It's over! What is? One manager's waiting for a triumph, another's ambitions for a double, but most importantly - this season's Manta League Cup.
A Scudders fan gave the most descriptive summary of what his team achieved that night: "Who would've thought?". Against all odds, with the title holders eager for a double as opponents, manager Guermano's lads fought with everything they had and prevailed in a battle that seemed predetermined. Here's how the game looked through the eyes of another club's manager who was sitting as a guest of honor supporting the "ultimate underdogs" as Scudders are suitably called.
Kif Villans were as cool and determined as only a team confident in it's abilities and talent can be. Surgical passing, tactical awareness, lethal finishing and with the mental setting that the title can be won, the Villans team was all over the pitch. Scudders, whose manager was long satisfied with what his team had achieved, were playing under no pressure that a win was expected, but in the early stages of the game that provided kifd's zealously motivated players with more than an edge. Their dominance in play was finally realized when who else, but their top scorer Gray found the back of Reinhard's net and set the half time result at 0-1.
The second half was no less under the Villans' control. Midfielder Chevarie was the maestro behind his team's offensive build up and if Hirsch at the front was a little more concentrated a 2 goal lead could've easily been established. When kifd decided to sub out his scorer Gray for Milroy, critics remembered the effective substitutions the manager had made in the past two cup matches and this seemed to be the final touch in the Villans' masterpiece of a performance. But less than a minute afterwards things took an unexpected turn. A penalty for Scudders! The one thing kifd could not anticipate and so soon after the substitution and change in game plan it came as a great shock to the defending champions. With 9 goals and the title of the competition's current top scorer, Schwarz stepped up to the occasion and provided Scudders with the vital equalizer. With Kif disorganized and Scudders set to defend the result in hopes of taking the game to penalties, full time came with little to remember.
Extra-time. 30 minutes to either decide the better team or to leave things in fate's hands when the penalties came. It's the period in which teams prefer defending to attacking and this game was no different. However, it was referee Raban making the headlights before it came to spot kicks with his second penalty of the game - again for Scudders. If Schwarz was under pressure to score his previous penalty, then this time he carried the burden of the entire cup's fate on his shoulders. A quick glance at the goal, a step towards the ball, a kick ... and 2-1 for Scudders! The remaining 15 minutes were the slowest Scudders fans had experienced, while time was drifting away at an incredible pace for Kif supporters. But when the final whistle came, it was Guermano and his "underdogs" who were all over the pitch with joy. You'd think the manager would be speechless, but in less than a minute he had no voice whatsoever after screaming "We've won", "I can't believe it" and "2 Mio!!!".
And with this another exciting chapter of Manta's League Cup was closed. The Scudders hero from the final (and almost every other game) is unsurprisingly the competition's top scorer:
Top scorers Name Team Goals W Schwarz Scudders 11 R Grey Kif Villans 7 H Walther Easyfit Walsall 6 K Tilly Norwood FC 6
All eyes will now be set on the far more exciting and even more so challenging Super Cup. How far will the Manta teams go? Who will be the last one left? Will Manta have the Super Cup for a first time since Season 1? All of this will be answered within the next 40 days.
Thank you for following the League Cup through my articles and looking forward to providing you with more of them in the future.
chaosmaster
March 29, 2008
Manta League Cup Final
March 25, 2008
The Championship
Day 25 and the Championship has many teams trying to grab the 3 top places and it seems like it's going to be a tight finish between quite a few teams. If we look at the championship now we see that Openshaw United are in 1st place with 34pts and they have a 1 point lead over The Smoothies with 33pts in 2nd. With 30pts is Norwood FC who are 3rd and with a goal difference of +18 and also Northbankhighbury have 30pts who are placed 4th with a goal difference of +13.
