Round Twenty-Three Fixtures

Tuesday, 29 January 2008

Arsenal v Newcastle, 19:45

Bolton v Fulham, 20:00

Middlesbrough v Wigan, 20:00

Sunderland v Birmingham, 20:00

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

Chelsea v Reading, 19:45

Derby v Man City, 19:45

Everton v Tottenham, 20:00

Man Utd v Portsmouth, 20:00

West Ham v Liverpool, 19:45

The Chimay Cup: The Final, First Leg

The final of the most prestigious cup competition in the football predicting world – The Chimay Cup. It’s championship hopeful, James G versus journeyman, Alastair. The first leg is complete, with one leg to go...

The Final: James G v Alastair

It seems that the magical luck that has punctuated Alastair’s magnificent run in this year’s Chimay cup may have just run out. Just when he didn’t want a bad score he picked up this week’s Maize award. Fortunately for him James G did not have a great week either. Going in to the final leg James G has a two point advantage and has one correct score line to Alastair’s none. All to play for in a week’s time – can James G do the double or will Alastair defy the odds yet again and ruin 2008 for James G?

Round Twenty-Two Weekly Round Up

With one round to go the race for the Amazing Football Prediction Game Champion is going to go down to the wire. Despite leading the competition for the previous 13 weeks and having the highest score based on prediction points alone, James G has been overtaken at the top spot by Tim. Another incredible week by Tim’s strikers (scoring him 8 bonus points) has meant that he now leads the league by a single point going in to the final round. An exciting finish is well and truly on the cards.

Andrew Robb is the outsider still in with a slim chance. He trails the top spot by five points, but looks to have at least cemented his position in the money zone with a strong 8 points this week. He leads fourth place Joel by 6 points. James E was the only player to do better than Andrew this week in prediction points, picking up his first Guru award since Round One! Incredible. Alastair has secured his Maize Award for the season as he finished bottom of the weekly league table.

John N finished joint last on the week with five points, picking up a guru award – despite only predicting one correct result. Thanks to the generosity of some players in the league, John N’s illness was deemed a good enough excuse to pick up some points. It wasn’t enough to lift him out of sixth place, however with a solid week from John G holding him at bay.

Joel leads the best of the rest pack, but John G is still in with a shout of this second rate honour as only four points separate the two. John N’s missed predictions may have put him out of the running. He is, however, looking to pick up the season’s Guru Award at the end of season Awards ceremony. James E looks doomed to be this year’s winner of the wooden spoon as he is 9 points adrift of Alastair in seventh place.

So one week to go and only one point in it. Tim has stolen the initiative, can James G pip him to the post? Let’s all pray Ronaldo and Benjani break their legs in the coming week.

The full league table can be found here.

The striker points table can be found here.

Round Twenty-Two Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	James E	3	6	9
2	Andrew	1	8	9
3	John G	2	5	7
4	Tim	1	6	7
5	James G	1	6	7
6	Joel	0	7	7
7	John N	0	8	5
8	Alastair	0	5	5

Poll Result

The results are in and democracy has spoken. John N will receive the points score of a Maize award winner for the fixtures on Saturday & Sunday and a further one point for his correct prediction on Monday.

New Poll

You have all seen John N's pleas. Now it is time to vote. Taking into account his illness you have three options:

1. No points
2. An average of everyone's score
3. The highest available Maize award score (i.e. one point less than whoever scores the lowest this week)

Vote before 5pm today as I will need to sort the spreadsheet out.

Round Twenty-Two Fixtures

Saturday, 19 January 2008

Birmingham v Chelsea, 15:00

Blackburn v Middlesbrough, 15:00

Fulham v Arsenal, 15:00

Newcastle v Bolton, 17:15

Portsmouth v Derby, 15:00

Reading v Man Utd, 15:00

Tottenham v Sunderland, 15:00

Sunday, 20 January 2008

Man City v West Ham, 16:00

Wigan v Everton, 13:30

Monday, 21 January 2008

Liverpool v Aston Villa, 20:00

New Poll

The African Cup of Nations is upon us this week and 34 premier league players will be representing their country instead of playing for their clubs. This includes Didier Drogba, Ayegbeni Yakubu, Obafemi Martins and John Utaka.

Under the current rules, only players who have been injured or transferred out the league are allowed to be replaced. However, I will put it to the vote for a rule change. A draw will mean the rules stay the same.

If the decision is that transfers are allowed, any subsequent transfers must be done via email to everyone in the competition and will be on a first come, first serve basis. Transfers will only be allowed for players of an equal or lower value as your original striker and the original player points handicap will remain also.

Vote in the right hand column at the top...

The Chimay Cup: Round Two, Second Leg

Another incredible round in the Chimay cup as this season's finalist have been decided. It is a final no-one would have predicted and it also ensures we will see a new Chimay Cup champion crowned.

