HERE I AM, EUROPEAN SON
Thanks to our eagle-eyed Antipodean colleague who correctly pointed out that 3 Easter Monday/ Tuesday fixtures (those involving Man U, Leeds and Arsenal) were called off, due to the Champions League games being arranged for that week. Due to there now not being a full fixture list over this period, I’ve taken the decision to postpone the Easter Monday/ Tuesday fixtures. This means that as we’ve now run out of free weekends, Week 30 and Week 31’s fixtures will both be played this weekend, W/E 21 April 2001. Sorry about this slight balls-up, but it’s better for all to double up, than to try to play a fixture with only 14 Premiership teams in action.
WHY DO I ALWAYS END UP HERE WEEKENDS, WEEK IN WEEK OUT
The 2000/2001 Fantasy FA Cup Final was a thriller, and ended in a 4-4 draw between Trusted By Millions and You Know Your Boston Rock FC. So myself and Beef have to do it all over again, next week, same place, same time! Flippin’ eck! Anyway, a full match report of the Cup Final is attached to this newsletter.
WHEN YOU FALL DOWN, I FALL DOWN
In the league this week, both leaders slipped up and gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope. In the day’s big game, Elland Road Big boys overcame Willy Shakey 2-1, Steve Vickers getting the last-minute winner. Raimond Van Der Guow was the last-minute goalscorer for Viola’s Pier, who overcame leaders Real Muppets by the same scoreline.
So Trusted and Mega Buck, both 3-goal winners, move to within 4 points of leaders real Muppets, with Elland Road, 2 points further back, still harbouring dreams of glory.
At the other end, Kylie Bumcheeks continue their poor run and slip to 14th, after being spanked 3-0 by Beef’s Trusted team. Upwardly mobile in the league were Boston Rock FC (at last! No longer 13th!!) and Viola’s Pier. York’s Returning Glory continue their recent impressive form with a battling 2-2 draw with Aardvark Abacus, Ady’s Brazilian full-back Silvinho being amongst York’s scorers with a spectacular own goal. And a rare win for Pacer’s Pacesetters as they beat out-of-sorts Claymore Athletic 3-1 with an impressive double salvo from substitute John Hartson. This earned Andy Ballard’s basement boys the £100,000 POTW award, so well done Andy.
YES, I WAITED A YEAR…
This week’s results are brought to you courtesy of football365.com. For some reason or other, I’ve tried getting into the soccernet.com website all weekend and it won’t let me in. I understand other managers have reported similar problems, so instead of holding the results up, I decided to switch my allegiance to Danny Kelly’s website. I don’t think there were any great controversial moments this weekend, but if soccernet.com continues to be unavailable, I will continue to use football365.com as my prime information source.
I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT, CRASHED ON THE PLANE
I’m such a dumbass at times, I knew I shouldn’t have done the last Fantasy League results while jet-lagged, but there you go. Anyway, I’d like to issue a correction to one of last weeks scores, as I inadvertently marked The 22 Legged Groove Machine’s Lee Hendrie’s goal as a clean sheet, and cancelled it off against York’s Returning Glory’s Danny Mills clean sheet! D’oh! So anyway, the correct score and scorers for this match, which was originally reported as 3-0 to York’s, should have been;
York's Returning Glory 4-1 22 Legged Groove Machine
Todd 2 (0) Hendrie
Blake
Mills 20,043
Which, if anything, makes Julian even more deserving of his POTW award. Anyway, records have duly been amended, and the league co-ordinator has had to watch a re-run of the Liverpool-Barcelona UEFA Cup semi final first leg, as punishment for his oversight.
I AM SUPERMAN AND I CAN DO ANYTHING
Being unemployed once again has given me the chance to catch up on a few things I’ve been putting off, like the WSFFL Manager Of The Month Awards. Now, the last reported one was November 2000 (Viola’s Pier); since then Fred West Landscape Gardening XI won it in December 2000, although it wasn’t reported in this august publication (well done Fred, by the way). So let’s catch up;
- January 2001; After discussions with the Exec Committee, we decided to do a January 2001 award after all. So the January MOTM went to Rich Timms, manager of The 22 Legged Groove Machine, for his unbeaten surge up the table in January, including a good tupping of the then league leader Willy Shakey.
- February 2001; 4 managers had 100% awards this month (including myself, so that was a tempter, I can tell you!), but after evaluating the scores and calibre of opponents, I gave it to Ady Bevan’s Aardvark Abacus, who taked in 9 goals in his 2 league matches this month, including beating his Mega Buck brother 5-0!
- March 2001; An easier one, this, as only one team had a 100% record in March. So, come on down, Andy “Beef” Perfitt, whose Trusted By Millions side got maximum league points and also reached the FA Cup Final this month.
Well done to Rich, Ady and Beef, who each get FF£250,000 awards for their efforts.