There is plenty of talent and quality from many teams and certain individual players and will shine like stars in their respective team. Theres definately one to watch out for, like Karl Tilly whos scored 29 goals in only 18 appearances for Norwood FC and is the top goalscorer for the championship and the manta league. Also Openshaw United at this present time has the best defence with just 12 goals conceded. The Smoothies have scored the most by hitting 33 goals in the net. Also Openshaw United and Northbankhighbury haven't lost a match yet and i'm sure they intend to keep it that way!
There are plenty of teams who want to make it to the Premiership and the teams who i think seem likely to finish in the top 5 are, The Smoothies in 1st, Openshaw United in 2nd, Splott United in 3rd, Norwood FC in 4th and Northbankhighbury in 5th. Im sure it will be a tight finish at the end of the season and im sure many teams will keep switching places.
March 23, 2008
Manta League Cup Quarter-finals
Only six days from now, this season's Manta League Cup champion will be decided. Who are the contestants left to battle it out for this great award? The winners from the quarter finals of course. In this article, you'll find a small review of each game and of course the cup stats.
Chaos Shumen 2-0 Sabbath Albion
A dominating performance in midfield saw The Chaos Squad come out deserved winners in the most predetermined of this round's matches. Having beaten Sabbath at their own ground just a day before in the league, chaosmaster had decided to switch tactics and went for a 4-5-1 to counter the away side's 4-3-3. This choice seemed to pay off, as the Chaos midfield had full control and two second half strikes by DMF Huntley and CMF Lomas secured progression into the semis.
Noodle FC 2-2(pens: 3-5) Kif Villans
In the most anticipated match of the round, champions Kif Villans and ex-champions Noodle FC played a magnificent game which left the full stadium in awe, despite the home side losing in the end. Benzb had done a great job motivating his players and despite the defensive 5-3-2 line-up, it was midfielder Czeszyk who shined and subsequently earned the MotM award. 33 minutes into the game, the home side's dominance in possession finally paid off and Sonderby gave his side a deserved 1-0 lead. The goal turned out to be a big blow for Kif midfielder Wodaszak who couldn't control his nerves and was sent off just a minute later. With a 1 man advantage and the score in their favor, Noodle were looking to be certain semi-finalists and benzb subbed out their scorer 20 minutes before the end. kifd then made a match-defining decision. Having subbed out his forward Hirsch after the red card of Wodaszak, he proceeded to replace his other starting forward Milroy for Gray. And just as it seemed it was all over, Gray grabbed his fourth goal of the competition in the 92nd minute and forced the game into extra time. After a goalless first part, Czeszyk gave Noodle the lead again 5 minutes before the final whistle, but it was again Gray and again in the dieing seconds who equalized for the Villans and so the game had to be decided by penalties. Goalkeeper Shields kept his cool and with all of Kif's players scoring, Noodle were out after two misses.
Rex Mundi 3-2 Easyfit Walsall
Going into this game, The Happy Mundis were unsurprisingly favorites and the twelve thousand gathered to watch the game were pretty certain it would end in normal time. Total control of possession and a cannonade of shots by the Rex forwards confirmed those expectations, but it took almost an hour for the scoring to be opened. Logan's 57th minute goal was no surprise, but the immediate equalizer by Easyfit's Walther was a cold shower for the home team. And if that wasn't enough, Walther grabbed his second of the evening 13 minutes later. Emotions were high again for the home supporters just 2 minutes afterwards with Wheldon making it 5 goals in this season's league cup. It was only fitting for such an entertaining game to go to extra time, but unlike the Noodle FC versus Kif Villans game, this one didn't last until penalties. Craddock earned the MotM award with a goal on the brink of extra time's finish and with it Rex are now in the semis.
Smirnenski United 1-2 Scudders
While the quarter-final between benzb and kifd was bound to be a close game and stole the highlights, many had also directed their attention to this fixture as neither of the teams had an obvious advantage over the other. The game flow seemed to justify the thousand empty seats as chances were scarce and fouls were aplenty, but the home side were one ahead in the 63rd minute courtesy of an Oscroft shot. The pressure was now on Scudders and with Smirnenski having not conceded in this season's competition, things weren't looking good. However, all it took was two minutes between the 72nd and 73rd for Sukova and Atwell to turn the game around and a sound display in defense and midfield secured Scudders' progression into the semis for the first time in their history.
