The Futbol Focus: Premier League Black

Tradition Futbol League (TFL) Premier League Black member Blaza has written a nice season 2 intro for the PLB. You can follow and comment on the thread here

It’s that time again folks. After an exciting inaugural FIFA2012 season, the TFL is back for an encore. TFL Black has been injected with a stimulus of new managers who are hungry, and out for blood. On the flip-side, TFLB also has a talented group of existing Skippers who will not let their spots in the table go without a fight! The following is a deeper look into the bosses and teams of TFLB, Season 2.

The New Bloods

Fulham - KnightNoles - L1B Champion

What can we say about Noles? Seemingly a rookie just yesterday, he has quickly become one of the deadliest managers in the game. Quite simply, Noles is one of the brightest young minds in the TFL and has taken his beloved Fulham Club to new heights in his tenure.

Noles features a very tight defense, but its offensively where he really stands out. Putting together a 50 goal season is no easy task in the TFL, but Noles rode a two-headed monster past the half-century mark last season. Forwards Bobby Zamora (23 goals, L1B Golden boot) spearheads the attack, with American Attacker, Clint Dempsey floating around, creating for himself and others (16 goals, L1B leading 15 assists).

Noles is very dangerous, and a heavy favorite for Europe. Is he ready to challenge for the ultimate prize of Premier League Champion? Time will tell.

CSKA Moscow - ZCar352 - 6th in L1B

After an up and down season in L1B, ZCar has landed himself squarely in the mix of PLB. ZCar’s CSKA Moscow are a tale of two stories. Offensively, ZCar is one of the more respectable managers in the TFL. His finishing in and around the box is comparable to some of the top sides in the world. Also featuring a two-headed monster, Doumbia (10 goals, 3 assists) and Vagner Love (9 goals, 3 assists) led CSKA in scoring.

Unfortunately, ZCar also boasted one of L1Bs most porous defenses. The Russian side let in a L1B leading 38 goals. Z will quickly learn that in the Premier Leagues, an organized defense is a MUST. With high flyers like Aguero, Zamora, Suarez, and Chicarito lurking, ZCar will need to sort out his defense as soon as possible in order to stay in the top flight.

Everton - Danthraxxx -8th in L1B

Danthraxx is another L1B newbie who landed in the Premier League for season 2. Managing Blue side of Merseyside, Dan took over a side that has seen success with previous managers Blaza and Darlon. It will be up to Dan to try to replicate some of this success in PLB.

Everton features a stereotypical English side full of size and strength. In Heitinga, Jaglielka, and Distin, Baines, Eveton boasts some of the best defenders in the world. This was evident in Dan’s respectable 20 goals allowed in L1B. Unfortunately, Dan didn’t exactly have on his shooting boots, scoring only 11 goals on the campaign. Hell, Hernandez and Aguero may be pushing for 11 goals of their own in the first few weeks of the season. Everton will HAVE to find ways to score in order to be competitive.

Zenit - hammerhead1010 - 7th in L1B

Hammerhead is a mixture of Dan and ZCar. Scoring only 16 goals, the Russian club must find ways to be more potent. The PLB is no place for the goalshy, with many games turning into multi-goal shootouts. Zenit is not a huge team in terms of physical size, but they do have some of the more skillful players around. Hammerhead should look to get his best attackers the ball and finish chances when they arise. Zenit will also need to do some work on a defense that allowed 29 goals in L1B.

Galatasaray S.K. - hedache - 3th in PLR

Hedache moves from PLR to PLB after a successful inaugural season in the Top Flight. Hedache started slowly with World Powerhouse, Barcelona, but picked up steam finishing 2nd in PLB and winning the prestigious Champion’s League trophy.

Barcelona was led by arguably the best attacker in the world, Leo Messi, and did not disappoint banging in 43 goals on the season. Messi did most of the work himself (23 goals-PLR Golden Boot, 5 assists), but was also helped by David Villa (12 goals, 5 assists). Barca’s attacking prowess made it VERY hard to defeat the Spanish Giants. On the flip-side, their defending (33 goals allowed) always kept the opposition in the game. Barcelona finished with a PLR high 8 draws, which will be far too many to keep hedache in Champions League contention in PLB.

Hedache has made the decision to leave Barcelona and return to his beloved Turks-Galatassary. Although they don’t feature superstars at every position, hedache’s childhood club does have some very capable attackers including the likes of Milan Baros, Colin Kazim-Richards, and their versatile former Arsenal man, Eboue. Hedache should battle for a place in Europe and provide a solid wrench into the plans of any team that takes him lightly.

