The EFL Big Eight

[Ian]

Greaves Assess The The EFL Big Eight

Welcome to an outside view of the top eight finishing teams in last season's FFO EFL top tier division as the Aston Villa manager gives a brief assessment of how all of the Champions League qualifiers from this division fared last season and what the future may hold for each team as well as their manager. During the following assessments no predictions will be given as to each teams finishing position next season mainly due to the fact that recruitment at this stage is very much unknown. What you are more likely to get is a light hearted but down to earth view from a Premier League manager.

Paris Saint Germain
Manager: Simon Clark

So starting off with the champions we take a look at PSG. For some time now the manager of this French outfit who prefers to be known as Ed has been building up his squad and you have to say has done a quite magnificent job along the way as he now bears the fruits of his labour. Ed though forever seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and no matter how well his team performs he will still find a way to bring himself back down to earth before any celebration even takes effect. One can only assume that as more silverware inevitably comes his way he will find it within himself to be a little more cheerful and also learn to rub his opponents noses into his own success rather than constantly thinking up excuses just in case his team fails to perform. Let's face facts, it is unlikely that any other team in this division is going to get anywhere near the ability of his playing squad any time soon, not only does he have world class players in every position he also has enormous depth in his squad with the luxury of having players on his bench that many teams in the division could only dream of fielding in their starting eleven. Towards the end of last season when it became obvious that no one was going to catch him at the top, Ed did show a few glimpses of arrogance and that's good, it's just the sort of arrogance you would expect from a man who has just trounced the rest of the teams in that League. Ed now just needs to get on with winning trophies, he has the tools to do it and he can then forget about thinking that the world is against him.



A.S. Roma
Manager: Derek Hughes

Second placed team in the EFL League was Roma who of course are managed by the more confident Derek Hughes who incidentally also likes to be known as The Transfer King or TK for short. If I recall correctly Derek self proclaimed himself the TK and at one point there seemed to be no disputing this fact although in more recent times certain others would argue otherwise and the term TK now appears more widely spread amongst other managers who also claim the same title although Derek will naturally insist that there remains only one TK. Derek has enjoyed much success at the very top end of the EFL either winning the title or coming very close, is a very confident manager, in fact one of the few managers in that League that is prepared to make bold predictions regarding any future success that will come his way. That's mainly due to the fact that some of the top end managers in that League are utter wimps and are very keen to make up excuses for failure before failure actually occurs. Unfortunately though the reality for Derek now is that he will always be challenging for the best of the rest cup in that division.




Juventus
Manager: Andy Banks

Juventus then next who finished in a very credible third place last season putting some of the other big hitters in this league to shame. Banks Jnr has enjoyed some very successful times in the game in years gone by, namely with West Bromwich Albion and also Real Madrid before taking a break from management. Andy Banks then came back into FFO and controversially at the time took on a team amidst allegations by some managers that the team had been tailor made especially for him. One thing I will say in ABs defence is that whether or not the team was tailor made it was a far worse team than any of the teams owned by the accusers and needed work to get it up and challenging, in other words the said accusations were nothing more than sour grapes. Andy does have a dark side though, he has within him a certain arrogance, he also loves to wind people up to the hilt and certainly takes the wooden spoon prize for that purpose. As for what the future holds for Banks at Juventus, well I can now definitely see this cocky young manager finishing top four consistently but taking Juventus to another level will be a big ask.



Atletico Madrid
Manager: Simon Marsh

Another team finishing in a very credible position was Atletico Madrid who came fourth under the very capable management of Simon Marsh. Known by many as simply Marshy this particular manager is probably the good guy of the bunch. Marshy always goes about his business quietly as well as confidently and has brought this team forward a long way since taking them over. Marshy also rarely gets involved in any disputes, appears to play the game strictly by the rules and is a credit to his club. He will be fondly remembered this last season for being indirectly involved in a bet between fellow managers Jason Hopton and Garysean Wilson in which he played a good part. Again it will be difficult to see Simon Marsh taking Atletico Madrid to another level and by that I mean challenging for the title. I do though suspect that Marshy is more than content with how things are going with his club.