Team Stats
Team Div GF GA ET Pen H A Chaos Shumen Prem 10 3 1 0 3 2 Kif Villans Prem 12 4 0 1 2 3 Rex Mundi Prem 12 3 2 0 2 3 Scudders Prem 13 4 0 0 4 1
Top Scorers (players from eliminated teams in red) Name Team Goals W Schwarz Scudders 7 H Walther Easyfit Walsall 6 K Tilly Norwood FC 6 R Ianniello Hornets 5 R Grey Kif Villans 5 D Wheldon Rex Mundi 5 G Burns Sabbath Albion 5
March 19, 2008
Manta League Cup Round 5
And then there were eight. Yes folks, that's all that is left of a whole 200 teams that started the competition and in just 3 days there will be only four in contention for the big cash. Those who got eliminated this morning will have to be satisfied with 125k, while the ones to exit in the quarter-finals will receive the not-so-measly 250k. And although this isn't a small reward, the potential treasures that lay even further ahead will undoubtedly make the losers of the next round feel bad.
But let's not get too ahead of things. First things first, this round's highlights and stats!
Home importance
The first thing that makes an impression when looking at the results is that all 8 teams who played at home won their matches, with Rex Mundi the only team to have settled things in extra-time. On the opposite end we have Easyfit Walsall who smashed 4 goals in Bavaria Weegen's net - a new worst defeat for the German manager.
Premiership supremacy
Round 5 was as high as any non-Premiership team got this season. Only teams which are now competing in Manta's top flight are in the quarter-finals and this is likely to be the case in seasons to come. Enough time has passed since the creation of IAG so the league has sorted 'the best from the rest'. But who will be the 'best of the best'?
Rankings
Here's where everyone left is according to IAG's official club rankings:
1. Noodle FC (75)
2. Rex Mundi (107)
3. Kif Villans (109)
4. Chaos Shumen (211)
5. Scudders (336)
6. Smirnenski United (343)
7. Easyfit Walsall (352)
8. Sabbath Albion (796)
So everyone will be hoping to avoid the top 3 from this table and Sabbath will be the most desired opponent, right? In my own opinion - it's not the opponent that matters in the next round, it's the venue! After all, this round's stats concerning the successfulness of teams who played at home is enough evidence for me.
And now the table with the team details: Team Div GF GA ET Pen H A Chaos Shumen Prem 8 3 1 0 2 2 Easyfit Walsall Prem 12 4 0 0 2 2 Kif Villans Prem 10 2 0 0 2 2 Noodle FC Prem 11 1 0 0 4 0 Rex Mundi Prem 9 1 1 0 1 3 Sabbath Albion Prem 9 2 0 0 4 0 Scudders Prem 11 3 0 0 4 0 Smirnenski United Prem 7 0 0 0 2 2
Finally, the top scorers (players from knocked out teams in red): Name Team Goals W Schwarz Scudders 7 K Tilly Norwood FC 6 R Ianniello Hornets 5 G Burns Sabbath Albion 5 L Kodritz Botev Plovdiv 4 J Yates Chaos Shumen 4 E Grogan Easyfit Walsall 4 H Walther Easyfit Walsall 4 S Gos Howick United 4 N Holdt Liverpool City 4 D Wheldon Rex Mundi 4
See you after the quarter final :)
March 15, 2008
Manta League Cup Round 4
One more round down, one less step to the coveted final... at least for half of those who participated in round 4. It's still too much information to go into details, so you know what follows, right? If you though to yourself "Stats of course!" then you're on the right track.
