Season 23 U21 Talk & Predictions Thread

[Zizou]

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

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This is the 24th season for the Dynasty Liga U-21 League.

Season 20, 21, 22 & 23 Champions:

The pillar of U21, Flamengo won a record-breaking fourth U21 Title in a row. The faces change. But consistency has been the standard for Flamengo throughout the past half-decade.

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Season 24 Teams:

BOCA JUNIORS (32/3)
Owner: BLAUGRANA
Assistant Manager: Míchel
Captain: Gavi
Top Earner: Gavi
Lowest Earner: Matheus Gonçalves
Key Player: Gavi
Hot Prospect: Lamine Yamal
Zizou’s Key Player: Florian Wirtz
Oldest Player: Lucas Cañizares, 21
Youngest Player: Adam Aznou, 17
Average Age: 18

Last Season Prediction (FM): 13th
Last Season Finish: 10th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 5th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/2

Key Categories led: Flair, Vision, Corners, Technique

Zizou’s Thoughts: Despite being one of few U21 teams to actually get younger this season, Boca Juniors’ forecast this season will depend on the strength of their young backline. That inexperience showed through especially late in the season when injuries and suspensions to first-choice defenders stretched Boca’s already thin depth. Having said that, GM Blaugrana pulled off a savvy double coup in the acquisitions of Ousmane Diomande and Antonio Silva, who will undoubtedly give Boca one of the best CB pair in the league. Gavi remains the highest-rated and best player in the league for a second year in a row. Even though Lorenzo Colombo nearly lead the league in goals, Blaugrana shipped the forward off in the hopes that Vitor Roque can lead the line for the Argentine giants.

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FLAMENGO (32/3)
Owner: ProPAIN
Assistant Manager: Marcelo Gallardo
Captain: Joško Gvardiol
Top Earner: Bradley Barcola
Lowest Earner: Patrick Dorgu
Key Player: Nuno Mendes
Hot Prospect: Roony Bardghji
Zizou’s Key Player: Joško Gvardiol
Oldest Player: Nico González, 21
Youngest Player: Assan Ouedraogo, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 6th
Last Season Finish: 1st
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 3rd
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/2

Key Categories led: First Touch, Pace, Crossing, Dribbling, Penalties, Strength

Zizou’s Thoughts: In what’s becoming sheer routine for Flamengo, they were crowned champions a record fourth season in a row. And despite that, Flamengo grabbed a few headlines spending big in the offseason in signing free agents. You wouldn’t expect for many of them to feature this upcoming season with the exception of goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, who Flamengo signed to be the starter, beating out all other teams for his signature. The return of Jérémy Doku and Nuno Mendes give Flamengo a torrid left flank. And Flamengo will rival Boca with their 1-2 punch of CBs in Joško Gvardiol and Levi Colwill. All eyes are on Flamengo and whether they can pull off a miraculous Five-peat. The spotlight has never been brighter and you know that every other club will be gunning to unseat the long-time Champs. Time will tell if anyone will be worthy enough to stop them.

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GRÊMIO (32/3)
Owner: Xavi4life
Assistant Manager: Xavi Hernández
Captain: Lucas Beraldo
Top Earner: Yan Couto
Lowest Earner: Agustín Ruberto
Key Player: Yan Couto
Hot Prospect: Kauã Elias
Zizou’s Key Player: Facundo Buonanotte
Oldest Player: Matheus Donelli, 21
Youngest Player: Lorran, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 3rd
Last Season Finish: 2nd
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 10th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 15/2

Key Categories led: Passing, Off The Ball, Finishing, Marking

Zizou’s Thoughts: For Season 23, GM Xavi4life returned to the club where he previously had success, Grêmio. Having lost a number of players over of the offseason, Grêmio aggressively pursued potential targets early. Jhon Duran and Cristian Medina were among the join the ranks early, only to later be joined by Valentin Barco and Kendry Paez later. And despite failing to sign a few key targets in free agency, X4L did lock down the signatures of Agustín Ruberto and Leandro Brey, who takes up the mantle in between the posts. Grêmio will have their work cut out for them in trying to replicate last season’s incredible second-place finish. The main test for them throughout the first half of the season will be if they can weather their suspect depth on defense enough to put together another potential title challenge. Some of the most important factors will come down to the goals scored by Marcos Leonardo and the goals prevented by the combination of Lucas Beraldo and the incredibly underrated Murillo.

