Jeff’s transfer bazaar opens for business

Life of Brian haggling scene
’10 for that you must be mad’: Players’ true market values will be reflected at transfer windows

PLANS to introduce a new open market system to Kenna transfer windows were unveiled today.

In what league blazers have smugly branded ‘Jeff’s transfer bazaar’, managers selling players in the season’s two windows will only receive what another club is prepared to pay for them. Previously, managers received the price they’d paid for a player.

The Chalkstripes in Kenna HQ’s speculations department predict the move will introduce a new dimension to the league, with less money sloshing around windows than last season and individual performance deciding a player’s value.

The announcement comes comes 11 days before the annual Kenna auction, where managers will gather in the pub to buy their teams ahead of the English football season.

In a press conference this afternoon in the saloon bar of the King’s Arms in Waterloo, the chairman said: “Managers will have to be a lot more wary of who they outlay the big money on at the auction. You don’t want to be stuck with a £30m out-of-sorts Andy Carroll on your hands, or even worse a Titus Bramble forfeit player.”

The changes to transfer windows wasn’t the only change in the new season’s Kenna rules and regulations published today.

A top secret brochure of players to be sold in set order will be distributed to managers immediately before the auction starts – a move away from the traditional method of managers taking turns to pick players at random.

The chairman has hit back at critics of the plan, who think it will lead to less spontaneity: “To improve the auction experience, every manager will have one wildcard pick each, so that they can introduce a player of their own choosing at any stage of the auction.

“Five selected lots will be sold in a first-price sealed bid auction – where potential buyers will secretly write down their maximum bid, with the highest winning.”

No indication was made of who exactly the forfeit players would be for the auction, but Kenna HQ did confirm a 23-strong squad.

Made up of 11 young or loaned out Premier League footballers (The Bramble Youth) and 11 high-profile individuals who have earned notoriety off the pitch (Titus Bramble’s Pub XI), the Titus Bramble squad will be used as bogey players for managers breaking the rules.

Share Button

Kenna archives reveal secret to success

Roy Castle
Record breakers: In its eight-year history the Kenna has never had a single ginger manager (photo courtesy of D*J*P)

WINNING Kenna teams score 33 points a week and losing ones 22 points, according to league records published today.

Archives show that in the eight football seasons since the Kenna League was founded each player in the winning team picked up three points a week on average – 111 points a season.

Stats also show FC Testiculadew’s ‘Kenna in the bag‘ championship in 2011/12 was the league’s most dominant.

FCT romped home a record 129 points ahead of the pack, were the highest scoring team ever and clocked up the best ever Manager of the Month performance: 251 points in January 2012.

Vasco De Beauvoir hold the golden boot record with 80 goals scored during their double-winning campaign of 2009/10.

Enjoying considerably less renown are the Fat Ladies, who two seasons after winning their 2007/08 Kenna crown pulled out the worst league performance in history, finishing 205 points adrift.

In the same year, Dynamo Temple ended the defence of their Kenna championship by picking up just four dismal points in May’s Manager of the Month contest.

Kenna managers will hope to be breaking these records when they assemble in a London pub to attend the annual auction next month ahead of the English football season.

The Kenna chairman, who last week was confirmed as the most decorated manager in the league’s history, said: “Perhaps the greatest honour should be reserved for the Judean Peoples’ Front manager. He produced what is officially the most mediocre campaign ever, finishing within a point of the average score.”

The name’s Bonda…

A quick thought for former Kenna player Pascal Chimbonda, who today joined Evo-stik League outfit Market Drayton.

The chairman and other sundry Kenna managers spent many an underage Saturday enjoying the pubs and ‘club’ of the Shropshire town.

Chimbonda first appeared in the Kenna in 2006/07 season, picking up 66 points for the Fat Ladies as they reached fourth place.

In the next campaign the French defender was signed by the Barking Hackney manager, but released in October after only scoring nine points.

Chimbonda was last seen in the Kenna scoring 42 points for the Pep Guardiola XI as they finished lower mid-table in 2009/10.

All-time records

All-time records
Highs and lows:

2005/06 – season review

2005-06 table
2005/06 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2006/07 – season review

2006-07 table
2006/07 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2007/08

2007-08 table
2007/08 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2008/09

2008-09 table
2008/09 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2009/10

2009-10 table
2009/10 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2010/11

2010-11 table
2010/11 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings

2011/12

2011-12 table
2011/12 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings and form guide

2012/13

2012-13 table
2012/13 Jeff Kenna League table – final standings and form guide
Share Button

Vasco confirmed as Kenna’s most glorious

THE FORMER manager of Vasco De Beauvoir has been announced as the best ever to compete in the Kenna League.

Despite getting sacked in two months ago after leading the side to relegation for the first time in an eight-year career, the Vasco manager tops the charts through winning two league titles and two Canesten Combi Cups since the Kenna was founded in 2005.

The Worcestershire man also holds 11 Manager of the Month (MOTM) awards, the league record.

The Young Boys, FC Testiculadew and Dynamo Temple managers – all with one league championship and one cup apiece – will be mindful that they could take top spot in the all time stats if they scoop the double in the upcoming season.

