Season 31 Week 9 processing...

Welcome to week 9.

The reset is underway...

No orders from Newcastle...

All orders received safely, thanks guys...

Barcelona


In the league Barcelona host Malaga who, although sitting in 8th, have scored 18 goals so far in 8 games with a very attacking WIN tactic. Barca are at full strength and generally do well at home so hopefully Benzema and Maxi Gomez can give the home fans something to cheer. Elsewhere eyes will be on Betis v Atletico which sees 2 of La Liga's best teams face off. With the teams sitting 2nd and 3rd respectively it'll make for a very interesting game and maybe a draw suiting both at this stage.
The cup sees Barca take on Sevilla who have threats all over the pitch - Adama Traore, Kulusevski, Moutinho pulling the strings ... this is a huge game. And a very different tactic from Barca. Throwing caution to the wind and trying something very different ....... could be a disaster, could be a stroke of genius. I have absolutely no idea.

Nacional


It's 2nd v 1st in Uruguay as Nacional travel to rivals Defensor. Nacional have stuck with their tried and tested 442 and this game sees Defensor match them. Can the deadly duo of Immobile and Suarez start firing again after drawing a blank last time out? Rumours are also circulating The Dos Equis (sponsorship is all that matters) stadium that Sergio Reguilon may be on his way out of the club with Venezuelan hitman Josef Martinez among others coming in to freshen up the frontline.

Hannover


Nobody's favourite German club are hosting Dynamo Dresden in the League. A win could potentially see Hannover sneak into the top 3 although promotion could be an absolute disaster given the work still needed. With Martinez returning to South America the Hannover fans are wondering when the manager will gets his shit together financially and convert the trials of Poulsen, Delaney and Wass into the permanent transfers the team needs to challenge in Germany. However the mercurial talents of Marko Marin, Luan, Feghouli and ummm ...... Szymanski are all available and ready to give their all this week.

In the cup Hannover take on Jena who currently sit 10th in the Bundesliga.  It'll be a good test to see how the Hannover foreign legion fare against top flight quality. Skipper Simon Kjaer was positive when asked about the game but still felt that the guile of Hamsik, Torres and Gestede might prove too much.

Akranes


The flair team of Iceland's top division are thrilling crowds that sometimes reach double digits (there's not a lot of fans) with 32 goals in the first 8 games of the season. This week they have a massive game hosting 4th place Valur. It's an unchanged side for the home team who had pondered bringing in the experienced Cheik Kouyate to add some steel in midfield but have gone with an average age of 22.18 years (and the keeper is 30). Big test this week and the squad could do with some experience which will hopefully come in the form of hugely under-rated Theo Hernandez who is rumoured to be on his way.

Not quite Phil standard yet but hope this is an OK read.

Great read Rob, nice to hear what’s going on with other managers.

Great read Rob thanks.

Friendly games have kicked off, League games look very likely to kickoff at 1000 hours Wednesday...

Domestic Cup Second Round games have kicked off...

Argentina

Chacarita 0 River Plate 5
Godoy 0 Estudiantes 2
Boca 3 Banfield 0
Independente 2 Lanus 1
Sarandi 0 Argentinos 4

Brazil

Goias 0 Santos 3
Sao Paulo 2 Portuguesa 0
Botafogo 2 Pelotas 0
Fluminense 5 Internacional 2

England 

Man City 0 Palace 0 aet pens 3-1
Newcastle 1 Bolton 0
Watford 2 Charlton 1
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Plymouth 2 Norwich 0
Banstead 2 Preston 0
Villa 1 Westham 0

France

Marseille 1 Paris 1 aet pens 3-4
Nantes 3 Lens 0
Monaco 3 Toulon 0

Germany

Leverkusen 1 Regensburg 0
Gladbach 2 Bremen 1
Bayreuth 0 Dortmund 1
Baysport 0 Bayern 3
Hannover 1 Jena 0
Schalke 5 Duisberg 0

Italy

Inter 5 Novara 0
Milan 4 Arezzo 0
Lazio 5 Pazza 0
Parma 0 Juventus 4

Scotland

Inverness 0 Motherwell 2
Aberdeen 3 Queen OS 0
Rangers 5 Dunfermlin 0
Celtic 6 Ayr 0

Spain

Betis 4 Malaga 0
Real 6 Lleida 0
Alaves 0 Valencia 3
Atletico 3 Oviedo 0
Sevilla 0 Barcelona 2

USA

Cosmos 6 Oakland 0
Galaxy 0 Chicago 4
Giants 0 NewYork 3
Harrisburg 4 Tampa 2

Congratulations to all the winners.

League games will kickoff tomorrow at 1000 hours...

Two good wins, disappointing to lose with Charlton but virtually impossible task against the unbeatable Watford. 

Well done to all the winners.

Watford;

Narrowly over came Man Utd in the last league game, the manager even forgot that he had setup game mods for Sturridge to come on... So was expecting a player to be injured. However, to my delight my tactical masterclass (accident) payed off and Sturridge used his predator instinct to get a goal in the final minutes of the game! Another stat... all the Watford scorer's were Englishmen! Something that the manager is proud of and looking to encourage through his next phase of development with Brexit on the agenda at Watford and longevity of the club.
Cup game..... Rivalry against Tom has been going since takeover at the Hornets and love these battles as Tom has arguably one of the best squads I've ever seen in the game (Shame there mostly Liverpool players  ) This week was a bit of change for the squad as Sterling was still recovering from Injury.. So in came Hudson-Odoi... Main cup players Rice and Jones.. Be very interesting to read the match report. 