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GUADALAJARA (32/3)
Owner: james
Assistant Manager: Xabi Alonso
Captain: Amar Dedić
Top Earner: Alex Scott
Lowest Earner: Mateusz Musiatowski
Key Player: Malik Tillman
Hot Prospect: Rayan
Zizou’s Key Player: Heorhiy Sudakov
Oldest Player: Fabian Rieder, 21
Youngest Player: Eli Junior Kroupi,17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 9th
Last Season Finish: 5th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 13th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/1

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: Fabio Miretti and Eli Junior Kroupi among the key acquisitions for Chivas Guadalajara in an offseason largely summed up by the Kylian Mbappé traded. More on that later. GM James was active in free agent recruitment, signing Davide Bartesaghi and Ethan Mbappé to name two to his club in need of replacements. Key losses in the departures of Xavi Simons and Arthur Vermeeren saw Guadalajara both taking a more patient approach to U21 player development, as well as being more aggressive elsewhere. Despite the depth presented in attack, I’d still expect that the majority of goals for Chivas will be scored via committee with no clear, quality #1 target available on the roster, and a makeshift roster at least in some part.

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LA GALAXY (31/3)
Owner: Ramer
Assistant Manager: Thiago Motta
Captain: Radu Drăgușin
Top Earner: Rasmus Højlund
Lowest Earner: Orri Steinn Óskarsson
Key Player: Rasmus Højlund
Hot Prospect: Lennon Miller
Zizou’s Key Player: Giovanni Reyna
Oldest Player: Radu Drăguşin, 21
Youngest Player: Dennis Seimen, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 5th
Last Season Finish: 13th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 11th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 15/2

Key Categories led: Jumping Reach, Anticipation, Bravery, Work Rate

Zizou’s Thoughts: It certainly seems like second-year GM Ramer has started to figure it out in terms of a direction and LA Galaxy will certainly be ones to benefit. Despite the awful showing last season, it’s very easy to see where Ramer saw the weaknesses and wasted no time in bettering the lineup. While a few of their returning players like Radu Drăgușin, Rasmus Højlund and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson will certainly look to carry the load, trading for Giovanni Reyna, Conor Bradley and Eduardo Quaresma give the Galaxy a strong starting off-point in their bid to return the club to prominence. For a second straight season, the Galaxy carry the most diverse side in the league, which is only important to show that they recruit from anywhere with all hands on deck needed to lift the club out of the cellar and onto the stage.

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LAFC (32/3)
Owner: Zizou
Assistant Manager: Rafa Márquez
Captain: Aster Vranckx
Top Earner: Ansu Fati
Lowest Earner: Samson Baidoo
Key Player: Ansu Fati
Hot Prospect: Jan-Carlo Simić
Zizou’s Key Player: Xavi Simons
Oldest Player: Nicolò Fagioli, 21
Youngest Player: Yoram Zague, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 1st
Last Season Finish: 9th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 1st
Odds to win Championship (FM): 11/5

Key Categories led: Decisions, Balance, Stamina, Composure, Concentration, Determination, Long Shots, Tackling

Zizou’s Thoughts: Somehow picked by Football Manager to win the U21 title for the fourth season in a row, it surely has to happen this year for LAFC, doesn’t it? I said that exact thing last season and Flamengo once again hoisted the U21 title. But I believe the same was the case for Inter last season and they vanquished their demons in the end. So, one could stand to think that it may very well be possible this season for LAFC. In the words of GM Xavi4life, “if LAFC don’t win the title, something went wrong.” Or in his words, “You’re really going to have to fuck this up to not win u21”. Touché. The return in the trade of Kylian Mbappé, while not the desired outcome, will potentially benefit LAFC this season more than Phil Foden will for Inter. And the key to that are the three pieces, err starters, acquired in return. Namely Xavi Simons, Ilya Zabarnyi and Samuel Omorodion. The number of players in their last year of eligibility as well as the number of potential starters boasts a staggering number of potential lineups and combinations all across the field; a dream scenario for any manager. The addition of Aleksandar Pavlović gave the LAFC the final piece of the pie in their lineup. It remains to be seen if this will finally be LAFC’s year with Zizou having gone six seasons since their last youth title, when it was U22.

