Harold League

Gameweek 32 Report
April 1, 2008

Hi Harold-Leaguers!

We've had another week of high scores, but a high average score means not much movement on the ladder. Probably the most interesting development is the 36-point gain that Farsenal07 have made on Psycho Chickens. It seems we might have a contest for 1st place after all...

Premier League Match Reports

Birmingham City 3-1 Manchester City Goals: Zarate x2 (Birmingham), McSheffrey (Birmingham), Elano (Man City) Bonus points: 3 - Johnson (Birmingham), 2 - Larsson (Birmingham), 1 - Ireland (Man City) Read full match report

Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Arsenal Goals: Taylor x2 (Bolton), Gallas (Arsenal), Van Persie (Arsenal), Samuel (Bolton) - Own Goal Bonus points: 3 - Flamini (Arsenal) , 2 - Fabregas (Arsenal) , 1 - Taylor (Bolton) Read full match report

Derby 2-2 Fulham Goals: Villa x2 (Derby), Kamara (Fulham), (Derby) - Own Goal Bonus points: 3 - Ghaly (Derby) , 2 - Villa (Derby) , 1 - Kamara (Fulham) Read full match report

Portsmouth 2-0 Wigan Goals: Defoe x2 (Portsmouth) Bonus points: 3 - Defoe (Portsmouth) , 2 - James (Portsmouth) , 1 - Hreidarsson (Portsmouth) Read full match report

Reading 0-0 Blackburn Goals: Nil Bonus points: 3 - Bentley (Blackburn) , 2 - Hahnemann (Reading) , 1 - Bikey (Reading) Read full match report

Sunderland 2-1 West Ham United Goals: Jones (Sunderland), Reid (Sunderland), Ljungberg (West Ham) Bonus points: 3 - Reid (Sunderland) , 2 - Gordon (Sunderland) , 1 - Parker (West Ham) Read full match report

Manchester United 4-0 Aston Villa Goals: Rooney x2 (Man United), Tevez (Man United), Ronaldo (Man United) Bonus points: 3 - Rooney (Man United) , 2 - Ronaldo (Man United) , 1 - Scholes (Man United) Read full match report

Chelsea 1-0 Middlesbrough Goals: Carvalho (Chelsea) Bonus points: 3 - Downing (Middlesbrough) , 2 - Essien (Chelsea) , 1 - Drogba (Chelsea) Read full match report

Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Newcastle United Goals: Bent (Tottenham), Owen (Newcastle), Martins (Newcastle), Butt (Newcastle), Geremi (Newcastle) Bonus points: 3 - Martins (Newcastle) , 2 - Butt (Newcastle) , 1 - Faye (Newcastle) Read full match report

Liverpool 1-0 Everton Goals: Torres (Liverpool) Bonus points: 3 - Skrtel (Liverpool) , 2 - Hyypia (Liverpool) , 1 - Torres (Liverpool) Read full match report

Harold League Reports

STATS:

Highest Gameweek scores: Farsenal07 (94), United Hearts FC (87), Reliv Rovers (87)

Lowest Gameweek scores: Know Idea (27), Matt's mob (28), The Azmans (37)

Biggest Ladder Climbs: Broken Hill United (+4), basilton, Bend it Like Becko, Team Larry 08 (+2)

Biggest Ladder Falls: Matt's mob (-4), The Overpaid Poseurs (-3)

Harold League had their 3rd highest league average score for the season this week, with an impressive 63.7 - not bad a bad effort from most teams. Though I really have to stop making predictions - it seems like I put a hex on Psycho Chickens. If there's another gameweek like this one in the remaining weeks, Matt may just relinquish what looked like a certain win for his team. Only time will tell, but don't get too relaxed at the top just yet Matt...

