Season 23 Championship Talk & Predictions Thread

[Zizou]

*Key – All categories like Top Earner, Key Player, etc are determined by FM.

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This is the 18th season for the Dynasty Liga Championship League.

Season 17 Champions:

The cream of the Championship League crop rose to the top after a tight race, which saw Vitória S.C. win the Championship title for Xavi4life, his third such title. This season, X4L has decided to relocate to Girona to defend the title he fought for years to reclaim.

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Season 18 Teams:

ANDERLECHT (27/3)
Owner: ProPAIN
Assistant Manager: Hansi Flick
Captain: Davide Calabria
Top Earner: Jota
Lowest Earner: Marco Carnesecchi
Key Player: Julian Brandt
Hot Prospect: Jordan Beyer
Zizou’s Key Player: Pablo Sarabia
Oldest Player: Idrissa Gueye, 33
Youngest Player: Anatolii Trubin 21
Average Age: 26

Last Season Prediction (FM): 4th
Last Season Finish: 5th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 7th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 5/1

Key Categories led: Balance, Long Shots

Zizou’s Thoughts: Anderlecht GM ProPAIN has thus far been unsuccessful in restoring his club to past glory or lifting the Championship title himself, last won in Season 12 with Flamengo when it was called the South and North American Football League. They looked to be a contender this season until a season-ending injury to Marco Asensio derailed their chances. But don’t think PP isn’t up for the challenge again. The majority of changes will come from within with various players added from other clubs under his control. He’s brought Julian Brandt from the Premiership as one of his main horses in attack and Stefan de Vrij on defense to accompany some of the familiar players being brought back for another run. And in something that’s bound to cause a lot of excitement around Belgium some of the expected key players for Les Mauves will be getting their first big chances with Serhou Guirassy and Tijjani Reijnders both expected to have much bigger roles this upcoming season.

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FC ANDORRA (27/3)
Owner: BLAUGRANA
Assistant Manager: Andoni Iraola
Captain: Luis Suárez
Top Earner: Julián Álvarez
Lowest Earner: Joey Veerman
Key Player: Luis Suárez
Hot Prospect: Armel Bella-Kotchap
Zizou’s Key Player: João Félix
Oldest Player: Luis Suárez, 36
Youngest Player: Armel Bella-Kotchap, 21
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 1st
Last Season Finish: 7th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 1st
Odds to win Championship (FM): 7/2

Key Categories led: Decisions, First Touch, Passing, Anticipation, Composure, Concentration, Vision, Corners, Finishing, Technique

Zizou’s Thoughts: Andorra GM Blaugrana continued to tweak his side heading into this season, utilizing every avenue to improve the club’s chances of finishing higher than mid-table. But it appears that the aim is not only to compete in the toughest league in the Dynasty Liga but to compete for a title. Football Manager predicts Andorra to win the league and given that they have a number of players in key positions rated highly, boding well for Andorra’s chances at winning a first league title. Sergio Busquets, El Pistolero Luis Suárez, Pote, Gonçalo Inácio, Pascal Groß, Takefusa Kubo and Benoît Badiashile all joined the ranks at Andorra to put them on the right foot with all eyes on them to start the season.

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GIRONA FC (27/3)
Owner: xavi4life
Assistant Manager: Mauricio Pochettino
Captain: Facundo Medina
Top Earner: Leandro Paredes
Lowest Earner: Luiz Júnior
Key Player: Manuel Ugarte
Hot Prospect: Igor Paixao
Zizou’s Key Player: Ángel Correa
Oldest Player: Marcos Acuña, 31
Youngest Player: André, 22
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 8th
Last Season Finish: 1st
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 6th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 5/1

