Prospect has The A-Z of English Football in 2008, but it contains one massive error. Newcastle, a Massive Club by anyone's definition, did actually win some silverware last season. The antepenultimate Intertoto Cup. Quake at their ability to win the (Intertoto) cup and almost get relegated in the same year! Anyway, the club's new manager is Kevin Keegan, who was also the side's manager from March 1992 until he was surprisingly fired in January 1997.
The NCAA-ball desk has cleared off for the summer, but we've noticed an interesting development that's too good to lie gathering dust until next August. Perpetual BCS non-champions OHIST has confirmed a home-and-away series against BT-N there-or-thereabouts OKLAH, to be played in Week 4 over two consecutive years. The first game will take place at a venue of OKLAH's choice on 17 September 2016; the return match will be in OHIST territory on 16 September 2017. This is not a misprint, the matches really have been scheduled for nine and ten seasons hence. Nor is it known if television contracts yet to be signed or negotiated will require one or both fixtures to be moved. An OHIST spokesball said that it was great that two of the game's best teams were meeting in this way. Shall we book our tickets in a package with the following week's BUFFL-FLINT top-of-the-table clash?
Notes in brief: Luton (III) has been taken over by BBC newsreader Nick Owen. UEFA and FIFA have agreed to compensate clubs when their players are called up for international matches: this was one of the main rallying points for the G14 of seventeen leading European clubs (and Bayer Leverkusen).
Upsets
47 Bury - Norwich 2:1 43 Gretna - Falkirk 2:0 42 Real Madrid - Mallorca 0:1 38 Le Mans - Lyon 1:0 37 Lens - Lyon 3:0 37 Dundee Utd - Aberdeen 3:0 35 Valladolid - Espanyol 2:1 35 Getafe - Seville 3:2 34 St Mirren - Motherwell 3:1 34 Palermo - Siena 02:03 33 Sheffield Wednesday - Sheffield United 2:0 33 Lens - Nancy 3:0 31 Hearts - Hibs 1:0 30 Auxerre - Marseille 1:0
Gretna record only their third win of the season. Bury and Real Madrid's losses came in cups, as did Lyon's loss to Le Mans. The subsequent league loss to Lens leaves Lyon (1091, 81.8) lower than 1100 points, and behind Bordeaux (1101, 83.5). It's the first time since these rankings matured in early 2004 that Lyon's not been the top-ranked French side. Finally, we note that if there's to be a fourth Edinburgh derby this year, it'll probably be in the relegation play-off. Both Hearts and Hibs are now in the bottom six, and it's going to take a miracle for both to make the top half.
Primera Division
BAR 1242 80.1 12 0.15 RMD 1211 80.5 -1 -0.01 AMD 1147 79.4 -41 -0.52 VIL 1146 82.0 -1 -0.01 ESP 1117 81.4 -33 -0.41 SEV 1111 76.8 -20 -0.26 SAN 1094 80.4 -12 -0.15 VAL 1068 77.4 -26 -0.34 VDD 1044 87.2 125 1.43 GET 1038 78.6 14 0.18 HEU 1033 83.8 10 0.12 MAL 1033 81.5 25 0.31 ZAR 1024 81.0 -6 -0.07 OSA 1019 82.4 -9 -0.11 ALM 1017 91.3 16 0.18 ABL 998 81.9 12 0.15 RMC 987 90.4 25 0.28 BET 973 82.3 4 0.05 DEP 940 84.7 -12 -0.14 LEV 852 84.6 -32 -0.38 SOC (II) 1009 111.6 25 0.22 MGA (II) 992 117.1 41 0.35 CAD (II) 970 124.7 43 0.34 CVG (II) 934 107.1 -2 -0.02 TAR (II) 921 111.6 -28 -0.25 ALA (II) 828 124.9 -75 -0.60
Valladolid has taken off since we last looked at these rankings on 9 December. Atlético lost the Madrid derby to Real on Sunday, and there aren't any other significant movements.
Serie A
INT 1314 88.4 30 0.34 ROM 1180 83.6 - 6 -0.07 FIO 1106 85.7 40 0.47 JVE 1103 95.7 6 0.06 ACM 1089 83.3 -13 -0.16 UDI 1021 84.7 -21 -0.25 GNA 976 94.3 84 0.89 LAZ 963 79.2 -19 -0.24 SAM 956 84.9 51 0.60 PAL 954 82.9 -53 -0.64 LVO 951 90.2 52 0.58 REG 951 87.7 1 0.01 CAT 949 85.4 45 0.53 ATL 938 88.5 -59 -0.67 NAP 929 88.5 -39 -0.44 TOR 905 86.6 4 0.05 SIE 898 90.5 22 0.24 PAR 890 89.0 -15 -0.17 EMP 887 87.4 -12 -0.14 CAG 796 85.8 -53 -0.62 CHI (II) 977 112.9 0 0.00 ASC (II) 789 119.1 -13 -0.11 MES (II) 789 115.6 0 0.00
Inter Milan's score has been quietly climbing all season, this is what happens when a side wins almost every game it plays. Not that most of the matches are profitable: Sunday's win over Parma was worth just 4 points. Genoa and Sampdoria the big winners, Palermo and Atalanta are sinking.
