S8M14: Into the midst

Well hello there.

Coming at you live from my lunch break because....duh dug duh....I fell asleep yesterday and forgot to write anything. So yes, very organised etc.

Still, got me stats all sorted this week so that's a start. Let's go back through some football though shall we....

The weekend kicked off with a draw between Brighton and Leicester. Its difficult to get enthused about this Brighton side who don't seem to be kicking on. Its that whole standing on the down escalator thing - relying on 3 worse teams for survival is a risky strategy. Leicester frankly get a free pass for the rest of the season from me.

Everton continued their good form with a home win over Cardiff whilst Ranieri's return was joyous as Fulham beat an atrocious Saints side who surely must be about to end Mark Hughes' career once and for all. Please.

Comfortable wins for Man City & Liverpool were no surprise, but Spurs demolishing Chelsea was less expected and frankly Man Utd struggling to a 0-0 draw at home to Palace was more surprising than it really should be.

2  creditable away wins for Arsenal and Huddersfield on the Sunday were followed by another from Newcastle on the Monday.  Surprisingly low number of home wins this weekend actually.

Let's get statty:

Matchday 12:

27 people played

Most popular predicted result: Liverpool WIN (27/27)

Most disputed result: Newcastle vs Bournemouth (9-9-9 split)

Highest/Lowest/Average odds: 457/1 (Doron the only one....)

Best predictor: Nick Taylor-Collins (7/10)

Worst predictor: Joseph Machta (2/10)

Average score: 3.89/10 

Best predicted result: Liverpool WIN (27/27)

Worst predicted results: Leicester vs Burnley, Chelsea vs Everton & Asrsenal vs Wolves DRAWS (1/27 - Gaj Thiru, WhoScored.com & David Graniewitz resepctively)

Matchday 13:

25 people played

Most popular predicted results: Everton, Man Utd & Man City WINS (25/25)

Most disputed result: Burnley vs Newcastle (9-8-8 split respectively)

Highest odds: Steven Daniels (1026/1)

Lowest odds: Doron Salomon (610/1)

Average odds: 818/1

Best predictor: Josh Daniels (7/10)

Worst predictor: Joni Kleiman (3/10)

Average score: 4.96/10

Best predicted results: Everton & Man City WINS (25/25)

Worst predicted results: Man Utd vs Crystal Palace DRAW & Huddersfield WIN (0/25)

Everyone's scores:

Leaderboard (>2/3 weeks; 9/13)

To this week's predos:

Cardiff vs Wolves - WOLVES
Crystal Palace vs Burnley - DRAW
Huddersfield vs Brighton - HUDDERSFIELD
Leicester vs Watford  - DRAW
Man City vs Bournemouth - MAN CITY
Newcastle vs West Ham - NEWCASTLE
Southampton vs Man Utd - MAN UTD
Chelsea vs Fulham  - CHELSEA
Arsenal vs Spurs - DRAW
Liverpool vs Everton - LIVERPOOL

And the midweek games 'cos I'm off on holibobs

Bournemouth vs Huddersfield - DRAW

Brighton vs Crystal Palace - BRIGHTON

West Ham vs Cardiff - WEST HAM

Watford vs Man City - MAN CITY

Burnley vs Liverpool - LIVERPOOL

Everton vs Newcastle - EVERTON

Fulham vs Leicester - FULHAM

Wolves vs Chelsea - CHELSEA

Man Utd vs Arsenal - DRAW

Spurs vs Southampton - SPURS

Good luck folks

S8M13: 1st placeholder of the season

So unfortunately my organisational plans fell through due to a catastrophic failure of my previously impervious physical health. Preternatural healing has given way into mortal ache. I'm like Samson without the hair. Achilles with the ankle. Iron Man without the glowy bit.

Anyway, I'd set up the database well in advance but then wasn't able to actually write the blog due to the aforementioned near brush with death. Then this week, I was really busy (hence the plan to be organised in advance) and so we're into placeholder territory for the first time this season. In fairness, it would have been the usual post-international break waffle, so the quality of writing has, if anything, probably improved.

Results will follow this weekend, so check back. Just predos for now though:

Brighton vs Leicester - LEICESTER
Everton vs Cardiff - EVERTON
Fulham vs Southampton - DRAW
Man Utd vs Crystal Palace - MAN UTD
Watford vs Liverpool - LIVERPOOL
West Ham vs Man City - MAN CITY
Spurs vs Chelsea - DRAW
Bournemouth vs Arsenal - DRAW
Wolves vs Huddersfield - WOLVES
Burnley vs Newcastle - NEWCASTLE

Good luck folks

S8M12: Ye of little faith

Let's get straight to it. This week comes close to the highest scoring week of all time which was way back in 2014. Kudos to nearly everyone who beat their average scores.