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: Ambition can sometimes be a death knell. And sometimes, ambition is the most important characteristic that you’ve got. Girona GM Xavi4life’s ambition this season will only be met by his aim and hope in defending their Championship title after a years-long pursuit with Vitória. Somewhat surprisingly, despite last season’ triumph, Girona will very likely go with a new-look side with very few starters expected to keep their spot. Although much of this is the result of needs must as several players were called up to the Premiership at the conclusion of the season. The changes were immediate for X4L. And not even the assistant manager was safe as Xavi replaced Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini with Mauricio Pochettino. Manuel Ugarte, Morato and Yuri Alberto will join via promotion and the acquisitions of Joelinton, Ángel Correa and Bento will give Xavi a big boost heading into the season. Bento will have some big shoes to fill, replacing Emi Martínez in goal. Girona’s challenge to successfully defend their title is a mammoth one but certainly one that Xavi embraces like a friend or early morning coffee.

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KR REYKJAVIK (27/3)
Owner: Ramer
Assistant Manager: Ralph Hassenhüttl
Captain: Radu Drăgușin
Top Earner: Lukas Klostermann
Lowest Earner: Taylor Booth
Key Player: David Raya
Hot Prospect: Ander Barrenetxea
Zizou’s Key Player: Galeno
Oldest Player: Diego Alves, 38
Youngest Player: Ander Barrenetxea, 21
Average Age: 26

Last Season Prediction (FM): 6th
Last Season Finish: 10th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 8th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 6/1

Key Categories led: Free Kick Taking

Zizou’s Thoughts: The revolution continues as second-year GM Ramer continues to retool and revamp KR. Jan Paul Van Hecke, Arkadiusz Milik, Sergio Gómez and one of Iceland’s own, Albert Guðmundsson were signed by KR and they will accompany the other new faces joining from Senior/U21 clubs under his control including Ander Barrenetxea, Clément Lenglet and Abdallah Sima. However, like other teams, much of their revamped side will benefit from another year of improvement where players like goalkeeper David Raya and wingers Solly March and Galeno will look to assume more responsibility this season. In terms of the latter two, having both players operating on opposite flanks give KR an edge with the ability to launch three-pronged attacks into the box, something they’ll need to master in order to break into the top half of the table.

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LEEDS UNITED (27/)
Owner: Kawai
Assistant Manager: Unai Emery
Captain: Tyrone Mings
Top Earner: Lucas Digne
Lowest Earner: Crysensio Summerville
Key Player: Tyrone Mings
Hot Prospect: Billy Gilmour
Zizou’s Key Player: Justin Kluivert
Oldest Player: Bernd Leno, 31
Youngest Player: Kevin Schade, 21
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 14th
Last Season Finish: 8th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 14th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 10/1

Key Categories led: Acceleration

Zizou’s Thoughts: Despite being picked to finish last season, Leeds United wound up finishing the season in 8th. And for a second-straight season, Leeds are once again picked to finish last. With that said, after another active offseason window, GM Kawai made several potentially game-changing additions to Leeds. Newly-signed free agents in Antoine Semenyo and Hwang Hee-Chan give Leeds interesting attacking options but it’s Kawai’s trades that bring the majority of changes for the club. Armando Broja, Ethan Ampadu, Bryan Gil, Calvin Bassey and Dominic Solanke are amongst the headline-grabbing additions via trade. But perhaps, the most important changes for Leeds this season will be joining from his Senior/U21 clubs with Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne and Tariq Lamptey looking to give Leeds a facelift that Kawai will hope to see them finish in the top half of the table.

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LENS (27/3)
Owner: evilo
Assistant Manager: Antonio Conte
Captain: Teun Koopmeiners
Top Earner: Thomas Lemar
Lowest Earner: Victor Gómez
Key Player: Gerard Moreno
Hot Prospect: Lucas Chevalier
Zizou’s Key Player: Teun Koopmeiners
Oldest Player: Gerard Moreno, 31
Youngest Player: Lucas Chevalier, 21
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 2nd
Last Season Finish: 2nd
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 3rd
Odds to win Championship (FM): 4/1

