Season 29 Week 22 processing...

Spain

Barcelona 64 +59 Robert Wilson Champions Invincibles
Real Madrid 53 +38
Zaragoza 43 +19

Barcelona have been rebuilding all season and still managed to dominate in the league remaining unbeaten all season where the goalless draw in Sevilla was the closest they came to tasting defeat. But losing twice to Real Madrid in both the Cup and the Europa Cup must have stung and it'll be interesting to see what the Champions get upto in the close season.

Easternmed Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Arabia

Galatasaray 57 +44 Mal Davies Stuttgart Feeder Champions
Zamalek 52 +23 unmanaged
Besiktas 47 +23

Adie Johnson was the King of Turkey winning the first six titles with Galatasaray back in the day to go along with five Cup wins but Mal is getting pretty close to equalling that record with his fourth title success and five Cup wins.

MLS America, Canada, Jamaica and Antigua

Cosmos 56 +49 Brandon Eaton Champions
Chicago 55 +29
Harrisburg 52 +28

Well in the end it was a very close run thing with defeats at Harrisburg and Chicago and a draw at Tampa giving hope to the chasing sides that Cosmos could be caught, but a superbly managed runin which saw them go the last six games without conceding a goal whilst scoring twenty three was enough to crown them Champions for the fifth time under Brandon's control. When you add in five runners-up finishes and five Cup wins it's been an impressive reign by the American which looks set to continue into next season.

Yugoslavia Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia and Macedonia

Red Star 57 +39 Bobby Greenacre Champions
Dragovol 56 +41
Zagreb 48 +37

That makes it three titles on the bounce and two of the last three cups for Bobby but it was mighty close this time round with the resurgence of Dragovol and Zagreb from Croatia it should be very interesting next season.

That's it for the roundup now for the transfers...

Thanks for another great season Paul 

Who’s this Ben Wilson guy? Sounds like a Mike Ashley level appointment.

Quite a few deals all of which I will leave for you to look at on the TP special action list as there are too many to list here today and not enough time, coaching next...

Paul Hemmings wrote:

England Premier

Watford 51 +35 Phil Green Champions
Charlton 47 +15
Man City 39 +23
Aston Villa 30 +1
Arsenal 30 -1
Newcastle 30 -4

Three trophies this season for Watford League, Champions Cup and League Cup makes Phil the manager of the season, congratulations on that Phil it was well deserved.

Down go Fulham who made a valiant effort lifting themselves off the bottom but to no avail, Birmingham and Man United, whilst Spurs and Chelsea gain automatic promotion, which wont make next season any easier for anybody.

This may be controversial and I certainly don't mean any offence by it, but were these trophies not expected with the Watford squad Phil inherited?  While it is an amazing achievement to win what Phil has won this year and I certainly am more than jealous of his achievements, I'm not sure he would be my manager of the season.  I liken it to City and Pep in real life, I don't think Pep would get it for winning the league as it is generally expected he will do it.  Manager of the season goes to someone who has really performed above and beyond their expectations?

Personally, I would give it Mark.  From getting promoted via the playoffs last season to sitting in 4th place in the Premier League in week 21 is a phenomenal achievement.
If it wasn't for my late winner this week, Newcastle would have finished 4th just below the mega powers, Watford, City and Charlton, in the most competitive and most difficult league in the game.  Dave has actually finished 4th and hats off to him too.

Might be just me I guess but I view what Phil has done at Botafogo and Genk as much better achievements in such a short space of time.  Winning the titles with them will be impressive.

I think all 3 have done brilliantly tbh.

Yes Phil has an exceptional squad but you need to balance things and keep them all happy, balancing getting great sides out in the CL and League and most importantly winning. I won the league last year and nearly got relegated - I could have done with Phil’s balance here. Anyone who wins the league in England deserves my respect here.

Hats off to everyone who won something this season or exceeded expectations and again thanks to paul for another year of Cf!

Tom@Charlton wrote:

Paul Hemmings wrote:

England Premier

Watford 51 +35 Phil Green Champions
Charlton 47 +15
Man City 39 +23
Aston Villa 30 +1
Arsenal 30 -1
Newcastle 30 -4

Three trophies this season for Watford League, Champions Cup and League Cup makes Phil the manager of the season, congratulations on that Phil it was well deserved.

Down go Fulham who made a valiant effort lifting themselves off the bottom but to no avail, Birmingham and Man United, whilst Spurs and Chelsea gain automatic promotion, which wont make next season any easier for anybody.

