Lazio recorded their first win under new manager Raymond Farnell this week, something that the fans had hoped to see a lot sooner after all the money that has been spent. They will however be looking forward to next season where Lazio must be odds on favourites to win the Seria B title. Will Mr Farnell be able to handle the pressure? Only time will tell but they should find it a lot easier to get out of the league than their roman neighbours did.
Palermo go out on a high
This season has been a fairytale season for fans of Palermo, they finish 2nd a good 15 points clear of 3rd place Sampdoria. With a place in the European cup secured for next season, teams better take this small club from the island of Sicily seriously! They could do very well and cause a few more shocks next season.
Messina messed up
With 3 games left of the season, Messina looked good to clintch a top two place as well as promotion to Seria A. However, they have blown it and will have to make do with the Play-Offs! After drawing with Atalanta, then losing to Parma, fans would have thought the run would have ended this week with a game against less than free scoring Udinese. With the only one who knows where the net is in their side, a Martin Palermo led Udinese secured a 2-1 victory to upset Messina and send them into the lottery of the Play-Offs.
Seria B Play-Offs
With the 4 teams confirmed for the Play-Offs and a place in Seria A up for grabs the managers of Atalanta, Ascoli Messina and Napoli will have short nails on their hands after this week. The Play-Offs are known as a very nervous time for both fans and managers and with 75% of the teams failing to get up, there will be more disappointment then happiness when the final comes. With all 4 teams being very good anyone could go up. One thing is known, it is going to be a fantastic week in Seria B!
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Norwich City 1-2 Real Betis 3 Real Murcia 4 Sunderland 4-6 Recreativo 7-8 Atalanta 8-
Good Morning on the eve of another Leeds play off game, we have today tracked down departing manager Dave Davies-Evans. YEP" good morning Dave, how are you and the squad feeling today."
DDE." We are totaly chilled out to be honest. Its been an amazing season for us. Nobody is really giving us a chance in the game tonight, so its win win really as the players have no pressure on them from the media the world of football etc etc."
YEP." How do you see it going tonight Dave??"
DDE. "To be honest we are just going to enjoy the occasion. Its going to be a very tough game as wolves are only one of two teams who have beaten us this season. However they have some key players out and there defence will be a bit lop sided thats what we will try and exploit."
YEP." So tonight could be your last match in charge of Leeds then Dave, you going to miss the place."
DDE." Im going to miss the whole lock stock and barrel. The fans have been amazing again under my reign here and i will be trying my best to give them something to cheer about this season. I am moving to Reggina in Italy where i enjoyed some of my greatest memories in football management and im looking forward to moving the club further after the Amazing job my good friend JOP did there. Its going to be a tough season, but i will be looking to invest money in youth there and move the club and squad forward.!
Local journalist Garth Bakery caught up with media-shy but mercurial micro-manager TJ Barro ahaead of this evening's play-off semi final first leg against Leeds United:
So hello TJ - thanks for the rare interview. How are you and your players feeling before this evening's game?
Well the lads are in The Harvester on Wergs Road as we speak tucking into a salad bar and having a giggle before they come back here and discuss how we're going to go about winning these playoffs. As for me, I'm as calm as ever.
Excellent - so what do you make of Dave Davies-Evans playing down his chances earlier today?
If he thinks that's going to affect my coaching staff or my players then he's wrong - they haven't got Sky in that Harvester so they won't hear about it there and, as the greenest club in the West Midlands, we don't stock blu-tac so we won't be sticking it to the walls of the changing rooms either. I've obviously seen it though - I don't see what he's getting at. We've got similar squads, mine's got a few injuries but then I am a slightly better manager so it's a very level playing field and it's all to play for. Luck will even itself out and quite frankly, you shouldn't be beaten at your near post.
It sounds like Leeds are going to try and exploit your "lop-sided" defence...
(laughs) - I love the assumptions he's making about my defence - how does he even know I'm going to play with a defence? The flaws in his team have shown themselves over the season and we're out to exploit them again tonight.
So what's your score prediction then? It completely depends on which Leeds turn up. If they come and play at their best, 1-1, but anything short of that and we'll probably nick it 2-1. But at then end of the day, to be fair, I'm absolutely not being funny in any way, in all honesty, I've got more important things to worry about.
The season comes to an end and your undefeated and had a decent cup run, surely a very pleasing season? The target was promotion and as champions so we are very pleased to have done that. Ideally we would have turned a few of those draws into wins and had a few more points and we will look at those games over the next week to see what we could have done better. We are always looking for improvements
What is the target for next season? Well its the same old story that we will take it game by game. Our priority will be staying up and we have no doubt that this will be a tough challenge as the premiership is one of the toughest leagues in the world. We hope to start the season in good form and then see if we can push up the league as far as possible.