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NEW YORK RED BULLS (32/2)
Owner: JR
Assistant Manager: Michael Carrick
Captain: Alejandro Francés
Top Earner: Gabri Veiga
Lowest Earner: Diego Kochen
Key Player: Alejandro Garnacho
Hot Prospect: Jon Martín
Zizou’s Key Player: Kobbie Mainoo
Oldest Player: Piero Hincapié, 21
Youngest Player: Jon Martín, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 7th
Last Season Finish: 7th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 8th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 13/2

Key Categories led: Fitness, Aggression

Zizou’s Thoughts: GM JR smartly filled a lot of positions via trade early in the offseason window, acquiring Amad Diallo, Francisco Conceição and Maximo Perrone before the start of free agency. Thus, the majority of free agency was probably underwhelming for New York given their needs were largely already met. But it also gives them the advantage of having already been committed and set along this path ahead of some of his contemporaries. And judging by the depth of their squad especially on the wing, it’s easy to see the reason for self-belief. Returning goalscorers Alejandro Garnacho and Matias Soule will lead the attack out wide for New York with any number of CFs capable of stepping in between those two. And with Kobbie Mainoo and Yunus Musah in midfield, the options for additional service providers remains plentiful. Plentiful enough for another top-half finish will be determined by JR’s ability and his players to navigate the season.

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OTTAWA ATLÉTICO (32/3)
Owner: Gooner
Assistant Manager: Kieran McKenna
Captain: Rico Lewis
Top Earner: Giorgio Scalvini
Lowest Earner: Kerr Smith
Key Player: Rico Lewis
Hot Prospect: Mikey Moore
Zizou’s Key Player: Karim Adeyemi
Oldest Player: Karim Adeyemi, 21
Youngest Player: Archie Gray, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 10th
Last Season Finish: 6th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 12th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 17/2

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: Changes were afoot this offseason after the sales of prime Italian defender Giorgio Scalvini and midfielder Fabio Miretti after just one season. Anthony Elanga, Chido Obi, Ben Doak, Julian Rijkhoff and Ismael Kone make up the bulk of trade returns for Ottawa as package pieces were focused elsewhere. That said, some heavy lifting went Ottawa’s way with GM Gooner using all of his available funds for free agency. Notably for Ottawa, Adam Wharton and Martin Vitik were among the players selected during the free agent period to be brought aboard. But the returning players for Ottawa will likely be most key in carrying the water for Ottleti. Karim Adeyemi, Milos Kerkez, Oscar Bobb and Rico Lewis are all returning and expected to manage some of the heavy workload that’s expected. That rise in maturity should give them a better outlook going forward.

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PALMEIRAS (32/3)
Owner: evilo
Assistant Manager: Didier Deschamps
Captain: Sivert Mannsverk
Top Earner: Warren Zaïre-Emery
Lowest Earner: Lucas Bergvall
Key Player: Warren Zaïre-Emery
Hot Prospect: Sverre Nypan
Zizou’s Key Player: Giorgio Scalvini
Oldest Player: Amir Richardson, 21
Youngest Player: Saïmon Bouabré, 17
Average Age: 19

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

Key Categories led: Positioning, Heading

Zizou’s Thoughts: Other than Boca’s acquisition of António Silva, perhaps there was no better coup than Palmeiras’ trade for Giorgio Scalvini. With Malo Gusto, Aaron Hickey and possibly Callum Doyle, another trade acquisition, the defensive forecast for Palmeiras looks very promising. And with virtually no apparent weaknesses on the roster, hope springs eternal that GM evilo has as good a chance as any to possibly unseat Flamengo and win his first league title. Evilo also made several smart additions, picking up Diego López, Beñat Turrientes, Elliot Anderson, Amir Richardson, four players on their last year of eligibility to load up the team for a potential run at the title.

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PALESTINO (32/3)
Owner: Zooka7
Assistant Manager: Will Still
Captain: Alessandro Circati
Top Earner: Pape Matar Sarr
Lowest Earner: Nestory Irankunda
Key Player: Pape Matar Sarr
Hot Prospect: Senny Mayulu
Zizou’s Key Player: Simon Adingra
Oldest Player: Simon Adingra, 21
Youngest Player: Senny Mayulu, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 14th
Last Season Finish: 12th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 4th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 9/2

Key Categories led: Acceleration, Agility

Zizou’s Thoughts: In what’s becoming the norm, no other GM or team was as active as Palestino, the new club for second-year GM Zooka7. Despite the hefty price paid, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu represented the gold at the bottom of the rainbow, trading for his new #1 starter. Trades also saw Z7 add Pape Sarr, Simon Adingra, Carlos Baleba, Wilfried Gnonto and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to name a few, who will all surely see an important role this upcoming season. And no matter what high price was paid for who, arguably one of the smartest and shrewdest and pickups occurred with the minimum fee signing of Edoardo Bove, who inarguably shapes to be one of Palestino’s best and most important players. Time will tell if the sheer amount of changes will lead to a better finish than 12th in Sfaxien’s maiden campaign last season. Or if there’ll be an adjustment period before they are ready to compete for silverware.