Firstly, let's just take a look at the basic statistics and then you can have the pleasure of digging deep into the tables so you can have a good look at your own team's performance and then probably through those of the others.
Divisions
- 10 Premiership teams left
- 4 Championship teams left
- 1 team left from Divisions 1 and 2
Goals
- The top scoring teams are Botev Plovdiv and Hornets with 10 scored in 3 games
- Northbankhighbury have the most trouble finding the net with only 4 goals in 3 games
Venues
- 5 teams have had the pleasure of playing all 3 of their games at home
- Only Rex Mundi and Flair FC have reached this far without a single home game
Rankings
- Botev Plovdiv and Noodle FC are the top 100 representatives still in contention
- 3 teams ranked between 100 and 200 are in round 5
- 4 teams ranked between 200 and 300 are in round 5
- 4 teams ranked between 300 and 400 are in round 5
- Norwood FC (631), The Smoothies (752) and Sabbath Albion (798) are left from outside the top 500
Finally, here's the detailed tables themselves: Team Div GF GA ET Pen H A Botev Plovdiv Prem 10 4 0 1 1 2 Chaos Shumen Prem 7 3 1 0 1 2 Easyfit Walsall Prem 8 4 0 0 1 2 Hornets Prem 10 2 0 0 2 1 Kif Villans Prem 8 2 0 0 1 2 Noodle FC Prem 9 0 0 0 3 0 Rex Mundi Prem 7 0 0 0 0 3 Sabbath Albion Prem 6 1 0 0 3 0 Scudders Prem 9 2 0 0 3 0 Smirnenski United Prem 6 0 0 0 1 2 Flair FC Champ 7 1 0 0 0 3 Northbankhighbury Champ 4 0 1 0 2 1 Norwood FC Champ 7 2 1 0 3 0 The Smoothies Champ 7 2 1 0 2 1 Scottish Warriors Div 1 6 1 0 0 2 1 Bavaria Weegen AC Div 2 6 2 0 1 3 0
Top Scorers Name Team Goals K Tilly Norwood FC 6 W Schwarz Scudders 6 R Ianniello Hornets 5 J Yates Chaos Shumen 4 S Gos Howick United 4 N Holdt Liverpool City 4
Congratulations to those who have gotten this far and good luck to those still remaining.
March 13, 2008
Manta League Cup Round 3
The League Cup - an event all hope to shine in, but direct elimination rules mean only one will earn the glory of having his name in the all-time cup honors list. For the rest the only consolation is the prize money, which at this moment is ... zero! With 32 matches having been played in the previous round, going into details about all of them is a job few can handle, so instead I will present you with a few lists containing the stats so far.
But first of all, let's turn our attention to the games and events that deserve noting from the third round:
Below is a table containing all the remaining teams going into round 4, their respective divisions, goals scored and conceded thus far, number of games gone to ET or penalties and the number of the home and away games they have played:
Team Division GF GA ET Pen H A Botev Plovdiv Prem 8 2 0 0 1 1 Chaos Shumen Prem 4 2 1 0 0 2 Easyfit Walsall Prem 6 3 0 0 0 2 Hornets Prem 7 1 0 0 2 0 Inter Milager Prem 5 3 0 1 1 1 Kif Villans Prem 5 1 0 0 0 2 Liverpool City Prem 7 1 0 0 0 2 Noodle FC Prem 6 0 0 0 2 0 Rex Mundi Prem 5 0 0 0 0 2 Sabbath Albion Prem 4 1 0 0 2 0 Scudders Prem 6 1 0 0 2 0 Smirnenski United Prem 4 0 0 0 1 1 Flair FC Champ 5 0 0 0 0 2 Knodishall FC Champ 5 3 1 0 1 1 Northbankhighbury Champ 3 0 0 0 1 1 Norwood FC Champ 5 1 0 0 2 0 Openshaw United Champ 6 2 0 0 0 2 Splott United Champ 6 0 0 0 1 1 The Smoothies Champ 5 1 0 0 2 0 Waxing Gibbons Champ 4 1 0 0 2 0 Charlestown Albion Div 1 6 1 0 0 2 0 Howick United Div 1 5 0 0 0 1 1 Kingriver Div 1 5 2 0 0 2 0 Scottish Warriors Div 1 4 1 0 0 2 0 Bavaria Weegen AC Div 2 4 1 0 1 2 0 FC Afghanz Div 3 5 1 0 0 0 2 Tandridge Town Div 3 6 0 0 0 1 1 Gospodarite Div 4 6 0 0 0 3 0 Mansfieldathletic Div 4 4 2 2 0 1 1 teeside terrors Div 4 7 2 0 0 0 3 Warlords Div 4 4 3 0 1 2 0 Fallowfield Blues Div 5 3 0 0 0 2 0
