S4M20 & FA Cup 3-3: 2015 - the best year since 1510

Welcome to winter folks. I've finally had to get the car scrapey thing out on a regular basis. It's as much this kind of weather as anything else - lack of fitness, physique, technique, skill, motivation - that led me to give up on a career in professional football. I remember playing one Sunday league game somewhere between the ages of 13-18 where it was freezing cold, blowing katabatic winds over the rec pitches of North London and properly raining too. The sort of rain that wasn't just miserable, but the rain drops actually appeared to be about a litre in volume each. The sort where you're drenched within seconds. This was football pre-snood, and I had my Prostar kit and Nike gloves for warmth. Probably a cotton t-shirt underneath with a (handwritten) witty slogan on it, waiting for that annual goal to arrive.

I couldn't tell you who I was playing for, who we were playing, where it was or anything else. I just remember thinking, "why the Federico Macheda am I playing football in this weather?"

The answer of course is 1) Slide tackles and 2) Millions of pounds. I never quite received part 2, but definitely loved a good part 1. Not enough to continue with my miserable amateur career (I played in some shocking teams down the years - common denominator, what?)

Anyway, the weather wasn't that terrible for most in the last few days. Boxing Day went pretty much to plan for most - we had some very low odds, and the best average score yet this season! The next round of matches - er, not so much! Not the worst - but not far off. It might have something to do with the whole fatigue thing Van Gaal's banged on about - although it'd be easier to be sympathetic if he made an effort to use his squad. It also probably has a  lot to do with the utter dross of 18/20 Premier League teams lending to unpredictabilitee - and 1 of the other 2 managed to have a shock result.

The problem with double blogs is that I could talk too much - and since I've already told you a fascinating anecdote, I'll leave it there other than to say that Colin being sacked is a tragedy. 'Cos now he'll get back into the media game and will therefore be harder to ignore.

Let's get statty:

Matchday 18:

This week, 22 people played
Most predicted results: Man City & Arsenal WINS (22/22)
Most disputed result: Crystal Palace vs Southampton (1-8-13 split)

Highest odds: AFM (3117/1)
Highest Non-AFM odds: Feneley (1501/1)
Highest Non-Feneley-family odds: Josh Daniels (767/1)
Lowest odds: Me (275/1)
Average odds: 973/1 (615/1 without AFM)

Best predictor: Loads of you (8/10) - see below
Worst predictor: David Silverman (5/10 - still not terrible)
Average score: 6.86/10

Best predicted result: Man City & Arsenal WINS (22/22)
Worst predicted result: Stoke WIN (0/22)

Everyone's results:

Matchday 19:

This week, 19 people played

Most predicted result: Man City WIN (19/19)

Most disputed result: Newcastle vs Everton (4-10-5 split)

Highest odds: AFM (22,111/1)

Highest non-AFM odds: Me (7,392/1)

Lowest odds: Sam Ruback (1,437/1)

Average odds: 6638/1

Best predictor: Yo Abbott (6/10)

Worst predictor: Will O'Doherty (1/10)

Average score: 3.16/10

Best predicted result: Stoke WIN (17/19)

Worst predicted result: Man City vs Burnley DRAW (0/19)

Everyone's results:

Josh Gaon picks a great week to miss out. I reckon that there is Back to the Future style mischief going on here. If anyone finds him perusing the 2000-2050 Sports Almanac, send me a copy of just 1 page. I offer great commission.

To the leaderboard, for those who have played >2/3 available weeks (13/19)

So Gaon extends his lead from .33 to .46 which is frankly, Joe Miller levels of dominance. That said, Joe then ran away like a little girl after his triumph, suggesting that it was just beginners' luck. That last matchday hit many people hard, with most losing a few points here and there - Yo being the main exception. Tarek rejoins the leaderboard...but probably wishes he hadn't. Still....plenty more time to change as we reach the halfway stage.

To Matchday 20 predos:

Stoke vs Man Utd - DRAW
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace - CRYSTAL PALACE
Hull vs Everton - EVERTON
Liverpool vs Leicester - LIVERPOOL
Man City vs Sunderland - MAN CITY
Newcastle vs Burnley - DRAW
QPR vs Swansea - DRAW
Southampton vs Arsenal - ARSENAL
West Ham vs WBA - WEST HAM
Spurs vs Chelsea - CHELSEA

Total odds: 4036/1 (PaddyPower)

Finally - the FA Cup Cash game returns for a third season. The rules for those who are new:

• Predict which team will win the tie (including replays/penalties) - no draws here
• Give me £5 - various methods of payment available
• 1 point per correct result.
• Come May, whoever has won gets 70% of the prize pot. Runner up gets 20%. 3rd place gets 10%. Prize money split if there are ties.
• The more who play - the bigger the prize pot - the more money you could win.
• This game is completely separate to the PL game - you don't have to play - just don't predict.
• Predictions = payment. I really don't want to have to chase people for months.

I don't need your money now - but if you plan to play, then I need all your entries before the first game of the 3rd round kicks off (Friday 3rd, 1945).

Here are the 3rd round ties:

1 Arsenal v Hull City   
2 Southampton v Ipswich Town   
3 Stoke City v Wrexham   
4 Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers   
5 Dover Athletic v Crystal Palace   
6 AFC Wimbledon v Liverpool   
7 Manchester City v Sheffield Wednesday   
8 Rochdale v Nottingham Forest   
9 West Bromwich Albion v Gateshead   
10 Blyth Spartans v Birmingham City   
11 Aston Villa v Blackpool   
12 Rotherham United v AFC Bournemouth   
13 Huddersfield Town v Reading   
14 Tranmere Rovers v Swansea City   
15 Cardiff City v Colchester United   
16 Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic   
17 Sunderland v Leeds United   
18 Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur   
19 Millwall v Bradford City   
20 Derby County v Southport   
21 Brentford v Brighton & Hove Albion   
22 Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers   
23 Leicester City v Newcastle United   
24 Scunthorpe United v Chesterfield/MK Dons 
25 Everton v West Ham United   
26 Cambridge United v Luton Town   
27 Chelsea v Watford   
28 Barnsley v Middlesbrough   
29 Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield United   
30 Yeovil Town v Manchester United   
31 Preston North End v Norwich City   
32 Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City

***Update 01/01/2015 2320***

Too lazy to type all the games out:

Good luck guys! Have a great New Year's Eve - whatever you do!