This may be controversial and I certainly don't mean any offence by it, but were these trophies not expected with the Watford squad Phil inherited?  While it is an amazing achievement to win what Phil has won this year and I certainly am more than jealous of his achievements, I'm not sure he would be my manager of the season.  I liken it to City and Pep in real life, I don't think Pep would get it for winning the league as it is generally expected he will do it.  Manager of the season goes to someone who has really performed above and beyond their expectations?

Personally, I would give it Mark.  From getting promoted via the playoffs last season to sitting in 4th place in the Premier League in week 21 is a phenomenal achievement.
If it wasn't for my late winner this week, Newcastle would have finished 4th just below the mega powers, Watford, City and Charlton, in the most competitive and most difficult league in the game.  Dave has actually finished 4th and hats off to him too.

Might be just me I guess but I view what Phil has done at Botafogo and Genk as much better achievements in such a short space of time.  Winning the titles with them will be impressive.

While I might agree the expectations for my squad and self are set high and anything less would of been a disappointment for myself. 

However, as Ben mentioned is not just a simple as case of having the best squad. It's about the management of the squad and ensuring the rotations are done to ensure all players are kept happy and dont disrupt while being competitive. 

On the transfer side, I identified a couple of key areas that were lacking in the squad I inherited such as Benjamin Mendy, Jorginho. Managed the rotation of Kompany who at 33 is struggling to maintain the rigors of Premier League football. 

I'm not self proclaiming I should be Manager of the Season, and I thank Paul giving me the accolade this season.

I also acknowledge the great achievement of managers who have done well in there respective leagues.

Tom@Charlton wrote:

  I liken it to City and Pep in real life, I don't think Pep would get it for winning the league as it is generally expected he will do it.  Manager of the season goes to someone who has really performed above and beyond their expectations?

I have to disagree with you Tom because traditionally in England Manager of the Season goes to a manager who has done best in England, like Alex Ferguson who won it 11 times if memory serves, without really doing a great deal in Europe, so I think Pep certainly deserved it this year for what was achieved in the English game under his guidance.

But it is all about opinions and everybody's opinion is more than welcome here...

Finances now...

Paul Hemmings wrote:

But it is all about opinions and everybody's opinion is more than welcome here...

Absolutely all about opinions.
I'd give it to Phil too. If he hadn't have won the CL, then I'd have plumped for someone else - but PL and CL are both tough, and he's deserving of the accolade.

This is slightly interesting, it shows the club coefficient over the last six premier league seasons, irrespective of manager for the teams currently in the Premiership.

Watford 10+9+12+11+9+12=63
Charlton 11+8+11+10+10+11=60
Man City 10+11+12+8+12+8=61
Aston Villa 9+8=17
Arsenal 9+3+8=20
Newcastle 7+2+1=10
Liverpool 3+5+5+6=19
Palace 4
Plymouth 11+7+7+12+5=42
Fulham 7+6+10+6+7+3=39
Birmingham 9+10+5+4+4+2=34
Man United 5+1+6+1=13

If this decided which manager won most improved Premiership team it would have to go to Mark Sanderson at Newcastle for sure.

Paul Hemmings wrote:

Tom@Charlton wrote:

  I liken it to City and Pep in real life, I don't think Pep would get it for winning the league as it is generally expected he will do it.  Manager of the season goes to someone who has really performed above and beyond their expectations?

I have to disagree with you Tom because traditionally in England Manager of the Season goes to a manager who has done best in England, like Alex Ferguson who won it 11 times if memory serves, without really doing a great deal in Europe, so I think Pep certainly deserved it this year for what was achieved in the English game under his guidance.

Sorry I didn’t actually realise Pep was awarded it this year! After checking, the real life award does tend to go to the league winner you are right. Don’t get me wrong, winning the league is a fantastic achievement and the award is more than deserved for Pep and Phil alike, I more than most should realise how difficult it is to win, I’ve been trying long enough.
Like Andy says, winning both is brilliant and a lot of work would have gone into it, don’t want to undermine that at all. 

Like Paul says, it’s all about opinions and my personal one is that it should go to a manager who has achieved above and beyond expectations. For example, I wouldn’t have given it to Pep or Jurgen (even though I love the man) this year, more likely someone like Chris Hughton, Rafa Benitez or probably Nuno Espirito.  Ironically Hughton and Benitez are both out of a job now, so shows what I know! 

General consensus seems to be Phil so congrats to him on a fantastic season and it is well deserved. Well done mate.

Paul Hemmings wrote:

This is slightly interesting, it shows the club coefficient over the last six premier league seasons, irrespective of manager for the teams currently in the Premiership.

