Division 5 - The season so far

Anderlecht – Stealing girlfriends, topping the league. It seems that Anderlecht, and their playboy boss PMW are in the headlines for one reason or another almost every day. The Royal one has assembled a very good squad however, and I see no reason to think that Anderlecht will finish outside of the top 3. How he gets on with Parfitt & his Lana Del Rey stealing antics however, is open to discussion.

Olympiacos – The Legend and its collection of geriatrics made a slow start. Alex McLean however has clearly taken advantage of the low cost prescriptions for the elderly and started putting something in the pre match fry ups. Olympiacos are now second, and as with Anderlecht, I would expect them to take an automatic spot come seasons end.

Standard Liege – The second of division 5’s Belgian gang. Liege have been at the top of the league, and look strong challengers for promotion. For me, they could come third, but I feel they may end up in the play offs.

Dynamo Kiev – Kiev have been in and around the sharp end of the table all season. They have a good squad, and are consistently picking up results. Currently they sit in 4^th spot. I feel they will finish a shade higher however, and make it up automatically.

Flamengo – Mark Phelps side have lost four games so far this season, but three were against Anderlecht, Olympiacos and Kiev. Failure to beat the sides around them is likely to see them miss out on an automatic promotion spot. This form could also hinder them in a playoff scenario, although the all Brazilian squad should lend to a national set up feel to the squad, and this spirit could help through the second half of the season.

Club Brugge – The last of division fives Belgian sides. Davy V has assembled another good side, and again they are having a great season so far. There is still a long way to go, but Brugge don’t give too much away.

Santos – Along with Vigo, Santos are equal top scorers so far this season with 25 goals. The 18 conceded is however the largest number for any side currently in the top 7. Stopping the flow against would see Santos flying, but they are certainly involved in entertaining matches.

Celtic – The Bhoys flew out of the gates early on, but like a housewife who has been nagging for 3 hours straight, they finally seem to be running out of steam. Will Ruts be able to reinvigorate them for the remainder of the season, or will it be mid table obscurity come seasons end?  

Dinamo Zagreb – Three wins from their opening four fixtures was a strong start for Zagreb. A poor run of six consecutive defeats in all competitions in late June / early July however seemed to sap the confidence somewhat. They are now struggling a bit for consistency. If they can find that early season form again however, don’t rule them out.

Hertha – The German side seem to be adopting to a lesser degree the Olympiacos tactic of employing the bus pass brigade. Nine of the squad are 30 or over, but the likes of everyone’s favourite scum bag John Terry, know how to win competitions and titles.

Espanyol – Pre-season, Doug Earle’s side were my fancy to win the league. They were in the end unlucky to go down last season, but will now be lucky to go up this season. A potential play off challenger, but will they have the stamina as the season wears on?

Celta Vigo – Ryan has had a slow start at Vigo. Relegated in his first season, and swimming around in mid table this season. The smart money says that if he stopped listening to his cuz, and adopted something that is not Beddows football, he’d have a shot at a run for the playoffs in the second half of the season. The squad is certainly strong enough, with the likes of Iturbe, Fernandez, Holtby and Capoue capable of playing for any side in the division.

FC Twente – Norman Little has made huge changes at Twente, with only three members of his first team squad not currently TB’d. The squad has good players, but they will need time to settle and the benefits may not be reaped until next season.

Independiente – Independiente have a total squad size of 47. Of these, only 17 are first team players, including three loanees. He rest are all youth team starlets. As with Twente, but for a completely different reason, the benefits may not be reaped this season.

FC Augsburg – Last season’s bottom side have had a better season so far this time around. They were bottom for a while, but a 2-0 win at Levante saw the Spanish side replace them at the foot of the table. Currently the German side sit 15^th, but with only three points separating the bottom seven sides, anything could yet happen.

Rubin Kazan – Antonia Alves has brought in a strong contingent of Portuguese players to help with his quest of getting the Russian side up the table. Unfortunately they seem to be lacking a bit of quality at the moment, but as with Augsburg, they could finish anywhere in the lower half of the table.

FK Partizan – Just 11 goals scored for Partizan so far this season. The second lowest total in the whole division. This makes it easy to see which area needs improving, but it isn’t easy to go and get a 20 goal a season striker. That said, Vagner Love is still a dangerous proposition at this level, and maybe the Belgrade sides fortunes will improve once the Brazilian returns to action.

Levante – Finished rock bottom in division 4 last season, and have been on the bottom of division 5 on and off for the majority of this season too. Parfitt will however be hoping to see a turnaround in fortunes over the second half of the season, and will be looking for some of the youth team diamonds to come on and make a challenge to get into the first team.

Werder Bremen – Another German side currently struggling at the wrong end of the table. 25 conceded in just 15 games is the worst of any side in the bottom six. Add that to an attack that has scored only 12 and you have a mixture for trouble. Bremen have a large squad, but lack a little quality. That said, if they can keep hold of players like Andre Gray, Benik Afobe, and Duncan Watmore, then there is light at the end of the tunnel.

West Brom – This season has been a massive disappointment so far for the Baggies. Pre-season, they were thought of as playoff hopefuls, and top 10 as a worst case scenario. To see them rooted at the bottom is a huge disappointment. Mark Deadman will be looking to make changes before he becomes a dead man walking in his job. Boom tish, I’m here all week……

End of season predictions…..

Top 3

               1.       Anderlecht

               2.       Olympiacos

               3.       Kiev

         Play off winners - Santos