SFA Premiership Season 8 Review

- Written by Amjad Parkar (manager, Made in Beverley Hills Drive)

4ytry proved triumphant in regaining the coveted title which had been surprisingly (yet deservingly) won by Dave Parker's Relegation Fodder last season. But manager Paul Innis didn't have it all his way, as Amjad Parkar's Made in Beverley Drive mounted a late surge, even having the audacity to thrash the eventual champions 5-1 on the final day of the season. Ultimately though, defensive errors earlier in the season proved costly for the Drive, and the team had to be content with a runners up spot.

Lenny Bernstein's Wandsworth Rovers also just missed out on a Gold Cup spot, being pipped to the post by Mark Lockie's London Town. But at least the manager from south London can be content with a place in the Cup Winners Cup, having edged a tense Social Cup final against Made in Beverley Drive.

SFA Premiership Awards:

• Manager of the Season - Paul Innis (4ytry)
• Total Football award - London Town who managed an average team rating of 7.06 for the season (4ytry only managed 6.88)
• Fair Play award - jointly shared by Yann Brunn's Polytech Grenoble and Joe Nico's Nottingham Arna FC.
• Hack and Slash award - goes to Liam Keane's Ajax Trees for managing to amass a spectacular count of 67 yellow and 4 red cards.
• Player of the Season - Jérémy Ménez (The Madrid Lions)
• Players' Player of the Season - Naldo (London Town) with 9 Man of the Match awards.
• Golden Boot - Graziano Lasalandra (Made in Beverley Drive) who found the net 26 times in 38 games. However, there is little doubt that had Nags Head Rovers' Anatoliy Romanyshyn not been injured for 4 games, he would have finished top scorer (25 in 34)
  
• Safe Hands award - jointly shared by José de Jesús Corona (KC Milan) and Wayne Hennessey (Wandsworth Rovers) who both managed 15 clean sheets each. Although a notable mention should go to Nottingham Arna FC's Dmitry Khomich who made some fabulous saves for his team to keep them in the hunt for a UFFA place.
  
  

Game of the Season: Mongiat Rovers vs The Madrid Lions
This cracker finished 5-3, and featured some fabulous scintillating attacking play between both sides, if not solid defending. Rovers raced into a seemingly untouchable 3-0 lead through goals from Anthony Modeste and a penalty from Chris Burke. It should have been game over, but Lion's Lionel Messi had other ideas. He waltzed through the Rovers defence to make it 3-1 before setting up Jérémy Ménez to make it 3-2. The Argentine superstar then equalised, ensuring the match had all the elements of a classic. However, just when it seemed Andy Cameron's side had the upper hand, up popped Everton Ribeiro who capped a lovely Mongiat move with piledriver into the top right hand corner, before Marco Martina Rini made the points safe.

David vs Goliath Award
So many contenders, not least Made in Beverley Drive who thrashed 4ytry at the Drive on the final day of the season (Made in Beverley Drive vs 4ytry - Overview). But the award goes to Adam Richardsons Ehcoelavon, who pulled off a major upset by beating Paul Innis' side 3-1 (Ehcoelavon vs 4ytry - Overview).

The writing seemed to be on the wall when 4ytry's Rudy Ahamada took advantage of a defensive error to slot in. But Ehcoelavon's Luis equalised from the penalty spot, before goals from Adam Lallana and Steven Langil, capitalising on some lacklustre defending from the opposition, made the points safe.


Team of the Season (based on a 4-5-1 formation)

• GK Dmitry Khomich (Nottingham Arna FC)
• DL Pietro De Zan (London Town)
• DC Naldo (London Town)
• DC Gérson (4ytry)
• DR Paulo Lopes (Made in Beverley Drive)
• ML Jérémy Ménez (The Madrid Lions)
• MC Rabiu Ibrahim (4ytry)
• DM Luca Cigarini (Relegation Fodder)
• MC Stephen Ireland (Nottingham Arna FC)
• MR Gabriel Obertan (Honka)
• S Graziano Lasalandra (Made in Beverley Drive)

Subs

• José de Jesús Corona (KC Milan)
• Lukas Sinkiewicz (Mongiat Rovers)
• Ramón Ribeiro (London Town)
• Kim Heung-Keun (Made in Beverley Drive)
• Riccardo Montolivo (Honka/Polytech Grenoble)
• Fabio Bernardi (Relegation Fodder)
• Anatoliy Romanyshyn (Nags Head Rovers)

*Eligible players must have played in at least 75% of their team's games