What are the plans with regards to the squad, can we expect players to come in and go out? We will be signing a keeper this week which unfortunately failed before the transfer window because of an error at our end. We also have Danny, Rodwell, Jones all out on loan so that will really add some depth to the squad. At present I have no plans to sell anyone but you never say never in football. A player may ask to leave or we may have an offer that we simply cannot turn down, I expect the unexpected.
Fans were concerned that you are yet to sign a contract, any news on this? Yes a contract has been agreed, they came to me with one offer and it was instantly accepted. This was never a concern for me as there is no other club I wish to be at and I am pleased the board feel I am the man to take this club forward. The rebuilding started this season and now the real hard work starts this week starting with pre-season.
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Cardiff City manager - PM or Email at ccfc999@hotmail.com
YEP" We have just seen some media from Wolves. What do you make of the comment Better manager???"
DDE. That has made my day. Who will be managing in Seria A next year and who will be scratching around in the basement of world football. One swallow does not make a summer and he has had everything handed to him on a plate. We have worked hard here at Leeds on a shoestring". As the song says. Cey sera, cey sara.
-- Edited by Bigwave1927 on Monday 21st of March 2011 05:02:52 PM
-- Edited by Bigwave1927 on Monday 21st of March 2011 05:03:23 PM
Napoli manager Andy Fletcher this morning reflected on his teams stunning 3-0 win in the play offs against a Messina team who ran out of steam in the last few games of the season.
"I am absolutely delighted with our performance last night, Lavezzi and Khalil ripped their defence to bits and we should have scored 5, Yakin has come in and really show his experience and its been a huge benefit to the younger lads. We will take a days R&R now, get back to training on Wednesday and prepare for a suprise final against a decent Ascoli team, if you look at the league theres not a lot seperating us so its going to be an interesting game and one I will approach with caution, I may have to pack the midfield to ensure we don't get overrun in there."
"I would like to offer my commiserations to Dale at Atalanta, it just didn't happen for them on the night and an early goal would have seen them through, also to my fellow manager at Messina, I'm sure they will be making plans for next season already"
"Its been a tough season for the top 6 in Serie B I feel, we had an extended cup run and its left us more depleted in terms of player fitness than we ever thought, next season we will ensure we have a strong squad so that we can get to game 22 in good form."
"No room for negativity" as Foxes fall in playoffs
Leicester City boss Mark Rollings refused to label his play off semi final defeat to Blackburn Rovers a failure and pledged to fans that his young stars would go one better next season in the quest for Premier League football. Rollings was effusive in his praise for his fledgling squad, whose average age is under 23 years of age.
"They have shown a fight and determination which belies their young ages, and represent an exciting generation of Leicester City players who I have no doubt will lead this club into the Premier League. Most of these lads have played well over 20 league games this season which is a lot to ask even the most established of professionals."
Rollings was then asked about his plans for squad development next season.
"Firstly we will be increasing the capacity here at the Walkers by 2,000 seats. We have sold out every game this season and the fans have been the best in the league so we want to give 2,000 more a chance to support the team. I have had extensive discussions with the chairman since I joined on our future plans and promotion this season wouldn't have changed them a great deal in all honesty. We are both committed to the formula and will be planning pre season as we would have in the Premier League. We will be backing our current crop of young stars, welcoming a host of new youthful recruits and hopefully benefitting from one or two cutting their teeth through from the Leicester City academy."
As the season draw's too a close the search has started for Fiorentina too find the right backer with the intention and the forward thinking and desire to take this historic club to the next level.
The club is searching the Globe for the right investor that will match the Big ideas and aspirations of club Manager Rob O'Brien with the investment to make a reality the constant dream that the Fiorentina Fans have of being one of the biggest clubs in Europe and substaining a realisitc challenge of replacing Juve as the most recent sucessfull club in Italy.
The club is welcoming any potential Investors that can take the club forword and inreturn they will become part of history with one of Italys most loved clubs
-- Edited by redrob on Wednesday 23rd of March 2011 01:22:55 PM
Crisis struck Fiorentina face an unhill battle into next seasons Serie A competition as problem after problem lands on their doorstep. The chairman quit the club recently stating a lack of squad changes in recent seasons had raised the squad age to an untenable position and with fans favourite Rob O'Brien making no move to leave he felt under pressure to do so. Since then with no investment coming in the club now face the real threat of administration as soon as tomorrow. Manager Rob O'Brien had been in discussions with Recreativo Huelva over a move but tonight the Spanish side confirmed he wouldn't be replacing Dale Price in the managers chair adding negotiations had fallen through and a new manager was in discussions with them over the job now. It is believed Fiorentina have offered Rob O'Brien an extension on reduced pay but with the club facing administration many fans believe he, and a handful of the star players, will be out the door within the next two weeks as administrators try to put cash back in which is expected to go tomorrow.