Real Madrid
Manager: Steven Talbot

In fifth place came Real Madrid, a team as well as manager who would certainly have hoped for a higher finish than what they ended up with. Manager Steve Talbot is also known by many as the ruthless one and probably for good reason. You know the type, would sell his own Granny down the river if he thought it would make his own life a little more comfortable and plays other managers in this game the same way. As for his lowly finishing position, or at least low by Real Madrid standards, Talbot will be quick to point out the fact he is blooding some youthful players in and to be fair he is but you have to ask yourself at what cost. This past season teams at the very top have pulled away form Real Madrid in terms of ability and I just wonder if Talbot would go down that same youthful path again was he able to go back in time. So what does the future hold for this club now? Well if anyone stands a chance of catching up with PSG it has to be Real Madrid given the youthful talent that Talbot has within the ranks and the bargaining power that talent brings with it. He still has a lot of ground to make up though.



Inter Milan
Manager: Garysean Wilson

The team and manager that finished in sixth position last season was probably the most predictable finishing position of all, Garysean Wilson or GS as he is more commonly known has made a habit of finishing a sort of fifth or sixth place with Inter Milan for a few seasons now. Probably the most outspoken manager in the game GS is also well known for never being in the wrong, even when proven wrong. He is also famous for repeating himself over and over again until he believes that he has got his point across, it can actually be very unnerving when you are on the receiving end of him as he relentlessly repeats his point until he gets a submission. Yes he loves to repeat does our GS, repeats all the time. As for the future of Inter Milan, well if you listen to the manager he will tell you that he is going places fast, in fact I am pretty sure he makes this same claim each season but still has a habit of finishing fifth, sixth or thereabouts. Oh, and did I mention that he likes to repeat himself.




Barcelona
Manager: Graeme Edwards

Long standing manager Graeme Edwards has been with this Spanish giant a good few seasons now and like everywhere else he has managed has picked up silverware along the way. Those who know Graeme well will refer to him as Livi and as long as I have been in the game I still don't know why that is. Some will simply call him the GOAT and for good reason. Graeme is also not afraid to let it be known he plays the game from the gut with none of this maths nonsense involved and I for one feel it would be a better game if everyone played that very same way. I also get the feeling that Livi likes the game to be played in a good spirit with no room for any dark art antics even though on occasions he may joke about joining in with such antics. Graeme certainly comes across as liking the playing field to be fair and equal for everyone. As for the future, well Graeme is as competitive as anyone, he loves to win titles, cups and does so with an alarming regularity. Livi will be one of the first to admit that there are teams well ahead of his Barcelona side but make no mistake, if anyone can pull off a shock and pip one of the big boys to the title it's our Graeme.



Bayern Munich
Manager: Jon Banks

Head admin as well as manager it's a wonder that Jon finds the time to run a team and run it successfully at that. I recall when Jon was manager of Manchester United and proud of it. Since those days Jon or as he is more commonly known, JB, has taken on a number of teams in the lower divisions and built them up from scratch taking them up through the leagues, a trait that he seems very comfortable with although for whatever reason has had a habit of then passing the teams he has developed on to other grateful managers. That though has not happened with Bayern Munich, JB seems content with his team and happy to be the top German team in the game. Jon is also a fellow LST manager and I am sure deep down believes that his team can perform even better despite not being as strong on paper as some of the other big players of the division. In the coming seasons I can see Jon Banks and Bayern Munich performing better and finishing higher, probably not troubling the very top teams but none the less hitting further heights than what he has to date. JB can be proud of the fact he has the best LST team in the EFL and just as proud that he has the second best LST team in the whole game.

[Livi@Liverpool]

Good read that Ian cheers

As for the Livi explanation, I started on here way back in the day as LiviArab ie a Dundee Utd fan who stays in Livingston. It got shortened to just Livi at some point. I know, I know, boring stuff but there you go