw an incredibly impressive 8 - 0 win to 64’ers (Were we aware such a scoreline to be even possible in this game engine?) yet losses earlier this season to Draggoo and FRC will have disappointed a group of fans used to a legacy of top-three elite league finishes. The club will no doubt secure a top 4 finish and will be a threat to whoever they draw in the knockouts through their sheer unpredictability, but fans should perhaps view this as a transistion period at the club, with Thijssen and Freeman the picks of an impressive youth lineup threatening to break through. 5 - Strong showing from an ever-improving Coloccini team For a team with 12 players under the age of 25 Coloccini’s manager must be generously applauded for his work at the club. Costa, Mallo, Dogaru and Aaslicher represent real strength in the next decade at the club, yet the team is already starting to excell, picking themselves up from a disappointing first game against Lylat to win three on the trot. This is a team saturated with special talents, and given an even spread of strrength throughout the team, they can be a match for any. A sterner test lies ahead later today, in a fixture against DuD’s that Jake Humphrey over at BT Sport has been hyping all week.

Soz buddy been a busy week - just saw your posts - alternate? So I do star and flower? unless youve already started them

1 - Meat and Veg at the top of Mushroom league In an xpert climate dominated by top teams who pack their midfield, it was refreshing to see an old fashioned 442 on 442 slug out between Inter and the Elites. In a good tactical battle both teams cancelled one another out, resulting in frayed post-match words. Both may now lie behind in the race to top the group but the match ratings would suggest we are looking at two of the top candidates to win the championship this season. 2 - Is Haden our N-Europe's Jose? There was more than a touch of Jose in Haden's tactical masterclass against Winston, whilst his continued insistence that his is the underdog in the league recalls the Chelsea manager's comments last week. With a strong young midfield stacked with pace and stamina, a team valued at 113million econ, and a genuinely versatile leader in Grant Conden, Haden's Rangers surely have as strong a chance as any of replicating their cup success in the off-season. 3 - Is the N-Europe champions league the baptism of fire for new teams? Newcomers and former managers are struggling to play competitive football with squads thoroughly ill-equipt to play the likes of former higher and mid-league teams. In Rez and RLTA of Rosser's Rovers we would appear to have two potentially strong managers, yet with players rarely over a 7 skill rating, they are years of development from the top teams. The stats speak for themselves, both teams having failed to register on the scoreboard after two games and with a 7 and 8 goal deficit. 4 - Are the Star League's qualifiying spots already filled? In a group with such a tough top three the smart money might be on the top four staying as it is. Eights Captain Emil Beck said the qualifying was 'svært jævla kjedelig' (which our translator claims to mean 'very boring') and resented having to travel to Dial Square last week and Blenheim Palace on Tuesday. The fourth spot might be considered up for grabs but Dedede's league performance suggests that he has the tactical nouse and the depth to hang on to the last qualifying place. 5 - Does the long off-season tone down the element of surprise and upsets in the early stages of the season? Argument rages between managers about the purpose of a long off-season, debating the excitement of the cup vs the boredom of teams waiting a month to start the next season. Another factor might be the time allowed to managers to train up their teams. The Lion's manager has claimed 'my team is in better form than ever going into this season'. Given that change reports leave teams in a disarray of form that provokes excitement and potential for upsets, future seasons might benefit from a shorter summer - the qualifying stages thus far have been lacking in surprise results.

Haaaha you got me - if I'd seen this post before the match I might've switched again. Completely schooled me there though, every tactic spot on - I've fallen for it before but I love the Conden switch to defence - genius. I'll get you at the home leg - promising you a tougher game at the Lions Den. Writeups plan suits me - I'll do mine at some point this weekend! That DS game looks like it could be great - though it also looks a lot like an Android game I had called I think Pocket League Story Which was actually quite good fun

That could work for me yeah - shall we swap leagues each week? Cos I'd imagine we'd both fancy writing Special League. Spotlight Haden 1 - 2 Winston Midfield ratings 13 - 9