Tie One: John G v James G

After John failed to turn up for the first leg, it was always going to be a struggle to overcome the four point deficit. Despite matching James G point for point, the four point deficit remains and John G's season is effectively over. The next two weeks are without doubt the most important two weeks of James G's life - the double is still on but the threat of finishing with nothing is still a possibility.

Tie Two: Alastair v Andrew

It was the reigning Chimay Cup champ against the Amazing Football Prediction Game chump. The people's favourite, Alastair, has defied the odds throughout this competition dumping out Tim and now Andrew with a fourteen to thirteen win. Once again Andrew was in the tie of the round, only this time he has been dumped out by the plucky rookie. Andrew still has all to play for in the league. The Chimay cup has been a real sweetener for Alastair in an otherwise poor season. Could the fairly tale have a happy ending?

The final will be played over two rounds. The first leg is on the weekend of the 19th January. The second leg will be over the 29th & 30th January.

Round Twenty-One Weekly Roundup

Last week it looked like he was out of the running for top spot. This week Tim has surged back in to the game thanks to a Ronaldo hat trick. Tim may have had an average to good week gaining seven prediction points, but it was the six bonus points that have put him back in second spot retaking his position from Andrew - who finished the week on eight points plus two bonus points from Torres.

It was Alastair who finished the week as the guru - carrying on his rebirth as prediction extraordinaire as opposed complete footballing prediction numbnuts. That title now rest with James E who last week was only playing for pride but now has given up even salvaging any of that. He is the proud winner of the Maize award. Alastair has now not picked up a Maize award for eight rounds, where as James E is beginning to rack them up. With only two rounds to go, James E has only one less Maize award for the season. The race to claim the shame of finishing as Football Numbnuts of the Season is well and truly on.

Joel is back on form, though it may be too little too late. He picked up eight points this week but is twelve points off the money zone. It looks like John G's and John N's season are also over. However, they are still playing for various other awards. Not least the top correct score predictor and guru of the season. Both awards are firmly in John N's grasp and Joel has a shot a top correct score predictor.

All awards will be handed over on 1st February at the Buckingham Arms at 5:30pm.

The full league table can be found here.

The striker points table can be found here.

Round Twenty-One Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	Alastair	3	5	8
2	Andrew	2	6	8
3	Joel	2	6	8
4	Tim	2	5	7
5	James G	1	6	7
6	John G	1	6	7
7	John N	0	6	6
8	James E	0	4	4

Round Twenty-One Fixtures: 12th & 13th January

Saturday, 12 January 2008

Arsenal v Birmingham, 15:00

Aston Villa v Reading, 15:00

Chelsea v Tottenham, 15:00

Derby v Wigan, 15:00

Everton v Man City, 15:00

Man Utd v Newcastle, 17:15

Middlesbrough v Liverpool, 15:00

West Ham v Fulham, 15:00

Sunday, 13 January 2008

Bolton v Blackburn, 16:00

Sunderland v Portsmouth, 13:30

Round Twenty Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	Andrew	5	7	12
2	James G	2	9	11
3	Tim	2	9	11
4	Joel	2	8	10
5	James E	1	9	10
6	John N	2	6	8
7	Alastair	1	6	7
8	John G	0	7	7

Round Nineteen Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	John N	2	5	7
2	James G	0	7	7
3	Andrew	0	6	6
4	John G	0	6	6
5	Alastair	1	4	5
6	Tim	0	5	5
7	Joel	0	4	4
8	James E	0	4	4

Round Eighteen Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	John N	1	7	8
2	Alastair	1	6	7
3	James G	2	4	6
4	Andrew	1	5	6
5	Joel	1	5	6
6	John G	1	5	6
7	James E	1	4	5
8	Tim	0	4	4

Round Seventeen Points

Pos	Name	Cor Sc	Cor Re	Points
1	John N	4	6	10
2	Joel	3	7	10
3	Alastair	2	7	9
4	John G	2	6	8
5	Andrew	2	5	7
6	Tim	1	5	6
7	James E	0	6	6
8	James G	0	5	5

The Festive Season: Rounds Seventeen to Twenty

Apologies for the late reporting on these most exciting of rounds. The scores are in, the points tallied and the tables updated. Here are the highlights:

The Festive Season's Winners:

John N - a remarkable display of predicting from John N over the festive period. He picked up three of the four available guru awards. Unfortunately, his strikers were not on the same level of form and he remains in sixth place in the table. Only three points off Joel and John G however...

Alastair - he did not pick up a single Maize award. Incredible. Not only that but he scored a fair few points too. It seems too little too late for the people's favourite - but there is always the Chimay Cup to play for and he is hitting form at just the right time.