Watford 10+9+12+11+9+12=63
Charlton 11+8+11+10+10+11=60
Man City 10+11+12+8+12+8=61
Aston Villa 9+8=17
Arsenal 9+3+8=20
Newcastle 7+2+1=10
Liverpool 3+5+5+6=19
Palace 4
Plymouth 11+7+7+12+5=42
Fulham 7+6+10+6+7+3=39
Birmingham 9+10+5+4+4+2=34
Man United 5+1+6+1=13

If this decided which manager won most improved Premiership team it would have to go to Mark Sanderson at Newcastle for sure.

Love seeing stuff like this, fascinates me!

Phil@Watford wrote:

Tom@Charlton wrote:

Paul Hemmings wrote:

England Premier

Watford 51 +35 Phil Green Champions
Charlton 47 +15
Man City 39 +23
Aston Villa 30 +1
Arsenal 30 -1
Newcastle 30 -4

Three trophies this season for Watford League, Champions Cup and League Cup makes Phil the manager of the season, congratulations on that Phil it was well deserved.

Down go Fulham who made a valiant effort lifting themselves off the bottom but to no avail, Birmingham and Man United, whilst Spurs and Chelsea gain automatic promotion, which wont make next season any easier for anybody.

This may be controversial and I certainly don't mean any offence by it, but were these trophies not expected with the Watford squad Phil inherited?  While it is an amazing achievement to win what Phil has won this year and I certainly am more than jealous of his achievements, I'm not sure he would be my manager of the season.  I liken it to City and Pep in real life, I don't think Pep would get it for winning the league as it is generally expected he will do it.  Manager of the season goes to someone who has really performed above and beyond their expectations?

Personally, I would give it Mark.  From getting promoted via the playoffs last season to sitting in 4th place in the Premier League in week 21 is a phenomenal achievement.
If it wasn't for my late winner this week, Newcastle would have finished 4th just below the mega powers, Watford, City and Charlton, in the most competitive and most difficult league in the game.  Dave has actually finished 4th and hats off to him too.

Might be just me I guess but I view what Phil has done at Botafogo and Genk as much better achievements in such a short space of time.  Winning the titles with them will be impressive.

While I might agree the expectations for my squad and self are set high and anything less would of been a disappointment for myself. 

However, as Ben mentioned is not just a simple as case of having the best squad. It's about the management of the squad and ensuring the rotations are done to ensure all players are kept happy and dont disrupt while being competitive. 

On the transfer side, I identified a couple of key areas that were lacking in the squad I inherited such as Benjamin Mendy, Jorginho. Managed the rotation of Kompany who at 33 is struggling to maintain the rigors of Premier League football. 

I'm not self proclaiming I should be Manager of the Season, and I thank Paul giving me the accolade this season.

I also acknowledge the great achievement of managers who have done well in there respective leagues.

You have been a brilliant manager this season mate, well deserved. Hope I didn’t offend you, it wasn’t meant in a negative way. Just a personal opinion of the award.

No offence take at all Tom, healthy to have an opinion. Leads to good discussions and always good to be involved in the forum.

Ben@Plymouth wrote:

Hats off to everyone who won something this season or exceeded expectations and again thanks to paul for another year of Cf!

Echo, thanks paul for a great season. Still fascinating and always learning about the game each season. Looking forward to another thrilling season.

Tom@Charlton wrote:

Paul Hemmings wrote:

This is slightly interesting, it shows the club coefficient over the last six premier league seasons, irrespective of manager for the teams currently in the Premiership.

Watford 10+9+12+11+9+12=63
Charlton 11+8+11+10+10+11=60
Man City 10+11+12+8+12+8=61
Aston Villa 9+8=17
Arsenal 9+3+8=20
Newcastle 7+2+1=10
Liverpool 3+5+5+6=19
Palace 4
Plymouth 11+7+7+12+5=42
Fulham 7+6+10+6+7+3=39
Birmingham 9+10+5+4+4+2=34
Man United 5+1+6+1=13

If this decided which manager won most improved Premiership team it would have to go to Mark Sanderson at Newcastle for sure.

Love seeing stuff like this, fascinates me!

I have no idea what all those figures mean!

Andy@Schalke wrote:

I have no idea what all those figures mean!

Schalke's Coefficient is 71 ! ( highest possible is 72 )...

Think it is related to league positions over the last six seasons? 12 points for a league win, 11 for second etc

Is that right? 

Would mean Schalke have won 5 out of the last 6 titles, finishing second in the odd one? 

Impressive, especially as there was a Champions League in there too?