Nick PC is better than Wenger (back-to-back titles!)

Ahead for so long, then relinquishing the lead, a stunning last week points haul sees Nick PC crowned as the 2022 Dwight Yorke Cup Champion. In 27 years, Nick has achieved what Arsene Wenger didn't manage to do...retain the title. And this is also the first time it has happened in the 27 year history of the DYC.

A valiant effort from Harry but he came up short. He will surely rue the 24 point difference when he swapped Salah for Ronaldo - a mistake that will go down in the annals of FFL history alongside Litmanen, Berbatov and Simon Osborne. 

I came third for a record fourth time.

Other records this year:

Stathi accrued the 5th worst score in history and now has two entries in the top five worst scores. Stathi leapfrogs the champion to claim three wooden spoons, same as Don but behind Theo who has five. 

(all the above without the data for 2018 season)

Final table:

Best team:

And that is it.

I therefore bid you farewell as the outgoing chairman, but also tender my resignation as a manager in the DYC. It's been a fabulous 22 years but personally, this year was one too many. Maybe being chairman made it a drag as I couldn't quite stabilise a work-life-FFL balance. United having their worst season in decades didn't help either!

Have a great a summer - I may yet change my mind, but not sure I will.

Over and out

Mike

TOO CLOSE TO CALL....

13 points separate Harry and Nick PC from the 'coveted' title. 

2 points separates third to fifth.

Roll on Sunday - get your calculators out...

Table after audit:

No transfers to report. Someone tried to transfer in Gabriel Jesus but he was already taken. 

Squeaky bum time

With a handful of games to go, here is the latest and long awaited update.

All change at the top with Harry grateful for the GOAT's 18 points over the past couple of weeks sending him soaring beyond Nick PC into first place by 10 points.

Beyond that it is a fight for third with 17 points separating current incumbent Sid with Alex in 6th. 

Stathi and James are rooted to the bottom a mammoth 180 and 166 points behind top spot respectively and this is already a greater margin between top and bottom for three seasons.

Table:

 

One transfer to note:

McNick

Wilson OUT Lacazette IN (effective several weeks ago but doesn't matter as he has scored zero points in that time)

Too close to call?

The race is back on!

After a thorough audit after I discovered I had double counted one week (in addition to some incorrect player scores), plus the FFLs penchant for adding and removing scores throughout the season, the race for FFL XXVII is very much ON.

Long time leader Nick PC has seen his lead whittled down to just two assists: four points!

I'm in second with Harry a further 7 behind pilling on the pressure. Sid is third just 20 points behind. 

I don't think you can count out Rico who is 35 points adrift, especially with Salah up front and a whopping seven transfers to play with - what you waiting for bruv?. 

It will be a tall order for anyone else to enter the running, but making up 48 points (both Don and Alex) can and has been done before. Still plenty of weeks to go...

Taking up the rear is Stathi who is rock bottom, a massive 148 points from the summit - more than a Clive Allen season of goals!

(The table below does not include Spurs - Everton match last night)

Table

Transfers:

Alex

Rashford OUT Mahrez IN

Nick PC

Vlasic OUT Pepe IN

Transfer Update

Transfer update. These were made LAST week so became active THIS week. 

TRANSFERS:

Sid 

Greenwood OUT Wood IN

Traore OUT Kulusevski IN

Alex 

El-Ghazi OUT Ramsey IN

There was also a bid for Mahrez but the sub used was a midfielder. Mahrez is a forward in the game. 

FA Cup Weekend Update

FA Cup Weekend Update

Gap opening up at the top. 

If Nick PC wins it this year, it will be the first time anyone has defended the title. 

Quite the irony given that as an Arsenal fan he never saw the great Arsene Wenger do that in real life.

Achieving this feat would pretty much break the game too...something several managers are secretly hoping for!