The charts will be a bit slow to update next week. I'm away for a week so there'll be no report (unless Ross or Troy find time to create one). I'll try to organise for the ladder to be updated at least. Until then,

R.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 3:55 PM 0 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 31 Report
March 25, 2008

G'day again,

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you've all had a safe and relaxing break. Now, straight into the business at hand:

Premier League Match Reports

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Portsmouth Substitute Darren Bent changed the game when he came on late for the Spurs, helping his team to a 2-0 victory over Pompey on Saturday. Bent scored the first goal 10 minutes from full time, then set up Jamie O'Hara for a second just minutes later. Bent's goal was the 100th scored at Spurs' ground this season. Portsmouth were missing their key striker, Jermain Defoe, who couldn't play against his former side due to transfer rules.

Blackburn Rovers 3-1 Wigan Athletic Ten-man Blackburn Rovers completed an impressive 3-1 victory over a struggling Wigan Athletic at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon. Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz scored a double, while Jason Roberts scored the other Blackburn goal and Marlon King netted an equaliser for the Latics on the stroke of half-time. Rovers lost Christopher Samba to a 17th-minute red card for bringing down Emile Heskey in the incident which led to King's penalty but that only seemed to spur the Rovers on. Victory lifted Rovers to within a point of sixth-placed Aston Villa while the end of a four-match unbeaten streak will have the Latics looking anxiously at the bottom of the table.

Aston Villa 0-1 Sunderland A home advantage wasn't enough for Aston Villa to deny Sunderland their first away win of the season. The winning goal of the game was struck by Michael Chopra with just seven minutes remaining. Villa have now collected only two points from the last four matches.

Middlesbrough 1-0 Derby County Derby continued their disastrous form with their 10th loss for the season. Boro's Tuncay Sanli scored the solitary goal in the 32nd minute, though the team failed to capitalise on a host of other opportunities. Boro were almost made to pay when Derby's Robert Earnshaw headed a chance wide five minutes from time.

Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Manchester City Struggling Bolton Wanderers were forced to settle for a point after Manchester City refused to bow to pressure at the Reebok Stadium. Bolton played an aggressive game but failed to find the net against the strong defenses of Man City. The Wanderers are still in relegation zone, though just one point behind Birmingham.

Reading 2-1 Birmingham City Andre Bikey struck twice to secure Reading three crucial points from their Barclays Premier League relegation tussle with Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium. Birmingham were missing front-line firepower with the absence of James McFadden due to knee surgery. His replacement, Mauro Zarate, managed to convert a cross from Mikael Forssell, but it wasn't enough to save his team from defeat.

Newcastle United 2-0 Fulham Fulham's relegation fears worsened after a 2-0 battering by Newcastle at St. James' Park on Saturday. Mark Viduka opened Newcastle's account with just six minutes gone but had a nervous wait until the 83rd minute for the sealer. That goal was the result of a Michael Owen header. The loss extended Fulham's wait for an away league win to 32 matches.

Everton 1-1 West Ham United Ayegbeni Yakubu scored his 19th goal of the season early in the game, but Everton failed to come away with full points from the match. The second half was largely dominated by the Hammers, with Dean Ashton heading in a Lucas Neill's cross. It could have been worse for Everton though, as Hammers teenager Freddie Sears hit the post in the dying minutes.

Manchester United 3-0 Liverpool Manchester United strengthened their grip at the top of the league with a 3-0 defeat of Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday. Wes Brown had headed United ahead after 34 minutes before Liverpool were reduced to 10 men when Javier Mascherano, booked earlier, was sent off for dissent just before half-time. After the break, Cristiano Ronaldo and then Nani both scored to complete the win and show why their team currently sits at the top of the table.

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal An impressive double from Didier Drogba helped Chelsea leapfrog Arsenal to the second place of the Barclays Premier League ladder. Drogba scored two goals in eight minutes after Bacary Sagna had put the Gunners in front. Drogba's goals stretched Chelsea's unbeaten home league record to 78 matches, but more importantly meant they are now just 5 points behind Manchester United at the top of the table with seven matches remaining.