Key Categories led: Pace, Dribbling, Penalties

Zizou’s Thoughts: If not now, when? Sooner or later, it has to happen for Lens GM evilo. Last season was one of high expectations with many in the Championship feeling it was Lens’ title to lose. Fast forward to mid-season and it appeared to have been une fausse promesse (a false promise) with Lens mired in the bottom half of the table and struggling for consistency. Until an incredible run saw them go from 4-6-2 to finishing 14-8-4 and just missing out of a potential title, clinching a second-place finish and leaving one to wonder what might have been. evilo has once again added some new powerful weapons to the lineup with Andreas Christensen and Gerard Moreno, two of the league’s best, added to the side that sees Fredrik Aursnes, Manuel Locatelli, Jadon Sancho, Andre Onana, Timo Werner, Aleksandr Golovin among others coming in to the side via trade and Mattia Zaccagni, Mykhailo Mudryk and Presnel Kimpembe joining from the Premiership. Lens are once again amongst the favorites to win a league title, which would be evilo’s first. Time will tell if this year is the year. But despite it having never happened to this point, it would surprise no one if it did.

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MONTPELLIER HSC (27/3)
Owner: Timo
Assistant Manager: Gian Piero Gasperini
Captain: Jonathan Tah
Top Earner: Domenico Berardi
Lowest Earner: Hugo Lloris
Key Player: Cody Gakpo
Hot Prospect: Strahinja Pavlović
Zizou’s Key Player: Youssef En-Nesyri
Oldest Player: Hugo Lloris, 36
Youngest Player: Nicolò Rovella, 21
Average Age: 26

Last Season Prediction (FM): 9th
Last Season Finish: 9th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 11th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 15/2

Key Categories led: Heading

Zizou’s Thoughts: First-year GM Timo will enter this season with his work cut out for him in trying to match LITN’s 9th-place finish last season with Schalke. He will be using a similar side after making few, albeit noteworthy changes. Curtis Jones, Nicolò Rovella, Santiago Giménez and Ivan Ilic will join the ranks after promotion from U21. Despite the lack of movement, many of the changes will come in-house as you’d expect for Justin Bijlow to start over last season’s #1 Hugo Lloris, who finished the year tied for the most clean sheets, although did not earn a single Man of the Match award. One can also expect Youssef En-Nesyri to lead the line for Montpellier, at least to start. But as Timo gets more acclimated, it’s anyone’s guess what MHSC will look like come the end of the season.

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NEWCASTLE UNITED (27/3)
Owner: Santiger Munez
Assistant Manager: Eddie Howe
Captain: Harry Maguire
Top Earner: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Lowest Earner: Mats Wieffer
Key Player: Ivan Toney
Hot Prospect: Noah Okafor
Zizou’s Key Player: Giorgi Mamardashvili
Oldest Player: Martin Dúbravka, 34
Youngest Player: Flavien-Enzo Boyomo,21
Average Age: 26

Last Season Prediction (FM): 12th
Last Season Finish: 12th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 2nd
Odds to win Championship (FM): 4/1

Key Categories led: Fitness

Zizou’s Thoughts: As usual, wholesale changes were not in the cards for the steady as he goes GM Santier Munez. Alessandro Buongiorno and Mats Wieffer were among the free agent signings with Santi mainly looking for changes from within. Marco Reus will take the stage front and center, joining Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Christian Eriksen and perhaps most notably Giorgi Mamardashvili, who joins from U21 and will step in to assume the #1 goalkeeper spot. Key for Santi, and all other GMs I suppose, this upcoming season will be identifying the best lineup and adapting throughout the season to find the optimal lineup for the rigors of Championship football.