A list of managers still in danger has been released tonight. With contracts of many managers coming to an end this summer we've kept an eye on those who have signed and those who are in discussions over deals as we speak. Some of the major names of managers not yet signed up and not officially in negotiations yet include Liam Riste the Sevilla manager who after a strong start in which he threatened for the title, slipped back to a 3rd place finish. Another big name manager on the list is Spurs manager Richard Jefferies who has endured an up and down time at Spurs and with the board well known for their short temper with managers his 7th place finish could have stirred changes at the London club. Back in Spain, the Real Madrid boss Iain Kochanowski is yet to agree an extension with the Madrid giants following their poor 6th place finish in La Liga this season.
On the flip side, confirmation tonight that Aston Villa have extended the stay of experienced manager Martin Turney, Liverpool boss Mark Galeozzi has agreed a new two year deal to stay on Merseyside, and Cadiz have activated the chairmans year long extension to keep Johndaniel Jaques at the club for another season following intense speculation.
Tonight Fiorentina announced they were calling in the administrators to cope with the debts left behind following the exit last week of their chairman. It is believed the Serie A club is now carrying a hole the size of £50 million debts. As a result fans expect young midfield duo Renato Augusto and Stevan Jovetic to leave the club along with defenders Alex and Daniel Agger in a bid to clear the deficit. Also tonight, Fiorentina announced negotiations had come to a stalement with manager Rob O'Brien over a new deal to stay there. "Funds aren't available to offer what we'd like in order to keep him. He has interest from other clubs who can offer better funding than us. We know the club won't be in great shape following administration and we think maybe it's time Rob leaves for a club who can match his desire to win trophies."
Recreativo Huelva have agreed a deal to sign Real Sociedad manager Louis Galeozzi ahead of the new campaign. Galeozzi will be in charge of the clubs pre-season tour.
Richard Jefferies today resigned at Spurs saying he could no longer accept the unfair critisism of his chairman, In a statement released to the press Jefferies said it had become clear during talks this week that it was time to move on and that he had taken the club as far as he could and felt that he had improved the side year on year. He added that he thought the chairmans expectations of what could be achieved were not realistic with the money he had to work with. He wished the players and fans the best of luck and swiftly headed for the exit.
When asked if had another job lined up he just said you would have to wait and see.
Former Villarreal manager Jackie Yeo has been appointed as the new Everton manager on a two-year contract.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright said: "I am delighted we have got our man. We identified Jackie as our top target and we moved quickly to get him."
"It is a sign of our ambition that not only did we target Jackie but that we have been able to appoint him as our new manager."
"He has all the attributes we are looking for - experience, a proven record, he has led sides to promotion at different levels in the English and Spanish League, and he has a wealth of experience and contacts."
-- Edited by jackieyeo on Thursday 31st of March 2011 09:40:00 PM
You won the division with out conceding, a success?
"I think obviously this season has been a big success. I came into the job on the back of one of the worst seasons in the clubs history. They were a european standard team and were relegated so the fans and board were demanding in their targets and expectations but with good reason. I only had a short time to get the players I wanted in place and thankfully they have done the job. The defence has been perfect this season and it is something I have never experienced before in any of my teams so it makes this season stand out even more"
Are you ready for La Liga?
"We are as ready as we can be. The players have a week away to bond properly and get their fitness levels back up and then we go straight in. I will need to sit down and discuss exactly what the board expect this season but we have to be realistic again. Valencia are too big to be in a relegation fight so we might be a promoted side but we have to raise our aims quicker than the others. For me I want to get Valencia into european competition every season and that means a top six finish in the league. Look at the teams there this season and it shows how hard this will be. Espanyol and Recreativo would get in the top six in Italy but both missed out in Spain this season. We have a mountain to climb but I have faith the players I have brought together are all up for the climb"
Do you have any transfer stories to confirm?
"Nothing is set in stone enough to tell the press but a few players could be leaving early next season and some of the young players in the academy might be given professional deals to give them their chance. We arent a club than can spend £100mil a season so we have to try and produce a few of our own players to challenge the first team boys"
And a word as chairman of Napoli?
"Andy did a great job this season and that night of the play off final will live long in every Napoli fans mind. I spoke with Andy before the play off semi final but all along I have felt his view of his team has been close to mine so I have never felt the need to wade in and step on toes. He has built a youthful looking side and taken them to the big time. We are all lucky to have such a committed manager in charge and we all know he will work harder than any one else this coming season to make sure Napoli finish on a high as big as we are on now"
Thanks
Stu
-- Edited by Stu on Friday 1st of April 2011 09:42:35 PM
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Trophy Cabinet
2x La Liga trophy // Sevilla 2x Spanish cup // Sevilla 1x Premiership trophy // Man City 2x English cup // Man City 2x European Cup // Man City 1x Segunda trophy // Valencia
