Well well well, after a few long months of living in a world completely devoid of competetive PES, the new season is finally upon us! With the big kick-off being this coming Friday the excitement levels are building, Hoo-bloody-rah!... So before it all gets underway once more I thought I'd take the time to have a bit of a recap of last week's eventful transfer window, and then turn my attentions forward to have a look at the coming season in an attempt to provide a bit of an overview of what might be to come from this years PES Premiership competitors.
Transfer Window Craziness
With last month's random draw being kind and cruel in equal measure there was a great deal of anticipation heading into the PES Pre-Season Transfer Window, so let's have a bit of a recap of how things went down... Who were the movers, who were the shakers and who were the sneaky donation makers?!
Day 1
It all kicked off with a bang last Monday night, the inclusion of Aston Villa in this year's league was one of the main talking points thrown up by the random draw, and it was the heated 6-way battle for control of the Villains that was to dominate the first day of the window. League newcomer Rockman stated the interest but it took a series of bids from Tommo, Shammy Stu, Deaf, Kell and Corholio to force him into what looked like the winning bid of 607 p3nce, but bang on the 10pm deadline Deaf popped up with a final all-in bid of 713 p3nce to bag them for himself!
Another big piece of news on the first day of the window was Smicks managing to outbid Deaf, Cornholio and Statman for the chance to return to Naples and re-take the reigns at the San Paolo stadium. Cornholio won't be too upset with that however as he had a solid back-up plan in place, beating Vic and Ben to the take charge of a strong looking Paris Saint-Germain side.
Elsewhere, Taylor bid all he had for Sampdoria and Rhys showed that he believes all things in the world should be equal by taking the slightly confusing step of matching the bid. None of this was to matter however, as a sneaky eleventh hour bid from from yours truly snatched them away at the last minute. Other opening day deals saw Perky come up against no resistance in aquiring Panathinaikos, and Spurs_Rhys outbidding Kai for PSV Eindhoven. Rounding off the first day's activity was DBZ who ended up not even needing his newly found financial backing to get his hands on his old club Galatasaray.
Day 2
The morning of day-two was all about donation-gate. With a number of high-profile managers stating their displeasure that it seemed everyone was 'doing a Harry Redknapp', weighty brown envelopes were exchanging hands left, right and centre. On the transfer side of things there wasn't quite as much drama as the previous day; Taylor outbid Kai to take charge at Palermo, which in turn meant that Vic landed the Deportivo job without too much hassle.
Kell then put on his gambling hat and set off for Monaco, Terry jumped on the first train down to the south coast to take over at Pompey and Stu didn't have to spend a thing to secure the services of Cristiano Lucarelli's Livorno. And last but by no means least, Frankie finally got the go-ahead to jet off and rediscover his roots with the mighty Tenerife.
Day 3
The final day of the window saw an aura of harmony and peace sweep through the PS3n ranks, there were no frantic auctions, no last minute gazumpings and no controversial third party p3nce donations. The 10pm deadline saw the confirmation that Ben had moved back to familiar surroundings by taking over at Real Valladolid and Tommo was off to sample the fine kebabs of Istanbul as the manager of Fenerbahce. Kai then bagged himself possibly the deal of the window by picking up last year's Premiership champions Udinese for under 400p3nce, definitely an astute bit of business there.
Four people siezed the chance to change teams in the final hour; Konda took charge at high-flying Sunderland, Tiktox returned to West London to finish off what he started last season at Fulham and McGrady followed Tommo to Turkey for an 'all you can eat' kebab bender, oh and to manage Besiktas of course.
Premiership Preview: Meet the contenders!
So the teams have been finalised and the players are raring to go after a long pre-season, I think that makes it time to stop dwelling on the past and start looking forward at what's to come over the coming season. Here's a bit of a rundown on this year's PES Premiership competitors.
BenStatman
Team: Real Valladolid
Ben finished in fifteenth position last season after poor form in the second half of the campaign and ended up narrowly avoiding the drop. However a well deserved victory over Robbie in the Premiership relegation play-off and a very strong showing in the end of season trophy show that he could be in line for a strong season this time out.
Players to watch: Jonathan Sesma and Fabian Canobbio will look to provide attacking thrust from midfield.
Possible weakness: Even though there should be a good supply of chances from midfield, the lack of a clinical striker might lead to a number of missed opportunities in front of goal.
BlackSalmon
Team: Espanyol
Salmon ended up second last season after a strong campaign that was based on rock solid home form, dropping only seven points all season at Celtic Park. Now with reigning champion Bainsy no longer in the league and a stronger team under his control, last season's runner up is surely in a prime position to challenge for this year's title.
Players to watch: With good service from Ivan De La Pena and Nakamura it's almost a certainty that the strike partnership of Raul Tamudo and Luis Garcia will gab themselves a hatful of goals this season, with the former especially looking like a good bet for this year's golden boot.
