By Eric Fulton

The Spring Men’s 11v11 Indoor League at the Foothills Indoor  Arena kicked off last night with 3 of our mens teams participating. Not only do we have 3 of our men’s teams in the league, but all of our men’s teams are represented by players on the squads. Our very own FC Denver Green Team won the Season-record Championship last season.

Here’s the results from last nights action:

FC Denver White vs. First Bank: 2-2; Our boys battled in a fiercely compettive game and got a tie. Good to get a result.

FC Denver Green vs. Happy Feet: 1-0; Our boys only had 10 men and got the result by playing smart counterattacking soccer. The team relied on the will and passion of the backline and the skill and elusiveness of their attackers.

FC Denver Premier vs. Corrosion: 6-1; Our Premier groups first game at Foothills was a good one. The guys displayed aggressive defense and  sharp passing to easily dismantle their opponents.

Our Coed Team, FC Denver ALPHA, kicks off their season tonight. Good Luck to them!

Our resident Brit chimes in this week with an insightful look at the top managers in the EPL.

By: Stephen Harries

Each week I will be looking at different elements of the Premiership: profiling teams, managers, and looking at results and how they are shaping the final weeks of the EPL.

This week, I want to look at three British managers who have done wonderful things with their clubs and should seriously be considered EPL managers of the year.

At the start of the season, three teams were expected to struggle, yet, they have been playing out of their skins, and find themselves sitting comfortably within the top ten, actually sitting 10^th, 8^th and 6^th.  These teams are Fulham, Wigan Athletic, and Everton.

Sitting pretty in 10th is Wigan Athletic. Wigan is a team that is fairly new to Premiership life, but has proven to be an ultimate survivor. A year ago Wigan was a team facing relegation, until a former defensive stalwart, and a fantastic manager, Steve Bruce became their manager. As a player Bruce was brilliant, he was the foundation that Sir Alex Ferguson built Man Utd’s dominance upon.

When Paul Jewell left, Chris Hutchinson turned a difficult to play against team into a total disaster. Causing Wigan to fall into the relegation zone, and once there, looked as though they would be a team that could be set for the drop until the arrival of Steve Bruce.

Bruce left Birmingham and turned Wigan around immediately. They rose from the relegation zone and survived a nightmare season. At Birmingham Bruce built a team that was hard to beat, and could get a result against any team, becoming the master of the 1-1 draw. At Wigan, he brought the same style of play, often defensive, and at times attacking, but they play with determination and commitment. Bruce has helped Wigan rise into a safe position, competing for a European place in the newly formed Europa League, which is a vast improvement from last season.

Another team punching above their weight and sitting in 8^th is Fulham.  Fulham is a team that I, and possibly many others felt would struggle with relegation. Lennie Lawrence was a disaster, turning an okay team into a horrible team, and when Roy Hodgson took the manager position last season, he did a remarkable job avoiding relegation from the EPL on the final day. Much has been said of Roy Hodgson, who really does have a good resume, coaching teams such as Inter Milan, and almost guided Finland to the World Cup in 2006.

When he came to Fulham, many spoke of his ability that he was a great tactician, and this was shown during last season, when he took on a job and a team that was quite frankly “shocking.” He has purchased well and sold well, and has Fulham playing with belief, and at home, they are a hard team to beat. Yes, they have struggled for goals away from home, but if they can purchase a natural goal scorer to play alongside Andy Johnson, Erik Nevland and Bobby Zamora, Fulham have the chance of being a very good top eight EPL team.

Hodgson deserves a lot of praise and recognition for their transformation, without him, they would be struggling in the Championship. Roy Hodgson really needs to be considered as one of the candidates for manager of the year.

Lastly, Everton, a team that has been a consistent performer under David Moyes, has proven that they are a good team yet again. What can I say about David Moyes . . . the third best manager in the EPL, I certainly think so!

What he has done at Everton has been something short of magical. Throughout his seven years at Everton, which currently makes him the third longest serving EPL manager, Arsene Wenger, and Fergie are the other two, has built a very competitive team out of nothing. Everton are a big club, and enjoyed a lot of success in the 70′s and 80′s, but in the 90′s fell from grace, until Moyes came to the club.

Moyes introduced Wayne Rooney to the EPL, kept hold of the Brilliant duo of Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, two players who would compliment the world’s best teams. Additionally, he has helped Tim Howard to become the keeper we all knew that he was, a very talented shot stopper, and had Ferguson given him more of a chance he would be United’s No1. Also, Moyes has made Lescott and Jagielka into one of the best central defensive pairings in the EPL. With little money and a small squad, Moyes has built a wonderful competitive team that challenges for the top 4 each year, and always finishes high on the table.

For me, Moyes is the manager to replace Fergie at Old Trafford or, should Guus Hiddink leave Chelsea at the end of season, is the prime manager for that job. Imagine what he can do with millions at his disposal.

Out of the three managers, David Moyes is my candidate for the EPL manager of the year.