Here's the Table:

TRANSFERS:

Mike (beats Don and Alex by a combined £0.2m) to the signing of Coutinho:

McGinn OUT Coutinho IN

Trincao OUT Dele IN

Sid

Gray OUT Ziyech IN

Harry 

Pinnock OUT Kilmann IN

Here are the teams for all managers. In parenthesis next to name is number of transfers LEFT for each manager. 

Over and out...(just like United. FFS)

New Year, New Hope?

 

Happy New Year all.

2022 - new year, new hope?

Bit of a gap opening at the top. Nick PC is now 15 ahead of Harry. 27 points separates the top four. A fantastic battle is meeting for the wooden spoon – only one point in it now!

Table:

 

Transfers:

 

Harry

Klich OUT and Lanzini IN

 

Sid

Dawson OUT and Ben White IN

Pogba OUT and Henderson IN

 

FA Cup this weekend

See you all in a couple of weeks

 

MP

 

 

x

Merry Christmas...

 

I’ll apologise for the last time for not regularly updating. My New Year’s resolution is to stay on top of the scores and this will naturally mirror my NY resolution to go more regularly to the gym.

Anyway, there has been a significant move at the top of the table and it now all makes sense!

No wonder the WhatsApp group was bombarded by Nick PC, asking for updates! He usually types four things all season (yes, yum, yes, no). He has stormed into the lead thanks to the transfer in of Gabriel (more details down below), Maddison finding his form, Robertson scoring bundles and the astute acquisition of Sa which has yielded plenty of clean sheets.

But this is not an unassailable lead by any means as the top three seem to mirror the Premier League’s top three with only three points separating our race for the 27^th DYC. We go into the festive period and the upcoming halfway point with it all to play for.

Beyond the battle at the top, only 30 points separate 4^th to 9^th and with good (lucky!) transfers could see anyone of them make a run for the top three.

It is probably safe to say that Stathi and James, almost 100 points adrift now, are fighting it out for the wooden spoon.

Table:

 

 

 

           

Transfers:

Stathi

Doucoure OUT, Hudson-Doi IN (active from w/b 8/11)

 

Nick PC

Romero OUT, Gabriel IN (active from w/b 6/12)

and

Pepe OUT, James (Leeds) IN (active from w/b 13/12)

 

Sid

Werner OUT, Dennis IN (active from w/b 6/12)

 

Mike

Bertrand OUT, Semedo IN (active from w/b 15/11)

and

Firminho OUT, Sterling IN (active from w/b 13/12)

 

McNick

Aubameyang OUT, Martinelli IN (active from w/b 20/12)

Here are the teams for all managers. In parenthesis next to name is number of transfers LEFT for each manager. 

 

Lastly, here are the top point scorers in each position as it stands. Harry must be booting and himself for the 27 points difference between Salah and Ronaldo!

Total points for this lot? 333!

...and with this update, it just leaves me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, healthy New Year.

Another update....

 

Update...

Footballers kick ball to other footballers;

Some footballers kick ball into the goal;

Some footballers prevent ball going into the goal;

Some teams get more points than others.

Table:

Transfers:

Gallagher already owned so another transfer voided.

Harry:

Coleman OUT Shaw (along with his KFC bargain bucket) IN

Three week update...sorry :(

 
Update. Apologies for this being so late.

Table:

Transfers

10/10 Deadline

Alex:

Sigurdsson (finally) OUT Odergaard IN

17/10 Deadline

Mike:

Havertz OUT Firminho IN (which was the player I wanted during #pleadgate)

Harry:

Torres OUT Silva IN

Konsa OUT Pinnock IN

Stathi:

Dele OUT Ndombele IN

Alex:

Sterling OUT Rashford IN

Shaw OUT Cucurella IN

23/10 Deadline:

Stathi:

Cavani OUT Hwang Hee Chan IN

The NLD - a tale of unbridled joy and abject woe

 

Where does the inquest begin and where does it end? Who is to blame and what can be done about? This is nothing to do with the North London Derby, but when and where am I going to fill up my car with petrol? It’s 2021, UK is the world’s fifth biggest economy (based on nominal GDP) and we have descended back to 1970s with fuel being rationed. Thanks Boris…and those who voted Brexit.