Possible weakness: A lack of squad depth in defence could lead to some tricky squadi shuffling if certain players are on poor form.
Cornholio101
Team: Paris Saint-Germain
Promoted as last season's champion of the Championship, Cornholio is sure to have no problems establishing himself as a Premiership force. Managing a strong and athletic Paris Saint-Germain side I'm expecting a successful first season in the top flight. Could be one of the teams to keep an eye on.
Players to watch: At 36 years of age Claude Makelele clearly isn't getting any younger, having said that you'd still be hard pushed to find a better midfield anchorman across the two divisions. Up front Ludovic Guily and Guillaume Hoarau look like a 'little & large' partnership that could really produce the goods, expect to see a number of goals from each.
Possible weakness: There could be a slight lack of creativity in the centre of the park, with most of the attacking midfield play probably coming from wide areas.
Crisps
Team: AEK Athens
As a newcomer to this year's Premiership and managing one of the league's more unfancied sides Crisps may well be somewhat of an unknown quantity to many, but I wouldn't bet against a strong showing and a number of impressive results against some of the so called better teams.
Players to watch: Argentine Ismael Blanco is the archetypal goal-poacher, and seasoned midfielder Pantelis Kafes will offer versatility from the centre of midfield.
Possible weakness: Right-back could be a problem area, first choice Georgeas is competent defensively bit won't offer much going forward.
DannyJames
Team: Wigan Athletic
Had an impressive overall campaign last time out and ended up finishing comfortably in third place despite using two of the weaker sides in the league. Famed for his expansive play and impressive long-shots; Danny's sure to be up there challenging for the title come the end of the season, if he can overcome his frequent technical issues of course!
Players to watch: Charles N'Zogbia and Olivier Kapo are both capable of providing quality from midfield, I wouldn't be surprised if both ended up bagging a few goals over the course of the season either.
Possible weakness: Whilst Hugo Rodallega is a busy and powerful striker, questions could be raised over the consistency of his finishing.
DBZ_Ultimate
Team: Galatasaray
Having dropped out of the league half-way through last season due to other commitments he'll be eager to get back into the swing of things quickly. A strong all-round player and is managing one of the better teams in the division, also has a good pedigree on PS3n having come second in the old Central league a couple of seasons ago.
Players to watch: Kader Keita and Arda Turan will offer pace and directness from midfield while Elano and Harry Kewell will look to dictate play and create chances.
Possible weakness: Baros and Nonda are both decent all round strikers who'll certainly cause opposition defenders a few problems, but neither can really claim to be massively prolific.
ElSupremo-NickF
Team: Everton
Nick stepped in mid-way through last campeign and immediately impressed despite being mainly a FIFA player at the time. Plays a great passing game and on his day can be one of the best in the league. Again has a very strong team at his disposal and I'd expect him to be easily up amongst the Champions League spots come the end of the season.
Players to watch: Mikel Arteta and Steven Peinaar will provide the opportunities and the powerful striking duo of Saha & Yakubu will look to convert those chances.
Possible weakness: A strong overall squad with no glaring weakness, possibly lacking a 'fox in the box' kind of striker.
Fungusking
Team: Sampdoria
Narrowly pipped Konda to 4th spot last season and enjoyed what was generally a good second half of the campaign, will need to hit the ground running this time though as a repeat of last season's poor early season form could prove too much of a mountain to climb.
Players to watch: Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini are the dynamic duo that will have to be firing on all cylinders if this Sampdoria side are to be successful this season. Both are good all-round players that should cause opposition defences a number of problems.
Possible weakness: A lack of height throughout the team could lead to fragility form set-pieces. And a lack of squad depth in central midfield and up top may cause problems should any of the first-teamers be off sick.
JohnMcGrady
Team: Besiktas
Took one of the automatic promotion spots in last years Championship. Some very strong performances in Frank's PES nights and the end of season trophy suggest he'll have no problem settling to life in the Premiership.
Players to watch: Experienced Turkish international Nihat Kahveci has returned to his hometown club after seven productive years in Spain with Real Sociedad and Villareal, and his eye for goal is sure to get him a fair few over the season. Matias Delgado will also be a threat from midfield.
Possible weakness: A lack of strength in depth at Centre Back could be a problem.
Konda
Team: Sunderland
Unluckily just missed out on 4th spot last season due to a couple of generous coin toss results. A great player who'll look to build on last campaign, you can expect him to be amongst the top four or five teams once again come the season's close.
Players to watch: Daren Bent has the pace and Kenwyne Jones has the power, could be an effective parntership there. Especially with the classy Steed Malbranque sitting in behind them.