Andrew - a massive performance from Andrew. So massive in fact that he has stormed up to second place in the league. A fine performance as ever from his strikers gave him 12 bonus points, but it was his predicting that has really made the difference. In round twenty the man predicted correct scores for half the games! This gave him a deserved guru award. However, his name has been blackened and question marks will always remain over whether it was him who predicted five correct scores in a week or someone else... Still in the Chimay Cup, Andrew is still on course to take an unprecedented double.

James G - nothing spectacular from James G. In fact in week seventeen he picked up the Maize award. However, he performed well in the other rounds and his strikers have been on fire, picking up 12 points. Most importantly of all, however, he out performed his nearest rival Tim and has therefore extended his lead at the top of the table to five points. He is still in the cup too. Could the last few weeks be a massive showdown between the two giants of 2007/200 Andrew and James G? Who will finish on top?

The Festive Season's Losers

James E - it has been a season to forget for the usually very proficient and former champion James E. The festive season has been no different. He picked up a Maize award in round nineteen and failed to score big in any rounds until round twenty. As usual it has been his lack of ability to correctly predict a correct score that has let him down. In round twenty he picked up ten points - yet only predicted one correct score. His strikers have seriously let him down too, only getting one goal (two bonus points in the last four rounds). The season is over for James E, he is only playing for pride now.

Tim - not a disastrous festive period, but he will be disappointed. His incredible run of correctly predicting scorelines has left him. In fact John N has now predicted more correct scores in total this season. He also lost his second place to Andrew and trails the top spot by eight points. To top it all he picked up a Maize award in round eighteen. On the plus side, he is still comfortably in the money zone and his strikers continue to do him very proud.

A Quiet Festive Period

John G - Continues to be very erratic. Scored some good points in the early rounds only to pick up the Maize award in round twenty. Even his strikers had an average festive period picking him up six bonus points. He has dropped from 4th spot to 5th over the festive period.

Joel - Will be disappointed how his season has not kept going through the middle period. Still in the game for a money spot and up to 4th spot over the festive period. However, he has lost ground on third place and unless his strikers can really start firing may find the seven point deficit to the money zone too hard to overcome. Had two cracking rounds and two dismal rounds (one of which was a Maize winner) - not good enough by his usually high standards.

Poll result

Despite some sick, heartless people, Andrew will not be docked points for his shady prediction behaviour. However, he will undergo a forfeit - any suggestions by email or in the comments are welcome.

I suggest he is forced to pay his dues at the awards ceremony at the beginning of February.

Amazing Football Prediction Game Rocked By Scandal

It became apparent over the weekend that all is not what it seems in the murky underworld of the Amazing Football Prediction Game. A serious plot was uncovered that is now being made public. The impacts of this scandal are not yet fully known or understood and it will be down to the public vote to decide the course of action.

The Allegations:

Andrew Robb's unwitting girlfriend let slip that she made Andrew's predictions on Friday 14th December because he was "too drunk". No denial from either Andrew Robb nor his misses was made at the time.

To make matters worse, not only did Andrew that week consolidate his third placed money position, he also knocked John N out the cup.

The Poll:

In light of these revelations, it is only right that the other participants get to vote on an appropriate punishment. The options are as follows:

• Take pity on him - he needs a girl to make his predictions
• He should be docked 1 points
• He should be docked 2 points
• He should be expelled from the Chimay Cup & replaced by John N
  
• He should be made to undergo a forfeit that fits the crime at the choosing of the other players

Vote on the right hand side

The Chimay Cup: Round Two, First Leg

As the Chimay Cup enters the half way point, the romance is still very much alive and well. The second legs of the second round ties will not take place until after the Christmas break, so how are the remaining contestants fairing as they enter the Christmas break?

Tie One: John G v James G

The Lucky Boy, John G, may be soaring in the league – but you get nothing for a pair (of strikers) in this game. Unfortunately for John G, he can’t hide behind the goal frenzies of Yakubu and Santa Cruz and his rather inept ability to correctly predict score lines is being exposed ruthlessly by James G. Going in to the second leg, James G holds a four point advantage; a two correct scores advantage and a four away points advantage. Still, this is the cup and John G is the Lucky Boy – anything could happen... just don’t bet on it.

Tie Two: Alastair v Andrew

The romance is definitely alive and well in the second tie of the round. Bookies favourite Andrew takes on crowd favourite, Alastair. Once again, Alastair is upsetting the form book and going toe to toe with the reigning Chimay Cup champion. After an explosive win in the first round against John N, Andrew is in a dog fight with Alastair and will go in to the second leg trailing seven points to six. Both players have one correct score line each and there is no apparent away advantage as yet. The tie is on a knife edge, but we’ll have to wait until the New Year to see its exciting climax.