Back to PL and the match of weekend saw Arsenal ceremoniously tear Spurs a new one. Wow, so one-sided. James, Harry and Nick PC will likely still be grinning from ear-to-ear while our Spurs contingent will be busily ramming needles into their Levy voodoo dolls. Nice stadium though.

What does this all mean for FFL? This week’s Mikel “see, I didn’t just pick up cones for Pep, but also learned how to play fast fluid football which battered Spurs” Arteta Manager of the Week goes to Nick PC with a whopping 17 points thanks Vardy (6) and Sa (5). This week’s Nuno “I actually don’t know what I’m doing but I’m working at a nice training ground and wonderful stadium” Santos award for flop of the week is James who scored a paltry 4.

A bit of accounting from last week has seen some managers gain points and overall this means our 2022 champion will be Harry. The gap is now 12 to second.

Table:

Transfers
 
Finally the PL’s two jailbirds have finally been jettisoned.
 
Don:
Henderson OUT Ramsdale IN
 
Alex:
Sigurdsson OUT Cornet IN
 
Stathi:
Elliot OUT Doucoure IN
Mendy OUT Tmayasu IN
 
Once again we had a manager who tried to substitute in players owned by other managers. For the record: Vardy is Nick PC’s while Smith-Rowe and Mane are both mine
 
Until next week
 
Your Chairman
(Viva Ronaldo. Again) 

Tuchel, Klopp, Ole and Harry lead the way...

A low scoring week for most last week where the biggest talking point was not what it takes to be awarded a penalty nor the porous state of the Tottenham defence but how ridiculous does Mark Noble’s comb-over look?

Harry maintains his lead with 31 poitns separating the top 6.

Don is this week’s big scorer with a mammoth score of 18. This gives him this week’s Thomas “if I knew managing in the Premier League was this easy I would’ve moved here earlier” Tuchel award for Manager of the Week. Meanwhile Alex, for the second time this season, comes away with the David “why did I bring him on FFS” Moyes award for Donkey of the Week with an abysmal -1 points.

Table:

Transfers:

A three-way battle ensued for Sadio ‘the hairline’ Mane.

TC tried Watkins (7.3), Sid tried with Werner (8.6m) but I prevailed with Sancho (9.1)

One other transfer:

Nick PC

Ziyech OUT Pepe (le pew) IN

A question for our esteemed NLD aficionados – how important is this week’s match?

Until next time...

Your Chairman

The R's do it for Harry...

 

It was inevitable wasn’t it? As night follows day that the bokking of early leader Sid would very quickly see him usurped at the top of the table. Well done Harry, who thanks in no small measure to the two Rs (Romelu and Ronaldo) scored a stupendous 21 points and is Manager of the Week. So, may I take this opportunity then to congratulate you Harry on winning the title this year!

Other notable scores come from Sid (13) and McNick (12) while I come bottom of the pile with a sad 3.

 Table:

x

 

 

Transfers

Another MAD transfer scramble this week with no less than EIGHT attempts to grab Salah.

Managers were happy to see the back of Mane, Cavani, Sterling, Sancho, Vardy, Werner, Watkins, Armstrong and Ings but the highest valued player of the lot was Sadio Mane, so Rico wins this week’s auction.

Rico
Mane OUT Salah IN

Other transfers that went through:
 
Harry
James OUT Gallagher IN
 
Alex
Gomez OUT Coady IN
 
Nick PC
Vestergaard OUT Romero IN
 
DP
Armstrong OUT Jesus IN

Finally, we had another attempt by a manager to substitute in a player that wasn’t theres but Jesse ‘look up before you pass it to the goalkeeper you social media whore gimp’ Lingard is already owned by James.
 