Genk;

Sole focus this week on the League for the Belgium powerhouse, who have there full squad to choose from and the manager is trying to break in some new up and coming players such as Brian Brobbey, Joelson Fernandes and Romario Baro. Who are all knocking at the door to get some minutes, but sadly Genk are seeded in the CUP and won't play the early rounds. So they will have to settle for minutes off the bench. Can Brobbey take the opportunity to claim a place before Lewandowski moves on... Hugo Lloris has gracefully accepted his Transfer Listing last week and is looking forward to a new challenge, where ever that may be...
This weeks opponents are Oostende who sit middle of the table but havn't won at all yet this season, and will be welcoming the Genk Galactico's so hopefully the away team arn't feeling too complacent as they are only Joint top scorers on 29 goals with Anderlecht!

Leverkusen;

Will the manager rue missed changes after last week's game drew a blank! The players will have certainly been doing plenty of finishing practice after missing so many chances. The team get a little bit of a refresh with the likes of Leon Baily and Edson Alvarez getting some friendly/cup games under the belt last week and will be thrusted into action Vs Dusseldorf! Who themselves are pushing for the promotion places! So fingers crossed the Leverkusen players turn up today as the Top of the table is looking very snug! Top 3 separated by 1 point each.

Botafogo;

This week pits the former champions against Corinthians who boast some talented players such as Ralf Teles, Max Meyer and Everton Ribeiro! The manager is able to call upon a settled side who has been on a purple patch of late and look to continue to have every chance of keeping up with Fluminense who recruited exceptionally over the summer and continue to strengthen! The manager is certainly looking for all 3 points in this week's game and hopefully don't pick up too many injuries before next weeks huge ... massive... 6 pointer Vs the current table leaders!!!

Good luck to all managers this week!

Great job on the preview Rob, great to see how other players view their matches!

Phil@Watford wrote:

Watford;

 Rivalry against Tom has been going since takeover at the Hornets and love these battles as Tom has arguably one of the best squads I've ever seen in the game (Shame there mostly Liverpool players  ) 

Thanks Phil, cant seem to get them playing as well as they do in real life though!
Jurgen Klopp I ain't!

I'm just happy to be challenging I've decided.  It wasnt that long ago I was fighting tooth and nail to buy Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole and Paul Konchesky.  Wow.  My best players were Ryan Babel and David N'gog.

Phil@Watford wrote:

Botafogo;

...and hopefully don't pick up too many injuries before next weeks huge ... massive... 6 pointer Vs the current table leaders!!!

I didnt know we were playing next week.  I know it is Watford Charlton in the league but not in Brazil too!

Tom@Charlton wrote:

Phil@Watford wrote:

Botafogo;

...and hopefully don't pick up too many injuries before next weeks huge ... massive... 6 pointer Vs the current table leaders!!!

I didnt know we were playing next week.  I know it is Watford Charlton in the league but not in Brazil too!

It looks like it's going to be worldwide Phil Vs Tom week next turn! How exciting! 

Not to be defeatist or anything but I think we know what the outcome of the English game will be. 

When did Charlton last beat Watford?

Paul Hemmings wrote:

Chelsea 2 Burnley 3

  ffs, should have been good enough line up to have won that..always next year

gary@chelsea wrote:

Paul Hemmings wrote:

Chelsea 2 Burnley 3

  ffs, should have been good enough line up to have won that..always next year

Unlucky Gaz, would be a good advert for the League Cup if we both could get to the final!

The players are out finishing off their warm up routines, the fans are singing and the ref checks his watches, good luck to everyone this week...

The ref blows his whistle and we are underway...

Corinthians 0 Botafogo 1 Bobsin on 4 minutes.
Darlington 0 Consett 1 Ibe.
Leverkusen 1 Dusseldorf 0 Nainggolan.

Lazio 0 Napoli 1 Paloschi on 5 minutes.

Wolves 0 Wednesday 1 Fornals on 6 minutes.
Blackburn 0 Burnkey 1 Schurrle.
St Johnstone 0 Rangers 1 Guidetti header.
Celta 0 Real 1 Iniesta.

Oostende 0 Genk 1 Neymar on 7 minutes.
Boston 0 Woking 1 Walcott.

Corinthians 1 Botafogo 1 Everton on 8 minutes.
Bremen 0 Schalke 1 Havertz.
Twente 0 Rotterdam 1 Bergkamp.
Milan 1 Atalanta 0 Bentalab penalty.

Chelsea 1 Westham 0 Grealish on 9 minutes.

Paul Hemmings wrote:

Corinthians 1 Botafogo 1 Everton on 8 minutes.
Bremen 0 Schalke 1 Havertz.
Twente 0 Rotterdam 1 Bergkamp.
Milan 1 Atalanta 0 Bentalab penalty.

Doesn’t bode well for Twente - come on lads!