PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2020-21
PREVIEW, PART ONE - THE BIG SIX Key: GK - Goalkeeper, DF - Defender, MF - Midfielder, WG - Winger, ST - StrikerLakewood UnitedPrevious Season: 1st
Manager: John Riedweld
Squad:
GK -
Louis Addison (29)DF -
Johnny Brown (32) (c), Nigel Harris (24), John Byrne (27), Charles Allams (26), Neil Crozier (18)
MF -
Adam Herlinger (30), Sean Cushing (27), Nicky Atkinson (21), Adrian Hewitt (19), George Litchman (34)
WG -
Todd Symes (31), Alex Kristensen (23), Shoaib Saeed (27)
ST -
Philip Cohen (25), Barry Allen (26)For those looking for success, Lakewood United is the team to support. Winner of the largest number of league titles and Republic Cups in history, Lakewood United boast the strongest team in the league, though recent mishaps with money have led to the quality of their squad declining a bit. Still far and away the biggest team in Tumbra, the team contests the Lakewood Derby with neighbours Lakewood City, and is one of two parties in the
Tumbran Classic, along with noted rivals Couno Rangers.
Lakewood United is renowned for their attacking style, which suits them as necessary. They aren't immune, however, to sitting back and counter attacking if the need rises. Club captain and legend Johnny Brown is key to their efforts at the back, along with Tumbran N.1 Louis Addison, while creative presence and pure n.10 Adam Herlinger looks set to renew his partnership with mercurial goalscorer Philip Cohen which saw them win the title last season.
Lakewood CityPrevious Season: 2nd
Manager: Mark van der Brumen
Squad:
GK -
John Lennon (30)DF -
Ian Ashburn (21), Ryan Hughes (26), Louis Paterson (24) (c), Chris Carter (21), Tom Lawrence (20)
MF -
Robert Powell (31), Theodore Houghton (33), Phil Cole (21), Patrick Butler (28)
WG -
Robin Vaughn (26), Mike Coonan (23), Jack Reed (19)
ST -
James Anderson (26), Jake Torrance (30)
Lakewood City have been one of the success stories of the 2010s, with former player Mark van der Brumen taking charge of the club immediately after his retirement in 2009. The former midfielder is renowned now for his positional play, heavy emphasis on passing and fludity, though the team now is going through a bit of a transition following the departure of key defenders two seasons prior. The resulting defensive leaky-ness resulted in the club losing the title to local rivals Lakewood United, but the team looks set to challenge for yet another title.
The team has a fierce local rivalry with Lakewood United, being the other half of the Lakewood Derby. Due to their success only coming recently they have been slated by the other teams in the Big Six as not having as much history, but as any City fan will tumble over themselves to tell you - they've won the League before 2009, four times to boot. This mindset has also led to some form of rivalry with the other Big Six clubs.
Couno RangersPrevious Season: 3rd
Manager:
vacantSquad:
GK -
Andrew Taylor (23)DF -
Drew Quinn (30) (c), Joel Tyler (23), Tom Wilson (25), Kenneth Dowd (31), Welar-Ovolk Gep (QUS, 17)
MF -
Alan Curran (27), Nicholas Fischer (30) (c), Bill Bowen (23) Brian Anderson (25), Pertz-Evela Vet (QUS, 17)
WG -
Francis Evers (23), Alexander Anderson (24), Simon Cole (23)
ST -
Marcus Sheldon (29), Bruce Nolan (19)
The team that won the first ever Football League, Couno Rangers, are back at it again. Currently on a twenty-year league drought, supporters of this team have been used to saying "Next year's our year" when they inevitably mess up and finish second or third after a bad run of form in February. With the retirement of old manager Jon Curran, the team is also manager-less going into the new season, the only Big Six team to do so.
The squad, however, despite being one of the deepest (and having signed two Qusmans over the summer as development prospects), also has not many players of note. The only player to be called up for the World Cup 87 qualifiers cycle, Bruce Nolan, was only called up because starting striker Marcus Sheldon was injured. Sheldon, their talismanic striker, is returning from a bad knee injury, and at the age of 29, is looking to re-start his firing streak.