Until next week.
 
Pieri

"He plays on the leeeeeft, he plays on the riiiiiiight...

 ...that boy Ronaldo, makes England look shite."

Well, well, well. 

The transfer of the summer has certainly got people talking and some creaming their pants with FFLers scrambling for their email accounts...

No score updates this week, but plenty of transfer action.

Lets get the boring ones out of the way first.

Nick PC
Fabianski OUT Sa IN

Pepe OUT Vlasic IN

Stathi

Odegard OUT Elliot IN

TC

Eze OUT Townsend IN

Alex

Targett OUT Emerson Royal (with cheese) IN

Sid

Bergwijn OUT Traore IN

There was a SEVEN way fight for (viva) Ronaldo.

Players who were willing to be sacrificed were:

Sancho (Pieri)

Aubameyang (McNick)

Vardy (Nick PC)

Watkins (lol) (TC)

Sterling (Alex)

Cavani (Stathi)

But the winner of the auction is...

Harry

Salah OUT Ronaldo IN

Siuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Over and out for another week

Your (delighted and can't wait to get to OT to watch CR7) Chairman

FFL 2021/22 Week 3

Hello all, I thought I would resurrect this medium of disseminating information, this way transfers and scores are in one place all the time for easy perusal, rather than trawling through emails. Let me know if you would prefer emails.

Week 3:

What a shock, what a surprise, what an incredible announcement...no, not the return of the CR7 but that you're getting an FFL update on Bank Holiday Monday!

Sid still leads the way and in cycling parlance, the leading peloton is made up four with Harry, yours truly and Nick PC close by. McNick leads the chasing pack some 25 points behind with James replicating his beloved Gunners by taking it up the rear.

This week's Ole 'how the fuck did we pull that off' Solskjaer award for top score of the week goes to Harry with a brilliant 19. The shame in watching his Arsenal side getting their arses handed to them was softened thanks to 11 points from two protagonists from that one-sided, men versus boys charade. 

The Mikel 'picking up cones for Pep and having Lego-man hair should not be on a CV for a top job' Arteta award for dogshit performance of the week, goes to my own son Alex with an abysmal 2 points. Although that is 2 points more than Arsenal currently have. 

NOTE: I will refrain from further Arsenal baiting should there be a majority in favour of me doing so. Do let me know.  

Transfers:

No Ronaldo yet on the list, but one manager tried to sub him in.

A manager also tried to sub in Pereira but James got him last week.

A manager also put a bid in for a player, asked to cancel it for another player but that player was already transferred in by Sid last week (Gray)

One successful transfer this week:

Mike:

Canos OUT Trincao IN

Below are the current squads. Those players shaded are players transferred IN. I hope this helps?

That's it for this week.

International week is now upon us (what's the point??), so all we have to look forward to is tomorrow's Transfer Deadline Day, yellow ticker and all. 

Have a great week all,

Thanks

Mike

FFL Week 9

Dear all, having hit rock bottom, this is therefore my LAST entry this season – thanks to all of you who have stepped up to argue over who is going to take over…this week one of you will actually HAVE to do it.

Table:

Diff			Total Points	Defence	Midfield	Attack
	1st	Stathi	112	31	52	29
23	2nd	Nick Ath	89	50	28	11
27	3rd	Theo	85	36	29	20
27	4th	Sid	85	31	36	12
38	5th	Rico	74	26	34	14
42	6th	Nick Ach	70	19	36	15
49	7th	Harry	63	19	24	20
50	8th	James	62	25	24	13
50	9th	Don	62	6	34	22
53	10th	Mike	59	13	19	29

Transfers:

Mike

Sane OUT Ramsey IN

Jagielka OUT Kompany IN

Theo

Mkhiktaryan OUT Moses IN

.....and finally:

Chairman

Mike OUT (???????) IN