From the bottom up - manager by manager part 6

Bottom then of the N&R FL Div 1 was a team named the CHAMP19NS - 20 in May. Unfortunately for mr Simmons like his Red Devils he came away empty handed, but to make matters worse he finished rock bottom of the Div 1 table. Mark picks his team and and his transfers solely from the Man U squad, which, as evidenced, is not as easy as it looks. But at least when you get thrashed 6-1 by your noisy neighbours it does give you an unssailable worst weekly score, which did win Mark a prize.

Mark spent just 4 weeks holidaying outside of the bottom 12 and ended up 27 points adrift of his nearest competitor.

Who was.... Ted Striker. Oakers loves a bit of Airplane, but his team barely got of the ground last season. Al kept Mark company in the bottom two for the majority of the campaign. This season will be a real disappointment for Oakers after having one of his best ever last time out (10th in Div 1). Oh well, beer will vanish any memories.

In 33rd was Sainsbury's Maggotts LMFC, which even now I have no idea what the name means. Pk is a previous Champion (2007/8) and after a little sojourn he will be troubled to find out that he has lost his touch (although not late at night in Fuego's). Pk was one of three managers to spend the whole of the 40 weeks in the bottom 12 and Paul Robinson in goal didn't help.

Neville White goes back to whence he came after just one season for Still not a chance in the top flight. The jump in class was just too much for the very class casualty man, and after sitting 18th in week 1, the rest literally was down hill. Franz Klammer style.

31st was one of our now two Japanese correspondents, Giles Crowley. Giles and his erotically beery eyed team of Asahi Kirin Sapporo Saki Eight bounded back into our lifes last summer and because of his record in N&R FL, he proudly took a Div 1 place. Clearly a little ring rusty (whatever that means) Giles started ok but we soon realised it was all smoke and mirrors for the dross that was to come. 28th in week 3 and then the game was up. Hopefully Shinji Kagawa will have more success.

Neil Wallis was 3rd in Div 2 last season and one or two of us thought his Bobby Z is world class would cut it in the higher level. Er, no bottom after week one, Neil dabbled in the transfer market but to no avail and was forever swimming against the tide. Back to Div 2 you go mate.

My Serbian friend Davor had a disastrous season. Non Calculated Risk wasn't risky enough and he will drop back down to Div 2 after being promoted last season. In week 1 Dav was in 8th but the 7ft 2 inch former netbasketball player got a serious nose bleed and from week 3 he was fighting a relegation battle without ever looking like being successful.

The most shocking of all the relegations was that of Two points, two flats and a packet of gravel. Kennett is always quick out of the traps but this year's collapse was one of his greatest. 3rd after the first week of scores, but then 1st in week 3 but not just for a blink of an eye, Ian was top for 6 weeks, one of only 8 managers who spent any time at the summit.

After week 10 Ian slipped off the top but was still a challenger, well except for the fact that Keith and I know his squeaky bum, is more squeaky than others! By week 16 our erstwhile Everest Base Camp Trekker (right) was out of the top 8 and a one-way ticket to the relegation scrap.

Yet it was another 8 weeks before he finally arrived at the arse end of the table but that only lasted for a fortnight but it is then that he should have rolled out some transfers, but he didn't and with others around him improving, and Ian's secret, his side were back in the doo-doo in week 30 and in the final 10 weeks his fate was dished out to him.

27th, 15 places below last season's final placing was Nobby Jnr, and at least I will be a big fish in a small pond next season! I was pretty rubbish to be honest, despite making all my substitutions and having access to everyone's team! After spending 38 weeks in the bottom 12 I got what I deserved. See you on the other side.

Huw Thomas and Travelodge Kettles (the best team name in the competition) rejoined us this season from xx but also struggled and was another to drop through the trap door. Huw was 6th at one point and in the first half of the season was safely in midtable. Yet come (18) Huw got wrapped up in the bottom 12 and found it hard and in fact impossible to keep his head above water.

25th was the Sweatmeister and We are all Keith Lemon. Lee was bumped up to Div 1 during the summer mostly because of sexual favours, and quite simply he was over-promoted. After 15 or so years as a N&R manager Lee knows his limitations and I suspect will be happy to be mixing it with the mix of youth and uselessness in Div 2 next time out.

Now, drum roll please...... in joint 23rd came Henry's Socceroos, another Oz based manager and Chris's Brox Banditos. Both sides finished with 1,378 points and therefore tied for the last relegation place. How do we split them? Easy. Who was in the bottom twelve the most often. Back to that in a moment.

Henry started well and was 8th in week 2 but then despite make some inroads into the transfer market, he found himself in the middle of a relegation battle. More transfers saw him move out for a fair number of weeks and in fact he was joint MoW in week 31. He again got his nose out of the water with just a week left but in week 40 got sucked back in to finish joint 23rd.

Chris' season was kind of opposite. He started poorly but at week 18 moved out of the relegation places after 3 months. He then set to battling against the drop and was then out more than he was in. In week 39 he was 19 points adrift but an excellent final week hauled him level on points with Henry.

Weeks in the bottom 12:

Socceroos 23

Brox Banditos 21.

So Henry who missed out by just 4 points last season drops this time around to N&R Div 2.