TWO TURTLE DOVES!
I’d like to take the opportunity, at the top of this week’s newsletter, to wish all managers and their loved ones a very Happy Christmas, and all the best for 2002. I hope you all get what you want in your stockings from Santa (I’ve had a couple of rather splendid early Chrimble pressies myself this week, as it happens), and I hope that 2002 sees you all continuing to play and enjoy this great game of ours!
TAKE YOUR HAT OFF, BOY, WHEN YOU’RE TALKING TO ME
Prettier Than You pulled off one of the shock results of the season this weekend by spanking league leaders Claymore Athletic FC 4-2. Rachel had recently been heard bemoaning the lack of goalscoring midfielders in her line-up; well, her boys must have took her criticism to heart as midfielder Simon Davies, Finidi George and new boy Claudio Reyna were on target in this one, Bellamy notching the other. Claymore’s 2 goals from strikers Thierry Henry and Paulo Di Canio were little more than consolations. Needless to say, Rachel wins the POTW £100,000, so well done to her, and I suspect even the Big Man won’t argue with this award.
Therefore, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Viola’s Pier, San Dimas High School return to the top of the table by goal difference. However, Trusted By Millions lost out on their chance to join the top 2 on 33 points, as they were beaten by in-form Real Muppets, thanks to a Mark Viduka strike. Muppets stay 5th, thanks to Aardvark’s 5-0 demolition of hapless York’s Returning Glory keeping them in 4th, but now have to be considered as contenders for the title.
Nil Satis are rooted at the bottom, following a 3-0 defeat by the Groove Machine, with recalled midfielder Muzzy Izzet on the scoresheet for the Big Man. Short Straw stay mired near the foot, after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with stuttering Kylie Bumcheeks, who must be ruing assistant boss John’s decision to drop Fabrizio Ravanelli to the bench. And Elland Road are still in a precarious position, after a rare goal from Mega Buck’s Phil Neville salvaged a 1-1 draw against Dean’s Antipodean boys, after Damien Duff had put the Big Boys ahead.
And finally, for goals galore this week, there was only one place to look; the mid-table clash between the 2 teams with the longest names in Fantasy League, Fred West Landscape Gardening XI and You Know Your Boston Rock FC, produced 9 goals, as Fred snuck home 5-4 thanks mainly to a Van Nistelrooy hat-trick.
LIKE THE LAST PERSON ALIVE, YOU CAN’T COMPLAIN
The draw for the first round of the WSFFL Fantasy FA Cup was made down the pub on Saturday 22 December. In the absence of Sven and Platty (I guess my invites to them must have been lost in the Christmas post), Phil Selby drew the home teams and Mega Bucks’ assistant manager Ceri drew the away teams. So this is how it all shook out;
Trusted By Millions v Kylie Bumcheeks
Mega Buck Bandits v Prettier Than You
Claymore Athletic FC v Fred West Landscape Gardening XI
Short Straw Rovers v 22 Legged Groove Machine
York’s Returning Glory v Real Muppets
You Know Your Boston Rock FC v San Dimas High School
Elland Road Big Boys v Aardvark Abacus
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum v Viola’s Pier
The undoubted “tie of the round”, if I say so myself, pits Cup holders You Know Your Boston Rock FC against league leaders San Dimas High School. So it seems that if I’m going to win the Cup for an unprecedented 3rd year on the bounce, I’m going to have to do it the hard way! Still, bring it on, I say!
TRANSFER NEWS
Some remedial squad restructuring going down at Westmorland Road…
Player From To Fee
Tony Hibbert Everton Nil Satis Nisi Optimum £500,000
Anthony Gardner Mega Buck Bandits Pool £250,000
Noel Whelan Mega Buck Bandits Pool £1,250,000
Alan Rogers Leicester City Mega Buck Bandits £500,000
Joe-Max Moore Everton Mega Buck Bandits £500,000
Don’t forget that the players highlighted are subject to the pool “cooling off” period. Any managers interested in buying them can bid until 8 p.m. on Monday 31 December, after which time they go into the pool proper and are readily available.
THE FF£100,000 QUESTION
This one was on “Question of Sport” recently but I’ll take the chance that none of you remember it.
Which current England international holds the post-war Under-21 Most Caps record, with 27?
One entry per person as usual please, to me by close of play on Saturday 29 December.
The film “Sua Majestade o Rei” was about Eusebio, arguably the greatest African player ever (he originally hailed from Mozambique) and the greatest player ever to represent Portugal at International level.
The £100,000 cash winner was Ryan, who even gave me Eusebio’s whole name, Eusebio Da Silva Ferreira. So Congrats to Real Muppets, who are “quids in” this week.
Commiserations to Clive, MC and (amazingly) Peej, who all incorrectly guessed it was Pele, surmising that Brazilians do, indeed, speak Portuguese. However, so do the Portuguese themselves!
WSFFL RESULTS; Week 15, W/E 22 December 2001
York’s Returning Glory 0-5 Aardvark Abacus
Harte
Haas
Solano
Hasselbaink
Gudjonsson 34,063
Real Muppets 1-0 Trusted By Millions
Viduka 67,638
Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 5-4 You Know Your Boston Rock FC
Van Nistelrooy 3 Bowyer
Armstrong Pahars
Ljungberg Dunn
Lampard 36,040
22 Legged Groove Machine 3-0 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Izzet
Solskjaer
Gray 40,287
San Dimas High School 1-1 Viola’s Pier
Sorensen Zenden 48,013
Prettier Than You 4-2 Claymore Athletic FC
Simon Davies Di Canio
George Henry
Reyna
Bellamy 44,297
Elland Road Big Boys 1-1 Mega Buck Bandits
Duff (1) Phil Neville 28,001
Kylie Bumcheeks 1-1 Short Straw Rovers
Shearer (1) Nolan 25,857
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