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SALFORD CITY (27/2)
Owner: JR
Assistant Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
Captain: Scott McTominay
Top Earner: Miguel Almirón
Lowest Earner: Pedro Malheiro
Key Player: Brais Méndez
Hot Prospect: Timothy Weah
Zizou’s Key Player: Nicolas Jackson
Oldest Player: David De Gea, 32
Youngest Player: Aimar Oroz, 21
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 11th
Last Season Finish: 14th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 12th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 17/2

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: Salford was one of the enigmas of the season. Like Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga, the club managed to qualify for a Cup final despite a poor showing in league form. Salford, last-place the season prior, will seek to write a new chapter in their history and they will look to David De Gea to help them get there! I only half kid because despite De Gea being all but retired, he joins Salford to fight for their #1 spot. Also joining the ranks to try to improve Salford’s position from last season are Nicolas Jackson, Miguel Almirón, Beto, Tyrick Mitchell, Aimar Oroz, Pablo Fornals and Leonardo Balerdi to name a few. Although they finished last season, they were still exceedingly difficult to play against, having beaten four clubs (including one Premiership club) to qualify for the Cup Final and finishing the season with as many league draws as they had losses (11). Salford GM JR will be hoping that this retooling provides some dividends or they’ll be fighting in the cellar once again. This gargantuan task was given to new assistant manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

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SOUTHAMPTON (27/3)
Owner: Gooner
Assistant Manager: Marco Rose
Captain: James Ward-Prowse
Top Earner: Allan Saint-Maximin
Lowest Earner: Quinten Timber
Key Player: Alessandro Bastoni
Hot Prospect: Quinten Timber
Zizou’s Key Player: Callum Wilson
Oldest Player: Kasper Schmeichel, 36
Youngest Player: Caleb Okoli, 22
Average Age: 25

Last Season Prediction (FM): 3rd
Last Season Finish: 13th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 5th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/2

Key Categories led: Work Rate, Teamwork, Agility, Stamina, Crossing

Zizou’s Thoughts: Southampton’s two-year reign at the top of the Championship came to a sudden end with a dismal 13th-placed finish no one saw coming. Their accomplishment in winning back-to-back titles should not be understated as this league has become one of the most competitive in Dynasty Liga. But thankfully for the Saints, the player that helped steer Southampton towards back-to-back titles, James Ward-Prowse, returns home after a required season-long stint with Arsenal. He will join Alessandro Bastoni, Kieran Tierney and Quinten Timber, also demoted from Arsenal. GM Gooner made Lewis Ferguson and Lucas Torreira Southampton’s lone free agent signings, opting to continue to go with many familiar faces in their bid to reclaim the Championship title.

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FC ST PAULI (27/2)
Owner: Zizou
Assistant Manager: Zinedine Zidane
Captain: Matthias Ginter
Top Earner: Edson Álvarez
Lowest Earner: Sergi Cardona
Key Player: Denzel Dumfries
Hot Prospect: Rodrigo Riquelme
Zizou’s Key Player: Douglas Luiz
Oldest Player: Matthias Ginter, 29
Youngest Player: Samuele Ricci, 21
Average Age: 24

Last Season Prediction (FM): 5th
Last Season Finish: 4th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 9th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 6/1

Key Categories led: Strength, Aggression, Jumping Reach, Determination

Zizou’s Thoughts: There is nothing like winning a Championship. And when you know how competitive the Championship league is in Dynasty Liga, you know that winning is never guaranteed. After winning five SNAFL titles in seven seasons, the winning formula was ubiquitous for GM Zizou and it seemed like there was nothing would stop this dominance. But once the investment was made in turning the Championship into the best competition in the league, other clubs rose to the occasion and it’s now been a run of six title-less seasons for Zizou. Reclaiming this vaunted title will not come any easier this season as other teams have higher odds and they’ll be without last year’s league MVP Marcus Thuram, who was called up to the Premiership. But the desire is certainly there as Zizou looks to get the taste out of his mouth from finishing 4th despite leading the league at the mid-point of the season and their overall statistical dominance. Douglas Luiz (on loan) joins a highly thought of midfield with Khephren Thuram, Ferran Torres, Patrick Wimmer, Charles De Ketelaere also looking to make a difference for their new team in their bid to reclaim the Championship they once all but owned part-time.

