Welcome to the latest edition of the Rugmunchers Division 5 magazine. We will have a look at the latest news from the managed teams in the division. How the league is faring and the latest transfers are going.
ABERDEEN
Mac the Hat and his Aberdeen side are lying 11th in the table after 18 games after an inconsistent couple of weeks. Wins over Torquay United and Ipswich Town had Mac threatening to challenge for the play offs but that was undone with a disappointing home defeat to Blackpool. With still plenty of games left, Aberdeen still have the potential to reach at least the play offs. Mac has not done much to the squad since the opening day, only adding midfielder Gomes Filipe from Italian club Siena. Filipe has been a good buy, scoring 6 times to be joint top scorer with Scott Vernon.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Richard Hempshall is the new manager of Blackburn. He is so new that he has still to take charge of a game. He will do that tonight at home to Plymouth Argyle. Blackburn are a mid table 13th and had went 5 games without a win until Thursday's 5-2 win over Bury. Richard has a good squad for a Division 5 side and I expect him to be climbing the league sooner rather than later. The team is untouched since the start of the season so he will have money to spend but he would have to spend big to make a change in his current best side. Players like Formica and on loan Kazim Richards are the standard he has to look at although with a third of the team over 30yo he may look to that area to change things. Good luck Richard and welcome to Division 5.
BURNLEY
Burnley boss Ben Langan has his side playing some attractive football. They are 6th in the table as we approach the halfway point and his side are on a run of 7 games unbeaten. He seems to keep his best form for away matches and has only lost 1 out of 9. He has signed an incredible 29 players since he took charge although most of them are youth players that he is taking a gamble on. He has also shipped out 26 players and thus keeping his squad manageable. In all he has assembled a good squad with goalkeeper Ter Stegen being the one that impresses me most. The squad is very young with, except for 29yo Javi Fuego, the oldest being 24yo. I reckon Burnley must be favourites for promotion but that is easy to say and it's getting the performances on the park that decide.
DERBY COUNTY
Well how do you assess your own performance? This is my club and they are in real life my favourite English side and I have been to Pride Park many times to watch them. We are lying 8th in the table after having lost on Thursday at home to Ipswich Town. I feel the team is improving all the time and we are still in both the cup and the shield. We keep threatening to go on a good run but then lose a game we should be winning. I have brought in 11 players with the little cash I had with most of them being free agents just to expand the squad. 20yo Connor Wickham was one of the first I brought in and he is arguably the best. I believe I have the squad and the tactics to get close to a play off place but would maybe be better having another season in Division 5.
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN
Hearts, managed by Dale Piero, have improved slightly since the last magazine. At that time they were lying second bottom but a win and 2 draws has moved them up to 16th. This I did not expect. I thought Dale would have been pulling out all the stops to get Hearts at the other end of the table. Things are improving though and there is still time to recover. Dale has been very busy in the transfer market, bringing in 33 players and shipping out 21. Again these have been mainly players aged around 18 and obviously Dale is looking to the future. The first team squad is held together by 3 loan players and to be honest it looks like Dale was writing this season off before it started, preferring instead to concentrate on finding young talent. If he finishes mid table then I am sure he will be content.
IPSWICH TOWN
Ipswich are the darlings of the game world but only because they are managed by Cloughie, who owns the thing. Well the boss is doing very well in this first season and his side are sitting nicely in 3rd place. They have lost only 1 of their last 14 games and are unbeaten on the road. At one time they went 6 games without conceding a goal. Impressive, so what has made this team so good? I thought maybe he had brought in some good players, using up all his funds but then I seen he has only brought in a goalkeeper and the rest of the squad remains intact. Brazilian keeper Victor was brought in from Atletico Mineiro and it has been a wise buy, as the 6 clean sheets on the bounce shows. The squad itself looks no better than some of the other squads around so he must have them organised very well as they keep picking up results. On the downside I suppose, the question is can he keep it up? But enough of his personal problems and we will let time tell whether the signing of an 88 rated goalkeeper has been a master stroke.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Nottingham Forest has the very experienced Aussie Michael Hudson at the helm. His experience has shone through as Forest lie in 2nd place and are unbeaten at the City Ground with 7 wins and 2 draws. Last Sunday he had an incredible 10-0 win over Bury, which he proudly commented that it was first time he had hit double figures. This made him highest scorer in the league with 53 goals, almost averaging 3 goals a game. He brought in 7 players to add a bit of quality to his squad including Marco Rojas who wanted to move to Derby but is not allowed. He also signed Michu and Le Fondre who are good players for the job required in this league. There is no doubt that Michael's plan was just to score more goals than the opposition. If they score 4 then he will score 5, well going by the 8 players he has that can play up front. Only unmanaged Birmingham are between him and the top spot but I doubt that will last long and I feel Forest will be in Division 4 next season.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
Plymouth Argyle have Clint Brownfield as their boss. Clint has won many trophies in Soccer Manager and brought tons of experience to Plymouth. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out so far and Plymouth are languishing in 14th place. Its been an up and down season for Clint with a poor start hindering his attempt to get up into the top half. He claimed 3 wins in a row before drawing with Piero's Hearts and then getting his ass well and truly smacked by Skippy at Nottingham Forest, although he does like that. That's the kind of campaign it has been for Argyle. Clint is another one that has brought in youngsters. 39 free agents signed up with him and all were 22 or under except 34yo Belgian Mpenza. Remember him. He was going to be huge but it didn't work out that way. Good signing though and surprised he was a free agent. Well spotted Clint. 18 of these free agents were loaned out and Clint has a squad that justifies his league position. Down but not out, watch out for Plymouth over the next couple of seasons.
TORQUAY UNITED
Torquay are managed by Villain McMillan or Josh as we know him. Torquay are sitting 9th and could have been even higher if it wasn't for a horror 4 game run of defeats. Josh has done well with such a small team and can be happy with his performance so far. He has the potential to reach the play offs but has a few hard games coming up. If he gets out the other end still in the top half then he can push on. The story on his transfers is that he has brought in 18 players of varying age and ability including 40yo Edgar Davids. Does he still wear those strange specs? His squad is on the wrong side of average which shows just how good a job he is doing. I doubt he will make the play offs but if ever there was an incentive for him to make then it is what I just said.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Dale Bowers has taken Wigan Athletic to the fringes of the play off spots. Wigan were one of the pre season favourites and still have the time to prove why. Their inconsistency lately has seen them slipping down the table after being in a good position but they will be back and I expect them to at least seal a play off place. Dale has brought in decent players including 89 rated Michael Vorm and Wilfried Bony. He has also brought in some youngsters to secure the club's future. The 16 player first team squad is probably the strongest in the league but that doesn't guarantee success as I have experienced first hand in other set ups. Wigan and Dale look a Division 3 side at least and although I said a play off spot, don't be surprised if he finishes in the top 3 come the end of the season.