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PERTH GLORY (32/3)
Owner: Kawai
Assistant Manager: Thomas Frank
Captain: Charlie Cresswell
Top Earner: Tino Livramento
Lowest Earner: James Wright
Key Player: Tino Livramento
Hot Prospect: Alfie Dorrington
Zizou’s Key Player: Evan Ferguson
Oldest Player: Charlie Cresswell, 21
Youngest Player: Joel Ndala, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 12th
Last Season Finish: 11th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 9th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 15/2

Key Categories led: Leadership

Zizou’s Thoughts: What could have been with Newell’s last season had Michael Olise not gotten hurt on the first matchday of the season. We’ll never know. GM Kawai’s club relocation to Perth represents a fresh start for a fresh crop of new players. Due to the number of vacancies at the club, Kawai was very active in free agency, as well as trades, making several big moves in acquiring Tino Livramento for Conor Bradley and Abdul Fatawu for Simon Adingra as well as making a first-day splash with the signing of Jack Hinshelwood. Last season, Evan Ferguson showed glimpses of being able to dominate a game. But too often, he went silent along with the rest of Perth’s offense. With one of the league’s sharpest goalkeepers in James Trafford, Perth stand to stay in most contests. Whether their odds of making an impact in the top half of the table improve or not will depend on their defensive depth including on the wing. But if history’s any indication with Kawai’s U21 side, they’re certainly capable of pulling off an unexpected run.

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SÃO PAULO FC (32/3)
Owner: Timo
Assistant Manager: Steven Gerrard
Captain: Abakar Sylla
Top Earner: Harvey Elliott
Lowest Earner: Marc Guiu
Key Player: Harvey Elliott
Hot Prospect: Edan Diop
Zizou’s Key Player: Brian Brobbey
Oldest Player: Pablo Maia, 21
Youngest Player: Gaël Latont, 17
Average Age: 20

Last Season Prediction (FM): 4th
Last Season Finish: 14th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 7th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 11/2

Key Categories led: Teamwork, Free Kick Taking

Zizou’s Thoughts: How São Paulo will do is anyone’s guess. New GM Timo was brought on late to rescue his club’s chances. São Paulo will benefit from the acquisitions of Lorenzo Colombo and Abakar Sylla, the latter you’d pick to start. Despite Colombo’s prolific goal-scoring campaign last season, I would still expect Brian Brobbey to get the majority of starts at CF. Often times, a new GM can go overboard making too many changes too quickly. But Timo stayed the course by adding a few smart signings late in free agency, picking up Ayman Kari and Ahmetcan Kaplan to balance out an experienced side with a complementary set of burgeoning young players in Harvey Elliott and Ian Maatsen.

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SEATTLE SOUNDERS (32/3)
Owner: Santiger Munez
Assistant Manager: Rúben Amorim
Captain: Bart Verbruggen
Top Earner: Tanguy Nianzou
Lowest Earner: Daouda Guindo
Key Player: Yeremy Pino
Hot Prospect: Gabriël Misehouy
Zizou’s Key Player: Lee Kang-in
Oldest Player: Million Manhoef, 21
Youngest Player: Lewis Miley, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 5th
Last Season Finish: 8th
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 14th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 12/1

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: In their rebranding this season, Seattle GM Santi brought in a slew of new faces, most of them via trade acquisition. Which is perhaps apropos since you could argue that the majority of Seattle’s core was acquired via trade. So you can expect for Yeremi Pino, Tanguy Nianzou, Emanuel Emegha, Koni De Winter and Hugo Ekitike to be among the contributors for Seattle this season. But that doesn’t tell the full story as Santi has also been responsible for helping to build the club through free agency, namely club captain Bart Verbruggen, who is arguably the league’s best goalkeeper.

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WYDAD CASABLANCA (32/3)
Owner: Xerxes
Assistant Manager: Walid Regragui
Captain: Ameen Al-Dakhil
Top Earner: Arda Güler
Lowest Earner: Yasin Özcan
Key Player: Noni Madueke
Hot Prospect: George Ilenikhena
Zizou’s Key Player: Arnaud Kalimuendo
Oldest Player: Mohamed Daramy, 21
Youngest Player: Yasin Özcan, 17
Average Age: 19

Last Season Prediction (FM): 11th
Last Season Finish: 3rd
This Season Predicted Finish (FM): 6th
Odds to win Championship (FM): 5/1

Key Categories led: None

Zizou’s Thoughts: Last season’s early firebrand Wydad Casablanca rode an electric style of football the entire season, finishing third after an impressive 78-goal putout, 14 more goals than the league champion or any other Dynasty Liga club for that matter. Wydad’s hopes for another strong campaign will be boosted by the return of last season’s MVP Arnaud Kalimuendo and other returning players like him. Despite filling a number of positions in free agency over the offseason, the potency in Wydad’s play will largely also be determined by the likes of Noni Madueke, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Kenan Yıldız, who likely represent the bulk of Wydad’s best. When the margins are slim, every result matters. And we will find out if Wydad will regress or challenge once again.