The Rangers (or the Rams, as their logo has one) have one of the deepest histories in Tumbran football, and their storied past, including 18 League titles, is truly one to behold. Their fans, who are one of the most passionate fanbases in Tumbran football - perhaps only rivalled by the Millsburgh teams - pack the stadium to full capacity, match after match, singing praises of their team, whether good or bad. They form the other half of the Tumbran Classic, and contest the Couno Derby with city rivals West Couno United, but in practice the Rams win every time.
Serrapince FCPrevious season: 7th
Manager: Colin Blakeley
Squad:
GK -
David Gough (34) (c)DF -
Mike Parker (31), Keith Giblin (27), Gary Lewis (24), David Walliams (27), Bob Trimble (20)
MF -
Craig McGrath (24), Frank Thornton (30), Oliver Proctor (26), John Cameron (27)
WG -
George Hilton (22), Ally McColl (28), Robert Goldstein (26)
ST -
Tom O'Driscoll (28), Nick Riordan (18)
The Black and Gold (or, as they prefer, the Bees) of Serrapince FC continue to prove a formidable threat to the top three sides of the Premier Division. The only club from Serrapince - as a result of major predatory tactics in the 1960s that saw it outmuscle every other club - the team has an extremely strong emphasis on youth development. The only problem is that a majority of the first team squad are in their prime or nearly past it, and the newest crop of youth recruits have not been the strongest, with many having gone down the divisions to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The club, never really used to operating on the same budget as the two Lakewood clubs and the Couno Rangers, now seems like it's on the brink of dropping out of the Big Six - and it did last season, when Fraser Valley stole 6th from them on the last matchday of the season.
Colin Blakeley, the experienced manager of the team, has since declared that this will be his last season with the team. With Serrapince FC on the verge of a generational change, will they be able to hold it together for the season?
FC Inter NantwichPrevious season: 4th
Manager: Steve Krajewski
Squad:
GK -
Nick Barker (23)DF -
Tony Baldwin (24), Douglas Moore (24), John Bryant (30), Philip Gonzales (21), Donald Blather (19)
MF -
Andrew Fisher (21), John Bush (25), Tom Stansfield (26), Peter Gaffney (30)
WG -
Gordon Jennings (25), Kai Sinclair (30) (c), Richard Baker (19)
ST -
Jonathan Ford (30), Toby Sinclair (29)
FC Inter Nantwich are on the opposite path of Serrapince - back on the up and up...if you believe their manager. Krajewski, first appointed in 2016 after a stint at the national team, has been the point of complete trust from the club's rich owners...but five years have passed and the team have a solitary Republic Cup to show for it. Multiple signings have been flops, and the Deepblues are beginning to lose faith in this nefarious
project word that Krajewski keeps throwing around. Will Krajewski survive the season playing his version of football?
On the sporting front, Andrew Fisher is one of the top young talents in Tumbra, and Philip Gonzales is renowned for his crosses, with a rumour of a callup coming soon. Richard Baker on the left wing is explosive and fluid, and this team are seemingly what Serrapince want to be, but can't achieve.
The team partakes in one of the fiercest rivalries - the Finnley Derby - against Clark City, the other top division team in Finnley.
Straton FCPrevious season: 5th
Manager: Ted Bayh
Squad:
GK -
Graham Dodds (26)DF -
Jim Buchanan (27), Wayne Forrest (23), Michael Campbell (26), Mike Sheppard (23), Barry Hamilton (17)
MF -
Leo Hooper (24), Michael Aitken (29), Ryan Morgan (23), Jon French (32)
WG -
Jon Eagleton (24), Sam Watson (30), Paul Collins (23)
ST -
Daniel Galbraith (34) (c), Ralf Vanstenkeeste (29)
The Capital's Representatives are an experienced squad looking to rebuild after their owner suddenly pulled back all funding in 2015, leading to the club becoming completely fan-owned in 2017 - a first for a Big Six football club. While talismanic striker Daniel Galbraith - six-time winner of the Best Player in Tumbra awardm and seemeingly the only player who kept bringing them into the top six every year - stayed for the reconstruction process, he's getting older and he knows it. Already expressing a desire to leave at the end of the season, manager Ted Bayh's job is to ensure a worthy successor for him. Pacy winger Paul Collins is a potential replacement, but he prefers to play on the wing, and Collins' temperament might lead to dressing room bust-ups.