Mr Terry's Ice Cream
Yes, you can retrain: The Dan Terry Seduction manager took a vocational route out of the Kenna

Kenna managers past and present with at least two campaigns’ experience were ranked against each other on leagues won, cups won, podium finishes and MOTM awards.

The veteran managers of Piedmonte and Newington Reds, the only others apart from the Vasco gaffer to compete in all eight Kenna seasons, find themselves down the rankings with just two podium finishes each and no silverware.

The Dan Terry Seduction manager is statistically the worst manager ever to have entered the Kenna, with three Turkey of the Month wooden spoons and a relegation. He left the league two seasons ago to apply his particular talents with more success elsewhere.

The Devils boss, who led the club between 2006 and 2010, is the highest ranked female manager with one podium finish. A condescending and cringe-worthy corporate awards ceremony involving flowers and chocolates awaits.

The former Vasco manager, who is also the Kenna League chairman, said: “To be fair, if I hadn’t always had a feeling that two championships and two cups meant I was the best ever Kenna manager, I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time working out the damn stats to prove it.”

Rumours abound as to which team the chairman will manage in the new term. Westgreenspor, Eintracht Mind, Getoverit 96 and Total Network Failure have all be linked to the former Vasco boss.

The publication of ‘Jeff’s hall of fame’ comes 25 days before the ninth annual Kenna auction, where managers will gather in a London pub to buy their teams in preparation for the Premier League season.

Jeff's Hall of Fame - 2005 to 2013
Jeff’s Hall of Fame – 2005 to 2013
Share Button

Kenna auction to be the most competitive ever

Daft Punk Homework
Homework: Kenna managers are advised to familiarise themselves with the best 14 players from each Premier League club (photo courtesy of CarlosVaZquezCHJ)

MANAGERS preparing for next month’s Kenna auction have been warned to ‘do their homework’ as competition for players will be at an all time high.

Around 25 managers have expressed their interest in entering this season’s contest, a 25 per cent increase on last year’s record membership.

Top footballers are anticipated to attract sky high bids – while even prices for those of middleweight quality are predicted to swell – compared to previous auctions.

At the unveiling of the new player list this afternoon, exactly one calendar month and a day before the auction, the Kenna chairman said: “It used to be that quality players came to England from around the world and managers could get lucky at the auction.

“If they want to be competitive this season managers had better do their homework. As membership of the Kenna has gone up over the years we’ve seen more money spent on the most desirable players, and we expect this trend to continue. This auction will be harder, better, faster, stronger and more drunken than anything that’s come before.

“Whereas Sergio Aguero fetched a record £40m last August, we expect him to go for a lot more than that this year as managers come face to face with the task of securing the best talent.

“The maths is simple: if 25 managers attend next month’s auction it will take 275 players to fill all the teams. That means an average of nearly 14 players from each Premier League squad will go under the hammer.

“It won’t just be English players fetching a premium. Continental Europeans, South Americans, Africans and even Asians will cost a fair coin, and there’s always something about US players that makes them popular.”

1992 Mercedes 190e
Sharp exit: The chairman was last seen speeding away in a  1992 Mercedes 190e after announcing a league entry fee increase (photo courtesy of Spottedlaurel)

The ninth annual Kenna auction will take place in a London pub on 10 August, one week before the start of the Premier League season.

Each manager will start with £100m to buy their eleven players in a 4-4-2 formation.

Under rigorously-enforced league rules, no team may contain more than one player from each Premier League club.

Two opportunities to keep teams fresh will be offered during the campaign, at transfer windows in October and February.

At this morning’s press conference, the chairman refused to be drawn on rumours of a new open market transfer window system for the 2013/14 season. Confirmation is expected in the next few weeks.

The chairman did put down reports the auction was to be broadcast on Radio 5 Live.

“We thought with the turmoil and BBC evolution (or, whatever, revolution) 909 medium wave might be interested in buying the rights, but it turns out it clashes with a cricket contest we’ll all be glued to anyway. We probably should have pitched it to niche broadcasters – you know how these people in digital love something different.

“Oh yes, and did I mention the entry fee rise? No? I thought I did. Oh well, one more time: we’re putting up the entry fee to £25 per manager,” said the chairman, as he climbed into the back of the league’s executive prestige car just before it sped off.

Most expensive players at the August 2012 auction

Sergio Aguero, Vasco De Beauvoir – £40m (player lost under the Titus Bramble ruling)

Wayne Rooney, Greendale Rockets – £38m

Fernando Torres, Newington Reds – £37m

Luis Suarez, Sporting Lesbian – £36m

Robin van Persie, Still Don’t Know Yet – £35m

David Silva, Just Put Carles – £32m

Carlos Tevez, Dynamo Charlton – £30m

Juan Mata, PSV Mornington – £28m

Eden Hazard, Hairy Fadjeetas – £26m

Did you spot all the Daft Punk song titles? First to get all nine different track/album names in the comments wins a postcard from Kenna HQ. 

Share Button