However, as a not-at-all biased Gooner, I find no pleasure in noting that many people fell down by underestimating the rightful winners of this season's PL - Emery's Eagles. Serves you all right.

Man Utd's mini-renaissance is becomingly worryingly maxi and I reckon that he's now going to last until the summer the bugger. Leicester got their win - you have to reckon everyone outside of Cardiff was gunning for them. The scenes at full-time were brilliant too. Wins for Everton and West Ham were expected, but Newcastle bucked the trend, in actually winning a game. Spurs and Chelsea won, whilst Man City got all spanky again. Finally, Huddersfield scored their first goal at home since 2001 to beat a woeful Fulham. Bring back al Fayed.

Let's get statty:

This week, 27 people played

Most popular predicted results: Man City & Chelsea WINS (27/27)

Most disputed result: Huddersfield vs Fulham (10-9-8 split respectively)

Highest odds: Steven Daniels 531/1

Lowest odds: Doron Salomon 420/1

Average odds: 476/1

Best predictors: Lawro & EuroClubIndex (9/10 - neither went for a draw at the Emeryates)

Worst predictor: WhoScored.com (4/10)

Best predicted results: Man City & Chelsea WINS (27/27)

Worst predicted result: Arsenal vs Liverpool DRAW (5/27)

To the leaderboard (>2/3; 8/11)



This week's predos:

Cardiff vs Brighton - DRAW
Huddersfield vs West Ham - WEST HAM
Leicester vs Burnley - LEICESTER
Newcastle vs Bournemouth - NEWCASTLE
Southampton vs Watford - WATFORD
Crystal Palace vs Spurs - SPURS
Liverpool vs Fulham - LIVERPOOL
Chelsea vs Everton - CHELSEA
Arsenal vs Wolves - ARSENAL
Man City vs Man Utd - MAN CITY

Good luck guys

S8M11: Reflection

I'm going to make an assumption that everyone still playing this game has more than a casual interest in football. There will be varying levels of devotion, but I'd wager more than my standard accumulator stake that everyone here spends more than a few seconds each week on football-related past times - reading about, playing, watching, thinking etc.

So you're all probably aware of Bill Shankly's famous, tongue-in-cheek line that "Some people think football is a matter of life & death...it's much more important than that". It can be read into in a variety of ways, not least of which being the positive force that football can be (It's coming home....) but the straightest meaning is clearly untrue. In fact, arguably football is at it's best when  this epithet is demonstrably untrue - the football "family" to use FIFA-speak comes together beautifully at times of great emotion.

This week, unfortunately was one of those times. A blogpost 6 days later isn't going to shine any new light on the tragedy at the King Power Stadium but this is a topic that was too strong to minimise in favour of the usual blog structure.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and 4 others lost their lives in a silly, Dream Team-esque story which has touched so many people. I don't know what's the key ingredient here. The title win? The embedding into the local community? The ambitious, hands on, positive chair? The senselessness of it all?

It just struck me that I'm not sure of another comparable figure in the league who'd have the same reaction come their way. He clearly touched a lot of people, and nobody seemed to have a bad word to say. It's events like this, or the Stade de France attacks or any of the numerous stadium tragedies from history that just recentre you slightly; that tear away fragments of the child's wonder and commitment and just that bit more phlegmatic about the overhit pass, or the missed penalty. It's a huge part of my, and I'm sure your life and I love the emotional rollercoaster - it adds to my existence...but at the end of the day, it's just football.

Let's get statty:

This week, 26 people played
Most popular predicted results: Liverpool & Arsenal WINS (25/26)
Most disputed result: Brighton vs Wolves (8-8-10 split)

Highest/Lowest odds: Steven Daniels 480/1
Average odds: 480/1

Best predictor: Joe Abbott (8/10)
Worst predictor: Josh Gaon (3/10)
Average score: 5.73/10

Best predicted result: Liverpool WIN (25/26)
Worst predicted result: Crystal Palace vs Arsenal DRAW (1/26 - Lawro)

Everyone's results:

Leaderboard (>2/3 weeks; 7/10)

This week's predos:

Bournemouth vs Man Utd - DRAW

Cardiff vs Leicester - LEICESTER

Everton vs Brighton - EVERTON

Newcastle vs Watford - WATFORD

West ham vs Burnley - WEST HAM

Arsenal vs Liverpool - DRAW

Wolves vs Spurs - SPURS

Man City vs Southampton - MAN CITY

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace - CHELSEA

Huddersfield vs Fulham - DRAW

Good luck guys