The Senators (as they're so called) contest the Capital City Derby against the Straton Lions...but the Straton Lions are stuck in the third tier. Apart from that, and every other Big Six team, they have no renowned local rivalries.
Fraser Valley FCPrevious Season: 6th
Manager: Vulav-Wanar Tia (QUS)
Squad:
GK:
Stuart Langford (29), Azeld-Kresp Tia (QUS, 18)
DF:
Neal Diamond (26), Joe Cooper (31), Carlos Wolfe (25), Mark Ryton (24), Nexev-Kresp Val (QUS, 18),
MF:
David Gunter (27), Nicholas Kinsella (24), Lucas Courtney (25), Jake Wilson (24), Pilta-Blonz Yol (QUS, 18)
WG: John Mann (23), Daniel Newman (26), Graham Cooper (23)
ST:
James Herbert (28), Xilix Oxolt-Mal (QUS, 17)Last season's surprise package Fraser Valley embark on a whole new course after losing their manager to the Tumbran NT, with the club inviting Qusmo manager Vulav-Wanar Tia to take over. An unknown quality, they are certainly one of the new forces to be dealt with, particularly after importing some youth Qusmo talent into the setup, with Xilix Oxolt-Mal set to take a starting role at the tender age of 17.
Only time will tell whether this bold new strategy will work out for the Denizens, with their owners floating a potential (and controversial) move into Serrapince that would see the team completely rebranded as the Serrapince Tigers. Opposition to this move has been gathering strength, while supporters of the move claim it will help the the Denizens increase their revenue and continue their project of aiming to break into the top 6.
Carter UnitedPrevious Season: 8th
Manager: Steve Nicholls
Squad:
GK:
Jason Law (33)DF:
Darren Webb (23), Ernest Sanders (30), Alex Hudson (32), David Murphy (26), Albert Legget (19)
MF:
Jesse Jones (26), William Murray (28), Jack Oliver (24), Blake Oates (33)
WG:
Chris Garcia (20), Thomas Munro (30), Carl Garner (27)
ST:
John Bridges (32), Jaime Pugh (23)
One of the more recent Premiership entrants, Carter United were a second-tier side as recently as 2015, who then got promoted, finished 7th in their debut season, and have stayed at that level since. Perhaps central to this is the late bloomer of John Bridges, who played for fourth division minnows Cortlandt United as little as ten years ago.
Having gone through several managers, Steve Nicholls has finally brought some sense of stability to the team, and are looking to kick on from their 8th placed finish last term.
Hesham FCPrevious Season: 9th
Manager: William McKenzie
Squad:
GK:
Dean Rowden (29)DF:
Michael Brewster (31), Roger Baker (24), Will Collins (28), Vic Nelson (24), Carl Norton (18)
MF:
Vincent Hicks (21), Tony Leonard (28), Richard Driver (21), Mal Grace (27)
WG:
Neville Mariott (23), Joe Bonner (20), Roy King (31)
ST:
Martin Ramsay (31), Harry Frist (23)The Green-Whites are one of the few teams in the division that play with three at the back, with Marriott and Bonner, both youth team graduates, playing in the wingback spots as converted wingers. Their unorthodox formation makes them kinda difficult to play against, though their strikers are not exactly the most clinical.
Despite this, the one-time league champions have solidified themselves as an upper-midtable side, and look to press on.
Columbia CityPrevious Season: 10th
Manager: David Griffiths
Squad:
GK:
Gerald Scicluna (36)DF:
William Herron (26), Raymond Perry (23), Harrison Lee (29), Peter Brown (32) (c), Michael Harman (20)
MF:
Keenan Pollard (31), Drew Morton (26), Max Cohen (33), Mickey Lynch (21)WG: Sean Delap (24), Lewis Pearce (31), Geoffrey Meecham (27)
ST:
Frank Wilson (20), Tim Rowland (26)A team recently on the brink of relegation, new manager David Griffiths has manage to stabilise the shaky side, allowing the Whites, led by new boy and local hero Frank Wilson up top to become a midfield team. Griffiths plays with a midfield diamond, leaving little to no wide midfield coverage, but Delap, Pearce and Meecham do come on occasionally when the team has obstacles in the middle.