Given how the cup doesn't really matter all that much, I figured I'd make a power rankings based off this week's league peformances. Along with the order of each team, I'll also grade how good they are right now based off a scale from A+ to F, to try and showcase how close teams are. 1) RB Leipzig +5 "but time will tell to see how this side improves." Yeah that didn't take long at all. Leipzig were dominant this week, shutting down better sides left and right. Two 3-0 wins against Köln and Dortmund definitely show that this time has got some strong momentum behind it. They're even supposed to be first in the table right now due to goal difference! I think there's a new top team to beat here in the LGFA. Overall Grade: A+ 2) Borussia Dortmund +1 A good weak overall for the Yellow army, consistency solidifying themselves as a title challenger. However, that 3-0 loss to Leipzig could come back to haunt them in the title race further in the season! They're still a strong team, and continued with a strong week. Overall Grade: A 3) FC Schalke +1 Finally, the team that was getting more draws than Arsene Wenger records some wins! This consistent, fast pressing, long ball cheesing side is very annoying to play against, but very effective at burning wing back stamina. What I find funny with them is how they beat and held clean sheets against both Bayern and Leipzig this week, but also lost to Frankfurt. Reminds me of Liverpool stopping City's undefeated streak, and then losing to 20th placed Swansea! Overall Grade: A- 4) FC Bayern -3 Bayern struggled this week. Offensively, they couldn't find rhythm, and their 1-0-3 record this week shows this team isn't invincible. However, it looks like they've been able to get their problems sorted after finishing this week with a solid 2-0 win against Frankfurt. They still are a very strong team, but each team sometimes has off-weeks, and for Bayern, this looks like they just were a bit unlucky. Overall Grade: A- 5) FC Köln -3 Another team that has had a rough week. The team had a little bit of managerial turmoil, and a GK emergency, but still were able to field strong teams each night. A 1-1-2 record for Köln doesn't seem as bad, but given how they drew against Hertha Berlin...it doesn't look too good. However, Köln is still quite strong, and given how early it is in the season, 1 bad week doesn't hurt theirs (or anyone's) title chances. Overall Grade: B+ 6) Wolfsburg -1 I'm actually surprised that this team still hasn't fully rebounded. They had a decent week this week, with 2 wins, and a loss to Schalke, but they haven't been playing at their potential level. There are teams that usually look great in the preseason, and flop when it comes to the regular season, and I really hope Alonzi's side doesn't suffer this fate. Despite their weak start, it's still early enough in the season that there is time to recover, but to realistically fight for the title, Wolfsburg really need to convert some wins. They have proven they can do this, but they just need to be a little more consistent. Overall Grade: B 7) Eintracht Frankfurt -- THEY WON A GAME! YES, YOU HEARD IT HERE LADS, FRANKFURT WON A GAME! This singular win keeps them ranked at the 7th spot in my Power Rankings for this week! Frankfurt had been due for this win, their form had been improving, and this side has consistently improved their play. It's only a shame their league week ended on a weak note with a 2-0 loss to Frankfurt. Once again, this team has been acquiring Newcastle United levels of wealth, and this either mean's we'll see Blind Ref sniping WetLikeKyleLowry 2.0, Demon ACL cheese, or just a team that will finesse everyone in next season's bidding battles! Playing the long game as a weaker side hasn't been done much in LGFA, so huge credit to Frankfurt for really thinking outside the box like this! Overall Grade: C- 8) Hertha Berlin -- 3 losses and a surprising draw against Köln wraps up another weak week for Hertha Berlin. Looking at this team, it's clear they are struggling at a position. Defense and GK. Frankfurt has let up 21 goals this season mainly thanks to two really bad losses. Hertha has been consistently leaky in defence. No real strong goalie option, and having bums on defense has certainly hurt this sides form this season. Some good news for them is that they were able to shut down two teams for a clean sheet. However, it makes this stat, letting up 16 goals in 6 games, a pretty weak looking one. This team seriously needs to make a trade or blind bidding move to get a new player to help their team, or maybe make moves to get some more cash for next season's bidding. I would never wish for my friend RickyBobby to join a really weak team like this, but he's the type of player that could help turn this side around. Overall Grade D+ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trade time! Ah yes, there were two moves this week, so lets see how they went! Bayern and Frankfurt - Scheel41, $1,000,000, ttjayy42 for mightypenguin42 Bayern: A- A good, smart move for Bayern. Penguin gives great midfield depth, and the cost wasn't too bad. It seems they have become VIP shoppers at Frankfurt's rotating player shop! Frankfurt: B+ Frankfurt is in it to make money. Their long term intentions are unknown, but the speculation and mystery really intrigue me! They make solid moves to get more players that are active, yet weaker, and have a multitude of depth at many positions. Köln and Dortmund - $1,000,000, U_Just, abuelitagainz for BayernM07 (Bayern is the original trade slut, traded from Fiorentina to Roma in s6, and then came back to my Fiorentina side a few weeks later!) Köln: C- A weak move for Köln, trading cash, a good depth defender, and a good backup goalie for another backup goalie and striker. They certainly overpaid for Bayern, but it was for a forgivable reason: they needed an emergency GK for one of the matches. Bayern should offer good depth in the rest of the Dortmund: A Dortmund made a smart move. They could afford to let Bayern go, and Köln were basically desperate for any competent goalie at this point. Dortmund now have more cash, and good depth at vital positions in case of any emergencies they might have! They probably feel like the Pelicans after the AD trade, getting all those strong assets, but the difference is that Dortmund is actually a strong top 3 team! This has just made them even scarier to play against...
UPDATED KOLN RATING ON TRADE: Köln: B This was certainly an emergency trade, but the fact that Bayern is the full time GK makes this trade a hell of a lot better for Köln. He is a classy GK and ST, and as a full time starter, a really good option. They still overpaid a little bit imho, but they needed him, and will certainly use him!