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STANDARD LIÈGE (27/2)
Owner: Xerxes
Assistant Manager: Vincent Kompany
Captain: Matteo Pessina
Top Earner: Yassine Bounou
Lowest Earner: Olivier Boscagli
Key Player: Yassine Bounou
Hot Prospect: Rayan Ait-Nouri
Zizou’s Key Player: Brahim Díaz
Oldest Player: Anthony Lopes, 32
Youngest Player: Rayan Ait-Nouri, 22
Average Age: 24

Last Season Prediction (FM): 13th
Last Season Finish: 6th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 10th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 13/2

Key Categories led: Off The Ball, Flair

Zizou’s Thoughts: There’s something to be said about sticking to your guns. After all, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what Football Manager or any other GM thinks about your team except the GM himself. For better or worse, you live and die in this league by your own sword. RSL GM Xerxes is looking to looking to boost the club’s standing this season and will be going with many of the same players that he fielded last season. Olivier Boscagli was the lone free agent signing but a few other faces will join via trade and promotion/demotion including Issa Diop, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Mattias Svanberg and Brahim Díaz, replacing some of the departing players. Key for Standard’s odds this season will ultimately come down to tactics and not falling behind too far early on. We’ve seen in the past when Standard, and other clubs too for that matter, slips up at the start and doesn’t really get going until late in the season, it can be very difficult to come back from.

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SUNDERLAND (27/3)
Owner: james
Assistant Manager: Roberto De Zerbi
Captain: Đorđe Petrović
Top Earner: Gianluca Scamacca
Lowest Earner: Xavier Mbuyamba
Key Player: Matteo Politano
Hot Prospect: Xavier Mbuyamba
Zizou’s Key Player: Kerem Aktürkoğlu
Oldest Player: Matteo Politano, 29
Youngest Player: Xavier Mbuyamba, 21
Average Age: 24

Last Season Prediction (FM): 7th
Last Season Finish: 11th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 13th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 17/2

Key Categories led: Bravery

Zizou’s Thoughts: Sunderland, looking to avoid once again finishing behind their eternal rivals Newcastle United, turned to a few new recruits to improve their chances and raise their profile. GM James will look to Đorđe Petrović to assume the mantle in goal while Matteo Politano, Vangelis Pavlidis, Cyril Ngonge, Morten Frendrup, Quilindschy Hartman, Omar Marmoush and Melvin Bard are among the new recruits looking to re-establish Sunderland as a competitor in the league. One of James’ strengths in the past has been his ability to run well-constructed formations and adapting to every opponent. If there’s one GM that walks alone, it is James. And he’s earned the distinction.

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TOBOL (27/3)
Owner: Zooka7
Assistant Manager: Rulani Mokwena
Captain: Old Pepe
Top Earner: Sadio Mané
Lowest Earner: Yuito Suzuki
Key Player: Pepe
Hot Prospect: Joris Chotard
Zizou’s Key Player: Tammy Abraham
Oldest Player: Pepe, 40
Youngest Player: Yuito Suzuki, 21
Average Age: 26

Last Season Prediction (FM): 10th
Last Season Finish: 3rd
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 4th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/2

Key Categories led: Leadership, Positioning, Tackling, Marking

Zizou’s Thoughts: After falling short at the end of last season, GM Zooka7’s new-look FC Tobol will come in with a totally changed lineup. Among the players that the ever-active Zooka acquired for the upcoming season are Alphonse Areola, who will likely get the majority of the starts in goal, as well as Sadio Mane, Igor, Ellyes Skhiri, Hakim Ziyech and Jhon Lucumi. Zooka also sought to add some veteran leadership to his club, demoting several Senior players including Old Pepe, Fabinho, Lucas Vazquez, Hector Herrera from Celtic to help lead the Kazakh club. Tobol will have their work cut out for them if they are to repeat or improve on last season’s third-placed finish.

Notes:
• Julian Brandt (Anderlecht), Alessandro Bastoni (Southampton), Lewis Dunk (Southampton), Andreas Christensen (Lens), Gerard Moreno (Lens), Danilo Pereira (Tobol), Pepe (Tobol) are the highest-rated players in the league.

• Sadio Mané (Tobol) is the highest-earning player in the league.