TRANSFER NEWS
One in, one out “down under”;
Player From To Fee
Patrice Carteron Sunderland Elland Road Big Boys £500,000
Lee Matthews Elland Road Big Boys Bristol City £70,000
THE FF£75,000 QUESTION
Which current Premiership player created history last season for being the first to play a League match whilst fitted with an electronic tagging device?
One entry per person as usual please, to me by close of play on Sunday 22 April.
The “cleanest” player in the FA Carling Premiership up until Christmas 2000, with only one foul every 6 hours and 15 minutes of play, is the Groove Machine’s (and Charlton Athletic’s) Claus Jensen. Obviously not following his manager’s example, he’d only committed 4 fouls all season up to Chrimble. Bit of a noncer you’ve got there, Big Man, needs to get stuck in more, I reckon.
Only one guess this time, from Beef. And it was wrong! So there’s a rollover for the above question; £150,000 up for grabs!
SHORTS
I read a lovely reference to Middlesborough in Harry Pearson’s excellent book “The Far Corner”, which I’d like to share with you, but I think Julian (ex Ex- and Current Boro) might not appreciate; “being brought up in…Teeside has given me a very high tolerance of ugliness. Had Perseus been from Middlesborough, when the Medusa turned her glare on him he’d simply have said “Smile, luv, it may never happen”, then tried to pat her bottom”… another correction from last week’s jet-lag affected Newsletter; of course the POTW winner gets £100,000 not £75,000, so apologies to Julian if it seemed like I was short-changing you… Peej’s recat duties continue apace; this time I’m pleased to inform you all that Boston Rock’s Harry Kewell has been recategorised into midfield. Just in time for the Cup Final replay…
THE 2000/01 WSFFL FA CUP FINAL
At The Millennium stadium, Cardiff, W/E 13/14 April 2001
YOU KNOW YOUR BOSTON ROCK FC 4
Ferdinand 4
Lampard 7
Bowyer 33
Scholes 87
VS
TRUSTED BY MILLIONS 4
Gerrard 55
Taylor 81
Schwarzer 90
Hreidarsson 90
Attendance: 73,500
Boston Rock FC: Flowers; Craddock, Delaney, Ferdinand (capt.), Fish; Bowyer, Lampard, Scholes, Tessem; Ameobi, Smith
Subs: Royce, Song, Carrick, Kewell
Trusted By Millions: Schwarzer; Carragher, Hreidarsson, Richards (capt.), Rufus; Hutchinson, Sherwood, Taylor, Wilson; Owen, Phillips
Subs: Bosnich, Matteo, Gerrard, Ostenstad
Trusted By Millions staged a superb last-minute fightback to tie the 2000/2001 Fantasy FA Cup final 4-4, after an exciting hard-fought game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
This was the first time the reigning FA Cup holder had reached the following year’s final, although The 22 Legged Groove Machine had unsuccessfully defended the League Cup in 1996/7 against Aardvark Abacus, after beating Supersonic Rovers in 1995/6. Boston Rock hopes were high about salvaging something from a disappointing league campaign, in which Trusted had taken 4 points from the 2 league clashes between the 2 teams.
Boston Rock’s captain Rio Ferdinand set the tone early on, with an imperious far-post header to put the Sky Heroes into a 4th minute lead. First half goals from Lampard and Bowyer (following good work from the mercurial Harry Kewell) followed, as Boston Rock raced into a 3-0 half time lead. Trusted sub Steve Gerrard pegged things back early in the second half, before being harshly sent off for a second bookable offence. Trusted were galvanised by this, however, and Ian Taylor pulled the scores back to 3-2 with 9 minutes to go. An 87th minute screamer from Boston Rock’s Paul Scholes looked to have settled matters in the favour of the holders, but injury time goals from Trusted’s Mark Schwarzer and Hermann Hreidarsson tied the scores at a breathless 4-4!
So, it’s back to Cardiff next weekend, and if the replay is anything like this nail-biter, it’s going to be the hottest ticket in town!
LEAGUE RESULTS 2000/01
League Week Number: 29, W/E 13/14 April 2001
Claymore Athletic FC 1-3 Pacer's Pacesetters
Unsworth (1) Giggs
Hartson 2 20,224
22 Legged Groove Machine 1-1 Donkey Derby County
Poyet (2) Halle 25,319
Prettier Than You 1-3 Mega Buck Bandits
Kilbane Makin
Goater
Gordon 37,879
Real Muppets 1-2 Viola's Pier
J Cole Quinn
Van der Guow 48,029
Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 1-1 Short Straw Rovers
Carbone Stewart 35,136
Elland Road Big Boys 2-1 Willy Shakey
Vickers (1) Kanoute
Akinbiyi 67,637
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 1-4 You know your Boston Rock FC
Wright Ferdinand
Lampard
Bowyer
Scholes 31,272
Trusted by Millions 3-0 Kylie Bumcheeks
Hreidarsson (1)
Gerrard
Taylor 44,116
Aardvark Abacus 2-2 York's Returning Glory
Yorke 2 Blake
Silvinho OG 24,028
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