Thanks to Steve Jenkins for doing the English leagues.
Managers are invited to send in their team of the seasons for their league. As long as the selections are unbiased then the first in for each division will be used.
Thanks to Steve Jenkins for doing the English leagues.
That should of course say Italian Serie A!
Just a quick note. I have used the same criteria used for selection each season so far - I forget who started it - but it is based on things such as goals scored etc. This does produce some odd results - so for example Juventus only let 14 goals in all season and had around 16 clean sheets yet only two of their defenders got onto this list! Whereas Genoa let in 24 goals and have 3 defenders on the list.
The selection is therefore certainly not a "best XI" that I would pick and of course if this many players from one team were "the best" they would have won the league. Though the list is, rightly. dominated by Juventus and Genoa players it would be useful for future seasons for us to decide the criteria for selection into the "best of your league teams" so that more realistic results are produced. I would offer the following selection as an alternative best of Serie A team:
GK Marino - Juventus
RB Alves - AC Milan
CB Herrero - Juventus
CB Kjaer - Genoa
LB Baines - Genoa
RM Milner - Juventus
CM Fabregas -Juventus (or Mascherano -Juventus)*
CM Arshavin - Juventus
LM Zhirkov - Juventus
ST Montella - Juventus (or Love - Genoa)*
ST dos Santos - Juventus (or Parejo - Genoa)*
*very little to choose between these so a matter of prefence really between goals v assists etc.
Unattached manager Adam Davies has rejected the chance to become the new Messina manager. Reports from Italy suggest he is close to taking up a pundits role on TV with management clearly not on his mind.
GK Vincenzo Fiorillo (Atalanta) loan from Boro RB Tortolero (Lazio) LB Emiliano Insua (Lazio) CB Marco Zambelli (Brescia) CB Michael Mancienne (Ascoli) RM Markel Susaeta (Atalanta) loan from Palace LM Abderrazzak Jadid (Brescia) CM Tsvetomir Todorov (Catania) loan from Arsenal CM Tom Soares (Lazio) ST Cipriano Fontana (Atalanta) loan from Palace ST Pavel Pogrebnyak (Lazio)
Top Player Senior Player 22+ Cipriano Fontana (Atalanta) loan from Palace
Top Youth Player Tsvetomir Todorov (Catania) loan from Arsenal
Luke pre-season has begun, where are you taking the lads?
Well I dont want to say where yet but we are investing and going long haul this year.We did it on a budget last season and we felt at times our fitness didnt match some of the other squads in the league.Some teams were getting over 20 games from players but we never really reached that level.Its important we hit the ground running this year in terms of fitness so we can have a real go in Europe and in the cup.
You played Everton and recorded a convincing victory?
Well firstly let me apologies to Villarreal and Dave the manager.We had agreed to play them but due to an admin error a game was also set up against Everton.Chief executive Gethin Jenkins was told to set up two friendlies for both the allocated weeks but instead arranged two for the same day.He will now be leaving on 22 October as this is simply unacceptable.We again would like to put on record our apologies to everyone at Villarreal and hope to welcome them back for pre-season next season.
And the Everton performance?
Well I was very pleased with it, we tried a new shape with just two at the back and we dominated the game enough to force the game.It wont always work but its an option, we created and scored so delighted.
Peter Ridsdale has set a target of top 6 this season, is this a fair target in your option?
I set my own targets and my target is to go into every game and win it.We wont win them all but it has to be the target.The priority will be staying in this division, it has to be. You only have to look at the quality at West Ham to know nothing can be taken for granted.Ever manager at a football club looks for progression season upon season so top 6 is a fair target from the chairman.
Do you expect any investment into the club from the chairman and how many players do you plan on bringing in?
You will have to ask the chairman that, we certainly need to add to the squad for sure.At the very pleased to be competitive in this division we need a left back and a striker, that is the very minimum required.Ideally then maybe another central defender and maybe a further striker but we will look at then when we know the budget.The remaining budget will then be used on improving the youth academy and maybe the club shop which is important for us.
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Cardiff City manager - PM or Email at ccfc999@hotmail.com
Ex-Sampdoria boss Chris Bishop took a final opportunity to thanks the Sampdoria fans for their support of team despite being relegated from Serie A. The fans have been fantastic and supported us to the very end, theyve been a credit to this club and I cannot thank them enough. However Bishop was more critical of the Chairman and disagreed with the decision not to give him another season to attempt to bounce back up to Serie A. Weve had some very good times here, probably better than we should have had with very little investment, especially when it came to setting up the Youth Academy. There is now a strong youth presence in the side and Im sure if they stay together they can achieve promotion and push on from there. I believed that I had earned enough good will at the club to be given an opportunity to regain our place in Serie A, unfortunately the Board did not see it the same way. I wish the next manager all the best whoever it should be. On his future Bishop indicated that England may be the next challenge in his managerial career Ive managed in Spain and Italy, so an opportunity in the English Leagues would be quite enticing
Midlands outfit Leicester City FC have renewed their merchandise agreement with sports apparel and fashion tycoon, adidas. The sports giant have adopted Leicester City into their famous Originals range to offer fans a chance to combine fashion with supporting their team. The launch has been promoted with a series of posters celebrating the originality of the City. The first of which shows the famous adidas logo swirling round the River Soar, which runs directly through the city.
