Manager: Phil (Wolverhampton)
Twitter name: @PhillyD55
Since: 2005 (co-founder)
Last season: 4th
Trophy cabinet: Empty (best finish – 2nd in 2006/07)
Sympathies: Notts County
Darts music: The Great Escape – the England Band
Outlook (on 19 September): Commitments on the south coast meant the Piedmonte manager was unable to attend last month’s auction in person. Instead he joined proceedings by Skype over three hours into the bidding. Unenviable, considering this would be his ninth tilt at the Kenna hindered by an unhealthy preoccupation with signing English players. As such his trophy cabinet’s emptier than a pint of Carling is of flavour. He joins the Newington Reds manager on dismal figures of just two podium finishes in eight seasons.
Removed from the absurdity of The Roebuck’s upstairs bar, the Piedmonte manager appears to have overcome his prejudice, buying just five players who hail from the green and pleasant land, although how pleasant the changing rooms will be after a mid-match visit from Jason Puncheon is up for debate. The rest of the team is made up of a German, a Welshman, a Norwegian, a Frenchman, a Togolese and an Irishman. The manager must be asking himself if all these Johnny Foreigners be able to play in a rigid 4-4-2 system reliant on long ball? Or will they just be a bad, uncoordinated, out-of-tune joke?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjVd54E2e_U&w=420&h=315]
| Krul, T | NEW | £9m |
| Jagielka, P | EVE | £17m |
| Davies, B | SWA | £7m |
| Jones, P | MUN | £17m |
| Hangeland, B | FUL | £10m |
| Gerrard, S | LIV | £10m |
| Noble, M | WHM | £7.5m |
| Townsend, A | TOT | £1.5m |
| Puncheon, J | CRY | £3m |
| Long, S | HUL | £5m |
| Odemwingie, P | STO | £5m |
| £92m |
First transfer window – 5 October 2013
Starting budget: £8m, remaining budget: £7.5m, net loss: £0.5m
(Hyperlink denotes from which club player was bought)
| Out | In | ||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | Sold | Pos | Player | Team | Paid |
| STR | Adebayor, E | TOT | Free | STR | Walters, J | STO | £0.5m |
Second transfer window – 7 February 2014
| Out | In | ||||||
| Position | Player | Team | Sold | Position | Player | Team | Paid |
| MID | Nasri, S | MCY | £2m | MID | Townsend, A | TOT | £1.5m |
| STR | Walters, J | STO | £0.5m | STR | Odemwingie, P | STO | £5m |