The Old Wolves

Manchester United - Connor - 2nd in PLB

Boasting one of the strongest sides in the world, Connor’s Manchester United will be a serious contender in all competitions this season. In his first season in the top flight, Connor showed that he is one of the most talented managers in the world. He can score, he can defend, and he has a knack for the game that not all managers possess.

ManYoo lit up the scoreboards, pouring in 56 goals, led by joint-Golden Boot winner, Chicarito (29 goals, 7 assists). So stop Hernandez, and you should be ok against Manchester United, right? Wrong. English International Wayne Rooney was just as potent, finishing the session with 15 goals and creating 10 assists in the process.

After finishing a very respectable 2nd in PLB a season ago, Connor will be out to stake his claim as Champion. It won’t be easy, but early on Connor is certainly one of the favorites to lift the PLB Trophy in Season 2.

Manchester City - niuhuskie224 -4th in PLB

Huski returns to PLB in his second season as Man City manager. One of the most intriguing managers in the TFL, Huskie has proven that he just may be the most lethal finisher around. Season after season, Huskie bangs in the goals and S1 was no exception.

Leading the table up until the halfway point of the season, Huskie finished the campaign with an amazing 56 goals. Argentinean striker, Kun Aguero shared the golden boot with 29 goals and 7 assists. City’s second in command, Carlos Tevez scored 11 goals to go along with a PLB leading 13 assists.

The Dark side to the offensively potent Huskie, however, is his tendency to really lose concentration defensively at times. City’s league leading 56 goals was accompanied by an astonishing 53 goals allowed. City opponents took the field with two emotions, fear of City’s scary attack, as well as the anticipation of possibly lighting up the scoringboards. Look for Huskie to challenge in all competitions, but the Blue Side of Manchester will need to improve defensively if they want to win silverware.

Liverpool - ryalaman - 3rd in PLB

Quietly one of the best managers in the TFL, Ryalaman returns for another season as Liverpool manager. Rya is one of the favorites to finish atop the table with a balanced game and a knack for coming up big when it matters most.

Liverpool is also a typically English side with an amazing backline and goalkeeper situation. The club is always organized defensively which makes it very hard to score on them, especially at home. Liverpools 24 goals allowed was second only to Blaza’s stingy FC Porto’s 20. Offensively, ‘Pool has a myriad of options including the amazing Luis Suarez (18 goals, 5 assists), Gerrard (8 goals, 7 assists), and Andy Carroll.

After a rough start in Season 1, Ryalaman really learned to play with his squad and shot up the table, finishing a very solid 3rd place. With a full season at the helm, watch out for Liverpool-they will break some hearts this season.

Chelsea FC - Jon MK - 7th in PLB

Jon MK is another returning PLB who fought his way to 7th on the PLB table in Season 1. Jon really worked on his game and is hoping for a better finish in season 2.

Chelsea is loaded with talent and features Didier Drogba (18 goals, 2 assists). English maestro, Lampard bossed the midfield, scoring 9 goals and 5 assists. Look for Jon to get his other attackers involved and create more balance in the scoring load. Jon should also focus on keeping Super Frank Lampard involved, as his brilliance should help carry the Blues to sucesss. Jon will look to challenge for a place in Europe this season.

Arsenal FC - Blaza - PLB Champion

Finally, Manager Blaza returns to PLB after finishing top the table in S1. The TFL Veteran led Portuguese side, Porto to the promised land in his only season with the club, narrowly holding off Manchester City and Liverpool.

Porto finished the campaign with 49 goals, but it was their 20 goals allowed that really separated them from the pack. Brazilian monster, Hulk was arguably the best player in PLB scoring 26 goals and creating 10 more goals from assists. Hulk led all players with 7 Man of the Match performances. The tricky Varela supplemented the Porto attack with 10 goals and 7 assists.

After taking home the 3rd Premier League Title of his TFL career, Blaza stepped down as Porto manager to pursue other interests. Many of Blaza’s old guard buddies like The Richuation and AJ Hart MN have moved on to other divisions and pastures and the makeup of the TFL is much different than it once was. But after a shock opening with Blaza’s beloved Arsenal, the allure of returning to his dream club was too much to turn down. Fueled by whispers about his commitment to the game, it has been rumored that Blaza has been hitting the training ground and will look to silence the critics with a great season at the Emirates.