It is hoped that with the return of Premier League football to Leicester this deal will inject further commercial opportunities into the club.
-- Edited by Spartikus47 on Wednesday 5th of October 2011 09:43:14 AM
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Gardner celebrated his 2nd Middlesbrough Promotion win and is slowly becoming a hero to Middlebrough fans.
Middlesbrough players celebrated promotion this week with an Open top bus celebration around Teeside with a massive crowd turnout.
Gardner talked to the media -
" Im so proud of the boys, Levi Porters last minute winner was an absolute beauty. This Boro side are improving every game with age. When we 1st came into the division we really struggled to adapt to the physical side of the division. A few players was signed to sort this and we hit form at the right time. I allways knew from the start that we was going up. I do feel sorry for the likes of Everton and Aston Villa as both had great seasons but in my opinion peaked to early. We have been here and did it before, that experiance was essential in Promotion.
But the hard work starts now. When the celebrations end we are travelling to Los Angeles to get the hard work ready for pre-season. Im hoping the board back me a little to bring in youth players from our expanding youth academy and we keep building Middlesbrough Fc and try our hardest to keep us in the Premier League "
Gardner then showed off his teams 2 new kits for the Premier League with new sponsors Budweiser -
Liverpool defender Renato Silva has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle has picked up a knock on his teams pre-season tour.
Elliot Grandon was stretchered off the field during Blackpools pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Wigan defender Cristian Castells went down heavily under a team mates challenge during pre-season training and will miss the start of the season as he regains match fitness.
Liverpool striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has picked up a knock on his teams pre-season tour.
Leighton Baines was stretchered off the field during Genoas pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Ascoli goalkeeper Antonio Adan has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Atalanta striker Jonathan Stead went down heavily under a team mates challenge during pre-season training and will miss the start of the season as he regains match fitness.
Cesc Fabregas was stretchered off the field during a Juventus pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Lazio midfielder Tom Soares appeared to twist an ankle during a routine pre-season warm down and will be touch and go for the season opener next Friday.
Iago Aspas limped off the field during a Parma pre-season training match with a badly bruised knee which could rule him out for the start of the season.
Juventus midfielder Andrey Arshavin appeared to twist an ankle during a routine pre-season warm down and will be touch and go for the season opener next Friday.
Parma goalkeeper Ioime Raffaele has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Atalanta goalkeeper Dani appeared to twist an ankle during a routine pre-season warm down and will be touch and go for the season opener next Friday.
Jose Martinez Nunez was stretchered off the field during a Torino pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Chievo defender Fabio Pisacane went down heavily under a team mates challenge during pre-season training and will miss the start of the season as he regains match fitness.
Sampdoria defender Andrea Grieco has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Atletico Madrid defender Michele Noschese went down heavily under a team mates challenge during pre-season training and will miss the start of the season as he regains match fitness.
Valencia defender Joel has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Espanyol defender Marcell Jansen appeared to twist an ankle during a routine pre-season warm down and will be touch and go for the season opener next Friday.
Recreativo Huelva defender Jordan Parkes has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Isco was stretchered off the field during a Valencia pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Gimnastic midfielder Djordje Rakic appeared to twist an ankle during a routine pre-season warm down and will be touch and go for the season opener next Friday.
Kiko limped off the field during a Real Mallorca pre-season training match with a badly bruised knee which could rule him out for the start of the season.
Espanyol midfielder Javi Marquez suffered concussion during a pre-season training game and had to sit out the remainder of the tour ruling him out of the start of the season.
Sevilla defender Victor Diaz has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Craig Lindfield limped off the field during a Cadiz pre-season training match with a badly bruised knee which could rule him out for the start of the season.
Osasuna striker Oscar Vega has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Theo Walcott was stretchered off the field during a Barcelona pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Real Murcia midfielder Dani Rodriguez Vaquerizo has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Youth Academies have been uploaded ready for the new season. This includes a new option to sell academy players to other clubs direct. Please see rules at the top of the Youth Academy page for details
Rules will be updated today to show new rules regarding Mentality.
Liverpool defender Renato Silva has flown back early from the teams pre-season training camp after picking up a serious injury that will rule him out for the start of the season.
Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle has picked up a knock on his teams pre-season tour.
Elliot Grandon was stretchered off the field during Blackpools pre-season training match with suspected ligament damage that will rule him out for the start of the season.
