Mid-week Gameweek 23: still Dynamic

Yes, the Florence Dynamos are still on full charge.
Little Ted United does well at keepie-uppie.
Little Wonders (temporarily demoted from No Wonders) remains third within easy reach of a blunder from above.

Elojo has his eye on the top three with the highest score of the week: 15 ahead of the Gotadobetter's 63. That is the kind of gap which lifts you up where you belong, isn't it?

Martijn Bosman (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, the Bosman playing keepie-uppie above is not the one! Who changed football! I couldn't find Jean-Marc Bosman's photo except in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24333604
Look down on the left side of the linked web page to find him.

Meanwhile the rest of us suffer - except in the Allotments where Floculante Furies 6 wins by 2 points only and No Wonders by 3. El Fandi strides two wins ahead of chaser Little Ted.

Note: "In my team name 'Floculante Furies 6' - why the 6?" I am asked.

Because as far as I can recall this is my 6th season playing the FPL game. (The F is for Fantasy)

The End

Seamus O'Connell and THE CHI STROLLER

Ed, of Chi Strollers writes:

"I saw him play for Bishop Auckland several times. The first time I saw him was at Wembley in the amateur cup final playing for Crook Town against Barnet, I think in the late fifties. He scored twice and Crook won 3-2."

IT WAS 1959. FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF AMATEUR FINALS SEE  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FA_Amateur_Cup_finals


What Ed doesn't tell us is that he, Ed, himself played for Crook Town - it must have been in the late fifties as well, wasn't it? Tell us more, Ed. (Correction from Ed follows, added on 28/1/14)

You read it wrong guv. I did not play for Crook Town, I saw Seamus O’Connell play for Crook Town at Wembley.

I did play at Barnet a few games without setting the world alight having started at 15 in the youth team.

Ed.

What Ed did tell us all recently was about how not to play a Wildcard .....

Dated 20th Jan  2014

Yesterday was my 74th birthday and I feel I say this not for any heartfelt adoring praise I know you would want to shower upon me. I am increasingly aware that my memory is not what it used to be. I decided last Mon. to use my wild card to replace five of my players injured or unavailable. Being on the ball as I am I knew the best tactic would be to wait until Sat. am to be sure of the best outcome. This is where my advanced years come into play. The next time fantasy league figured in my mind was Sat. pm. when the results came on TV. I'm confident the fair minded sport loving members of Tiger Balm Gardens will overwhelmingly agree that I should be awarded the extra 75 points I would surely have received had my unfortunate bout of senility not occurred. I thank each one of you in advance as I am sure you will agree to this appeal. I also feel confident I can count on each and every one of you when this unfortunate situation repeats itself in the near future.

Chi Strollers. 20th Jan  2014

THE END

"Footling aboot" this coming weekend, I'm afraid!

English: Trophy presentation after winning the 06-07 FA Cup. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Footling aboot"**(see end) is Scottish dialect.  It seems appropriate for a football blog and for the coming weekend of no Premier League matches to fuel our Fantasy.

There is something on this weekend called the F A Cup which Chelsea have a habit of winning in recent years but this is a footling matter compared with the Premier League and the agony and hope it brings to most of us.

Chelsea v Stoke in the FA cup is on the telly at 1530 on Sunday.

The next Gameweek is No 23 on Tuesday/Wednesday 28th/29th

Don't forget your Wildcard - if you have not already played it.

** It came to me later that the phrase is 'footering aboot' not 'footling aboot' as written above 
This correction dated 31 Jan 2014

Related articles

• Chelsea sale of Mata to United would be 'unfair' - Wenger

Seamus O'Connell, of Bishop Auckland FC and Chelsea FC

The story so far .....

Bishop Auckland Town Hall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Eto'o of Chelsea scored a hat-trick against Man U on Sunday last. I discovered with a little help that a player called Seamus O'Connell who played for Bishop Auckland in the Northern League as an amateur had also scored a hat-trick for Chelsea against Man U sixty years earlier.

I have found a photo of this enigmatic footballer of my youth (see link at end). I saw him play for Bishop Auckland in the early 1950s.

 He lived his last years in Spain where he died last year. His last recorded public event was in 2005 when he returned from Spain to attend the centenary dinner at Chelsea.

He was one of the sons in a family of cattle dealers and like many talented young men from a family business he played his sport as an amateur. That meant he was officially unpaid for his play but it was well-known that amateurs of his calibre received 'travelling expenses'. The maximum wage for a professional footballer at that time was around £12 a week during the season.


See his photo and more info follow the link

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3092356/title/seamus-o

The end

Ding Dong Merrily on high ....

No, it isn't Christmas although we have had frost the last two mornings. The Ding Dong is at the top of the Gardens league where a handful of points separate the top three with Little Ted topping the Dynamos by a fraction, with No Wonders still close behind. Can anyone catch up with these three?

Gardens League

Gottodobetter is closest but ramming its way up the league still is Super Rams with the most points of the week: 69.

Since most of us now have Suarez, and many have Arsenal and Everton defenders, and other players in common is there less chance of a breakaway at the top or a breakthrough from below?

There are 16 weeks left so a steady advance from below, catching up by an average of 10 point per week on the leader, would give everyone down to 13th a chance to reach the top. An average rate of 5 per week would give everyone down to El Fandi at 6th a chance.

(The story of the week for me was mentioned in the previous blog, added yesterday. Have a look...I shall be following up on Seamus O'Connell, a player from the days when players were paid £10 a week. (A guess, not a fact))

Landon Donovan of Everton F.C. shaking hands before his Premier League debut against Arsenal F.C. at Emirates Stadium, January 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The photo is NOT Seamus O'Connell but I am looking for one!

Allotments League

Nice to see different leaders from the Gardens in this league of fine lines between winning and losing - this week it was Furies winning by 2 points, last week they lost by 1. Ding Dong merrily down below.

The end

Two Hat-tricks

Eto'o got a hat-trick for Chelsea against Man U on Sunday. My son, Nick, noticed a reference on  line to the only previous hat-trick for Chelsea against Man U.

As a fan of Bishop Auckland F C, a local team from earlier years, I was delighted to hear that Seamus O'Connell of Bishop Auckland F C came down to London for the day to play for Chelsea.
And scored three goals for them against Man U 60 years ago.

Read this great story spotted by Nick on line from The Daily Mail:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2541400/Chelsea-3-Manchester-United-1-match-report-Samuel-Etoo-hat-trick-hands-Blues-impressive-win-David-Moyes-men-fail-test.html#ixzz2qyT2JwSa 

Bonus Points

Bonus points
Bonus points are in addition to the points for appearance, assists and goals.

There is a new system this season. Here are some of the factors that have a negative impact on bonus points:

• Missing a big chance
• Making an error which leads to a goal
• Every 2 errors leading to an attempt at goal
• Being tackled 3 times
• Conceding 2 fouls
• Being caught offside 3 times
• Missing the target with 3 shots

Read all about it  in Help - FAQs.

And see the  bonus points awarded for each match by clicking on the match result on your team's Points page.

The End

Gameweek 21: Look out at the top, he's right behind you!

With many totals in the 60s there was not a lot of room for change.

However, one team continues a steady rise from near the floor to 9th after overtaking steadily for the past few weeks. All this after missing the first week, and laying low for the first few.

16th in Week 5
17th in Week 12
11th in Week 17
10th in Week 19
And now even higher.


Look out at the top, he's on the warpath.

Allotments:

Gardens:

The top three are the same as last week in the Gardens league: within 9 points.

Related articles

• Fantasy Football Differentials - Gameweek 22