• The oldest player in the league is Old Pepe, 40 (Tobol).

• Newcastle United & Standard Liège lead the league with the most internationally capped players, with 18.

• At 6’7” (2.00 m), Marcin Bułka (St Pauli) is the tallest player in the league. Tariq Lamptey (Leeds United) is the shortest at 5’5″ (1.64 m).

• Harry Maguire (Newcastle United) is the heaviest player in the league at 211 lbs (99.7kg).

• KR is the oldest team in the league.

• Sunderland is the youngest team in the league.

• On average, FC St Pauli is the tallest team in the league.

• Lens has the highest Average Player Transfer Value of any team in the league.

• FK Tobol has the highest Average Player Salary of any team in the league.

• Leeds United is the most diverse team in the league, representing 21 nationalities.

FM Predicted XI of the season:
GK: Meret (Anderlecht)
RB: Dumfries (St Pauli)
CB: Christensen (Lens)
CB: Bastoni (Southampton)
LB: Tierney (Southampton)
RM: Kubo (Andorra)
CM: Brandt (Anderlecht)
CM: Koopmeiners (Lens)
LM: March (KR)
ST: Moreno (Lens)
ST: Álvarez (Andorra)

FM Golden Boot Predictions from Football Radar:
01. Moreno (Lens), 4-1
02. Toney (Newcastle), 11-2
03. Berardi (Montpellier), 11-2
04. Guirassy (Anderlecht), 13-1
05. Wilson (Southampton), 15-2
06. Morata (Anderlecht), 15-1

FM Golden Ball Predictions from 90min.com:
01. Ugarte (Girona), 15-2
02. Dunk (Southampton), 10-1
03. Christensen (Lens), 10-1
03. Moreno (Lens), 10-1
03. Danilo (Tobol), 10-1
03. Brandt (Anderlecht), 10-1

Zizou’s Predicted Table:
01. Lens
02. Anderlecht
03. Andorra
04. Newcastle United
05. Girona
06. Tobol
07. Southampton
08. FC St. Pauli
09. KR
10. Standard Liège
11. Sunderland
12. Montpellier
13. Salford
14. Leeds United

Zizou’s Predicted Golden Boot Winner: Serhou Guirassy

• This topic was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Zizou.

[Xavi4life]

Amazing read, thank you!

[james]

The most remarkable thing about Sunderland is Xavier Mbuyamba recently had a S-ICD defibrillator implanted after it was found he had an irregular heartbeat and was at risk of heart attack (Christian Eriksen has one too). I don’t think he’s played for Volemdam since he got it and likely won’t play for Sunderland this season because he’s my lowest rated defender. I haven’t given up on him yet. Hopefully he can safely continue his football career. If Sunderland plays so badly that they finish next to bottom as predicted by FM, my ICD defibrillator might get some use.

Best of luck to us all. Thanks Z.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by james.

[Zooka7]

Great read Z!

[Kawai]

Another last place prediction Z?!?! What did I do wrong?? hahaha
joking aside thanks for these. I always look forward to reading them an trying to beat the predictions

[evilo]

Damn, the pressure is on!
Thanks for the read Zizou! May your predictions come true!

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by evilo.

[Ramer]

Another great read Z! Thank you again!

[JR]

Zizou wrote:

13. Salford

[Zizou]

JR wrote:

Zizou wrote:

13. Salford

To be fair, it WOULD be an improvement 🤷‍♂️

[BLAUGRANA]

FM doesn’t like me, but I’ll take the prediction anyway.

Thanks for the write up Z. My favorite league in our setup!

17366 wrote:

JR wrote:

Zizou wrote:

13. Salford

To be fair, it WOULD be an improvement 🤷‍♂️

JR mate, just have a look at transfer list and PM me with offers. Look at how @Evilo ‘s Lens has benefitted. 😉

[Xerxes]

Thank you, Z! I echo some of the sentiments about this league being a favorite. Standard is my favorite of my teams so I always look forward to this league a little more.

X

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