Possible weakness: Bent and Jones will undoubtedly give most defences a very hard time, the question will be whether or not they can consistently take the chances that will inevitably fall their way.
Perksta1
Team: Panathinaikos
A fantastic second half to the season last time out saw Perky eventually finish in 6th place, a position that he'll no doubt be looking to better coming into the new season.
Players to watch: A very strong midfield trio of Gilberto Silva, Karagounis and Katsouranis will look to provide the ammunition for the explosive Djibril Cisse.
Possible weakness: Centre back could be the problem position here, with no one looking particularly established at first choice it'll be up to Perky to find a partnership that works.
Scott_RFC
Team: Tottenham
Could Scott be this year's Bainsy? Everyone who loses to him will have a ready made excuse after the controversial inclusion of Tottenham in this year's leagues so there'll be considerable pressure to win almost every match.
Players to watch: How long have you got? Lennon will surely roast many a full back and you probably can't look much further than Jermaine Defoe when drawing up the odds for this season's top goalscorer.
Weakness: None really, pretty much two quality players in every position... Oh yeah, there's always David Bentley I guess.
Shamrock_Stu
Team: Livorno
Back in the leagues after his absence last year and will be looking to hit the ground running. Livorno are a very small team compared to some others in the league but there are a couple of quality players hidden away in there, could provide a fair few shocks to the so called bigger teams.
Players to watch: Francesco Tavano and Cristiano Lucarelli are almost the perfect strikeforce, the latter being a strong old-fashioned number nine who can hit the net with his head as well as he can with his feet. Would be a good bet to get over 20 goals this season.
Possible weakness: Not the biggest of squads and there's a distinct lack of quality at full-back.
Slicklu
Team: Ajax
Slick finished comfortably mid-table last time out and will obviously be looking to improve upon this in the coming season, a good player who's capable of beating anyone on his day.
Players to watch: Luis Suarez and Dario Cvitanich are the main goal-threats and ex-Barcelona man [i]Oleguer[/i] is strong at the back.
Possible weakness: Ajax might be lacking a strong target man type striker, could lead to a lack of options should the game not be going to plan.
Smicks
Team: Napoli
After a good start Smicks faded off slightly at the end of last season and finished up in 12th position. A really solid player who's famous for his fair play and adept at scoring the odd wonder-goal or two. Back managing Napoli who've strengthened considerably over the summer, I'm expecting a good season from Mr Smicks.
Players to watch: Ezequiel Lavezzi and Fabio Quagliarella are probably one of the pest strike partnerships in the division, with the latter scoring a massive 37 league goals when at Bainsy's Udinese last season. Expect both to be up there amongst the goals again this time round.
Possible weakness: A lack of height up front is the only real weakness that could be pointed out. Otherwise they have two decent players for almost every position.
Spurs_Rhys
Team: PSV Eindhoven
Won automatic promotion almost at a canter with Porto last year in what was his first season in the leagues, so will be aiming to build upon this success and establish himself in the Premiership.
Players to watch: Ibrahim Afellay is the creative force in midfield and Danny Koevermans the man tasked with grabbing the goals.
Possible weakness: Lack of quality backup to Afellay.
TenMonty
Team: Siena
Winner of the Championship play-offs, beating Frank in the final to end his miraculous end of season charge. Was challenging for the Championship title for much of last season before a bit of an end of season collapse. If he can avoid such a downturn in form this time round I'm sure he'll have no problem at adapting to the Premiership.
Players to watch: Massimo Maccarone is the star man and principal goal threat here, while veteran right-winger Michele Fini will look to supply him with quality chances.
Possible weaknesses: Not much backup in defensive areas.
VicVip0r
Team: Deportivo La Coruna
Very much one of the surprises of last seasons Premiership, in that he finished in eleventh place despite a number of very impressive results. A much better player than his league position suggests and will surely do better this year.
Players to watch: Young Mexican Andres Guardado has pace to burn and the ability to match over on the left flank and Juan Carlos Valeron will be controlling the tempo and dictating play from the middle.
Possible weakness: A load of options up front but all of similar quality, no obvious first choice players so it'll be interesting to see who Vic goes for.
written by manfromtherock, November 16, 2009
- Just kidding. Great stuff!
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written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , November 16, 2009
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written by perksta1, November 16, 2009
great stuff Fungus the bogey man ,absolutely crackin article ,its peeps like you that make this site a top place to be ,woooooooooooooooooooooooooooot YEAHHH BWOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , November 16, 2009
And yes, yes I will be this years Bainsy
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PS3N will be launching its own Blog section in the near future. Interested in becoming an official PS3N blogger? More info soon.
As has been mentioned previously you really have an outstanding knowledge of European football, great insight into some of the lesser known key players. I for one will be looking out for some of the "dangermen2 you refer to!
Well done mate