And for those of you who believe they have a good offense, here are the top scorers:
Name Team Goals W Schwarz Scudders 6 R Ianniello Hornets 5 S Gos Howick United 4 N Holdt Liverpool City 4 K Tilly Norwood FC 4 R Bridges Openshaw United 4 B Ferguson Warlords 4 A Tracy Botev Plovdiv 3 G Calderwood Charlestown Albion 3 B Trollope Flair FC 3 C Hutchison Gospodarite 3 J Reid Knodishall FC 3 D Wheldon Rex Mundi 3 T Parfett Splott United 3 G Scott Tandridge Town 3 E Yorke teeside terrors 3
Hope you enjoy and be on the lookout for the future Season 8 LC stats I'm planning on posting after every round :)
March 6, 2008
State of the Premiership
As of day 5 of the new season, this is the state of the Premiership...
Players
As looked likely, we've acquired a few more players than in the last couple of updates - at least 10 new faces are out on the training grounds, making 436 players in the Premiership (21.8 per squad on average). The differences in squad sizes are bigger than ever though - from Rex Mundi and Lancaster Bombers with 17 players each through to Karachi United and Easyfit Walsall on 26 and 27 apiece (although the other teams are spread fairly evenly between these extremes).
Chaos Shumen's successful youth promotions result in having the youngest squad again - a mere 22.9 years old - just under 6 years younger than Liverpool City's ongoing collection of geezers at 28.4 (to be fair though, that average will drop when the venerable Wayne Preston retires at the grand old age of 39 ;) As with the previous two updates at least, the division average is roughly as it was at 25.1 years old.
Contracts
There's going to be a few more players out of contract this season - 68 in total, and amongst them, quite a few retirees who will be missed by their respective managers.
On average, a Premiership player has 163 days left on their contract (one day more than the previous update half a season ago!) and Inter Milager are now the only team that won't have to worry about renewals for a while, with 232 days on average, unlike Mad Dogs United who'll need to be doing a lot of paperwork over the next 108 days.
Wages
Players' agents have been working overtime since last time and those contract renewals haven't come cheap - we collectively pay 2.9m per day to our teams... On average, a squad bill in the Premiership is 133k (not much more than before) but the spread between teams is shown up even more than in their relative sizes, going from Forester's 78,530 (beating the next closest of Chaos Shumen by over 10k!) to Botev Plovdiv's incredible 182,845 daily wage bill.
But the both the Scrooge and Peter Ridsdale Awards go to none of those teams - the miserly spend of a mere 3,906 per player on Easyfit Walsall's huge squad shows there's been some swift negotiating going on there in order to keep the Scrooge Award for a second time. And Rex Mundi keep the Peter Ridsdale Award in their trophy cabinet, continuing to treat their players to a shade over 10k each per day. That's one more milestone passed - now how long til the first 200k squad bill...?
And that's the start of the season roundup - most teams now have between 19-24 players aged 23-26 with a bill of 110-150k per day with an average of 140-180 days left on their contracts - all in all, pretty similar to before but there are definitely some much greater extremes in these figures.
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