Season 21 Preview

[Bayley]

Welcome to another article by Bayley! I am going to be looking at a preview of the Season 21 season. 

1. HOLLYWOOD 

Hollywood is going to look pretty similar to what the team was last season, returning their core to the squad. They are going to have both leading scorers Gerd Klose and Pete Partell returning. The two of them combined for 21 of the team's 44 goals last campaign. The team are all in their peak with Klose, Martell, Tortellini, Brooks, and Lovric all hitting regression in the upcoming season. They have an entire team over 1,000 TPE and the highest average in the entire league. I have them at the top of my table. 

 

2. REYKJAVIK 

Reykjavik made a huge splash this offseason acquiring Ilya Prusikin from Catalunya for a 1st and 2nd round pick. Prusikin is going to be a huge boost to the backline of Reykjavik. The team did ship out Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame and Berit Skovgaard to CDT for a late pick, but this team is going to continue to build on their last campaign. Prusikin has a transfer value of over 104 million, so he's a huge target and a huge person to acquire. For a squad that only lost 2 games and drew 3 with 21 goals against 18 games, I battled with the top two teams as I truly think they could go either way. Look for Alessandro Del Pirlo, Marco Tentacles, and Brick Wall Jr to have massive years again. They will again push for the top of the table, I have no doubt about it. 

3. BUENOS AIRES 

Buenos Aires sat in the middle of the table last season, giving up more goals than they scored, but I really think they will come up the table this season. They do have a few of their key players in regression like Snooks, Genckal, but I see O'Leary, Fiachra and company leading the charge for this team. I do think bringing in Nicolás Muñoz on a 38 million dollar transfer will be a huge boost to the team. They have a few players waiting in the minors too for continuous growth. I want to see more from their defenders this season as I think this place in the table will rely on that. 

4. BLACK FOREST 

Schwarzwälder had a pretty successful campaign in the Season 20 season, finishing 3rd in the table with only 3 losses and 3 draws. This team is going to really be centered on how Zhihao, Hakkinen, Maxwell, and Williams combine on this team as well as new acquisition Jürgen Müller on a 22.8 million dollar transfer. They sit 4th in average TPE in the SSL, so how will this team mesh and continue to build? They were the most prolific scoring team in the SSL with 56 goals while conceding 28, so I do think there's some work to be done defensively in order to improve on this ranking. They are an intriguing team to me to follow. I list them 4th in my rankings. 

5. TOKYO 

I have Tokyo listed 5th in my rankings. Tokyo was 4th last in the table with a record of 6-4-8 and a total of 22 points, but I really liked a trade they made to bring in Beaklie Eilish from São Paulo. That is a 1600 TPE player to bring into the squad that will really boost them up the table. They do have 3 players pretty heavily in regression or will be heavily in regression, so they needed to make a big move. I like the core they have on the squad. I put them right here because of the addition where they will continue to push up the rankings. 

6. SAO PAULO 

And here's the result of the trade that sent Eilish to Tokyo. I just don't see Sao Paulo repeating the season that the squad had last season, ending 2nd in the table. They did bring in Jake Bradford on a 28.5 million dollar transfer, but I do think they're going to take a step back. I do love the core they have though with Kirkpatrick, Vels, Cotswold, a core that won't start regression for a couple seasons. I just don't see them at their peak quite yet, so next season, it could be a different story. 

7. ROME 

Rome is one of those teams that I could see higher up but also lower down the table. I really am not sure what to expect from this team. They are going to be working with a core of Blackman, Hoppity and Pedrillo, but a lot of the other pieces are heavily regressed or very young. So, this could be a team that is on the up in the next few seasons. Rome did sign Milton Núñez on a 22.8 million dollar transfer deal, but I just am not sure if they have the firepower...yet... to compete with the Hollywood's and Reykjaviks of the world. I put them down in 7th. 

8. CATALUNYA

Catalunya falls to 8th in the table. Coming off a campaign in which the squad lost 16 games with only 2 wins, giving up 66 goals, I really struggle to put them higher than this, even see them potentially having a similar season to what they had last season. Prusikin will be a big loss for the team as well, so this is going to be a building year for the team. I love the future for the squad as most of the team is S18 or later, but this is going to be very tough couple seasons until we can get to that peak. 

9. SHANGHAI 

Shanghai made a huge move bringing in Vito Habjanic on a 57 million dollar transfer fee this offseason, but are in a very similar position to where Catalunya is in. Imjust Ken is really the player that will be the main point on the team, but from a Wing Back position, how much impact can you really have? So, I like bringing in Vito to help this season, but it's limited by the rest of the team. 

10. TENOCHTITLAN 

Tenochititlan is another team that will be building for the future. They had a really nice class in S20-S21, so they have a lot to be excited about coming up. This season, Calvin Ball, Armaros, Pink, de Allie are the players who will be the focal points on the squad, but they have a lot to be desired, I have to put them in 10th. 

Words: 1242

[RashfordU]

Love the writeup Bayley!
I think we'll see an even tighter battle at the top these season, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw 4 teams finish within 5 points (maybe even 5 teams within 6 points)

[daveyboy]

I like the article very much and while I don’t deeply look into the major leagues teams that often, I got to dissagree with your stands on 
C A brunoes Aires. Not because of anything objectively like you but just because I feel like this season they may be different. I don’t know what will actually happen but I really feel as such that there is a way for C.A to bring it. Further more I don’t really see toyko being high I see it as probably number 7?

[Bayley]

I appreciate the response from both of you! I love to get to know the majors teams and this helps me navigate things. Always open to thoughts and feedback

[Hero19]

Another banger,

Again what can I say, you've displayed exceptional work in your league analysis, the additions of the club logos are a nice little touch, the structure is simple and always for easy reading and it's full of detail.

Media grade 5/5