Notes:

• Gavi (Barcelona) is the highest-rated player in the league.

• Gabri Veiga (New York Red Bulls) is the highest-earning player in the league.

• Ottawa Atlético, LA Galaxy, São Paulo FC & Palestino lead the league with the most internationally capped players with 6.

• At 6’8” (2.03 m), Isaak Touré (CD Palestino) & Lucas Bergström (LA Galaxy) are the tallest players. Lucas Román (CD Guadalajara) is the shortest at 5’3″ (1.60m).

• The tallest team on average is LA Galaxy. The shortest team on average is Grêmio.

• Noah Atubolu (Ottawa Atlético) is the heaviest player in the league at 211 lbs (95.70kg).

• For the second season in a row, São Paulo FC is the oldest team in the league.

• Boca Juniors is the youngest team in the league.

• LAFC has the highest Average Player Salary and the highest Average Player Transfer Value of any team.

• LA Galaxy are the most diverse team in the league, representing 26 nationalities.

FM Predicted XI of the season:
GK: Jörgensen (Palmeiras)
RB: Couto (Grêmio)
CB: Gvardiol (Flamengo)
CB: Scalvini (Palmeiras)
LB: Mendes (Flamengo)
RM: Madueke (Wydad)
CM: Gavi (Boca)
CM: Wirtz (Boca)
LM: Zalewski (LAFC)
ST: Fati (LAFC)
ST: Doku (Flamengo)

FM Golden Boot Predictions from 90min.com:
01. Fati (LAFC), 7-2
02. Adingra (Palestino), 8-1
03. Ferguson (Perth), 9-1
04. Kalimuendo (Wydad), 9-1
05. Arezo (NYRB), 11-1
06. Roque (Boca), 11-1

FM Golden Ball Predictions from Planet Football:
01. Gavi (Boca), 15-2
02. Fati (LAFC), 17-2
03. Wirtz (Boca), 9-1
04. Doku (Flamengo), 11-1
05. Mendes (Flamengo), 12-1
06. Zaïre-Emery (Palmeiras), 12-1

Zizou’s Predicted Table:
01. LAFC
02. Palmeiras
03. Flamengo
04. Grêmio
05. Wydad Casablanca
06. LA Galaxy
07. Boca Juniors
08. New York Red Bulls
09. CD Palestino
10. Ottawa Atlético
11. CD Guadalajara
12. Seattle Sounders
13. São Paulo FC
14. Perth Glory

Zizou’s Predicted Golden Boot Winner: Arnaud Kalimuendo

• This topic was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by Zizou.

[Xavi4life]

Great read! Thanks for this Zizou, always gets me really hyped to start the season. C’mon FLAMENGO, give the rest of us a chance!!!

Good luck everyone!

[Zooka7]

Love these Zizou!! So hyped for the season

[evilo]

Thank you Zizou!
Always hopeful to get that title some day!

[james]

thanks Z

[BLAUGRANA]

Hmmm. Earners? So we’re paying these guys? And average age of 18? My team is way too old. Fire sale next window!

Seriously, thanks Z.

[Gooner]

Always love these. Looking forward to the season!

[ProPAIN]

Thanks Zizou! Always enjoy reading these.

Wimmer’s loan ended last season and Rijkhoff was traded, but I appreciate the kind words nonetheless 😀

[Kawai]

I always look forward to these!
Thanks Zizou
Will try to avoid finishing last

[Ramer]

Love getting to read these, thanks Zizou and good luck everyone!

[Zizou]

ProPAIN wrote:

Thanks Zizou! Always enjoy reading these.

Wimmer’s loan ended last season and Rijkhoff was traded, but I appreciate the kind words nonetheless

Copied and pasted from last season. Fixed!

[Xerxes]

Thank you for putting this together, Z!

X

[ProPAIN]

Zizou wrote:

Copied and pasted from last season. Fixed!

Thanks man!

[Author]

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