Harold League Reports

STATS:

Highest Gameweek scores: Howard United (74), West Penno Lions (70), The Fockers (66)

Lowest Gameweek scores: Know Idea (27), figo's army (28), wasted (30)

Biggest Ladder Climbs: Ballarat FC (+4), West Penno Lions (+3)

Biggest Ladder Falls: Broken Hill United (-4), Team Larry 08, The Overpaid Poseurs (-2)

A gameweek of lower all-round scores, but none-the-less a bit of movement on the Harold League ladder. The average score this round was just 47.6 (our lowest for 5 gameweeks). With the season coming to a close there are a few teams scrambling for last minute climbs, but there's doubt in my mind that anyone will have what it takes to catch Psycho Chickens, who are still 87 points clear of their closest rival. The only gap in the ladder larger than this is between Know idea at the bottom of the table, and second last place. Hate to tell you Brett, there's no prize for last place. Sorry.

As much as it pains me to do so, I have to give credit where credit is due. West Penno Lions are in the midst of an impressive (albeit very late) end-of-season run. They have climbed 10 places on the Harold ladder in the last 5 gameweeks alone, including chalking up the third highest gameweek score for the season. They have outscored every other team in Harold League by a minimum of 28 points during March. Bummer too, as I was looking forward to having beaten you for the first season since we've been playing, Ross. But well done.

Until next week,

R.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 1:41 PM 0 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 29 Report
March 13, 2008

G'day Harold Leaguers,

What a mixed week! Harold League's scores this week have ranged anywhere between a dismal 20 and a thumping 104 points. Needless to say the ladder has been a little unsettled by this broad range of tallies, but more about this after the usual match reports:

Premier League Match Reports

Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United In their 4th successive win, Liverpool cruised home with an easy 3 goal win over Newcastle at Anfield on Saturday. The loss was Newcastles' 11th game without victory. Goalscorers: Jermaine Pennant (Liverpool), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool).

Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Fulham Jimmy Bullard scored a late equaliser as Fulham stunned Blackburn Rovers to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Barclays Premier League. Christopher Samba was punished for high feet in a challenge on the edge of the area and Jimmy Bullard stepped up to curl home the free-kick just 3 minutes from time. Goalscorers: Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham)

Reading 2-0 Manchester City Reading boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation with a 2-0 Barclays Premier League win over Manchester City at the Madejski Stadium. A second-half strike from Shane Long and a late goal from substitute Dave Kitson (his 9th for the season) proved enough for a second successive win by the Royals to move out of the bottom three. To add injury to insult, City lost captain Richard Dunne to a leg injury, which needed stitches. Goalscorers: Shane Long (Reading), Dave Kitson (Reading)

Sunderland 0-1 Everton A slice of luck for Andrew Johnson was enough to hand Everton the points in the Barclays Premier League match at Sunderland and keep alive their hopes of edging Liverpool out of the Champions League places. Johnson scored the only goal when Mikel Arteta's left-wing cross ricocheted off his arm in the 55th minute, leaving a committed but limited Sunderland side still nursing relegation worries. Goalscorers: Andrew Johnson (Everton)

Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 West Ham United A double from Dimitar Berbatov helped seal Tottenham's very convincing win over West Ham United at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Both of Berbatov's goals came from headers, and both scored early in the first half. Hopes of a Hammers comeback were all but dashed when Luis Boa Morte was dismissed just before the break. West Ham got no reprieve in the second half, with 2 more scored against them, first from Gilberto and then finally from Darren Bent. Goalscorers: Dimitar Berbatov x2 (Tottenham), Gilberto (Tottenham), Darren Bent (Tottenham)

Wigan Athletic 0-0 Arsenal In probably the biggest upset of the round, Wigan Athletic pressed their home ground advantage to hold off league leaders Arsenal for a share of the spoils. Goalscorers: none.

Portsmouth 4-2 Birmingham City Jermain Defoe scored a double for Portsmouth in a game that has firmly dented Birmingham City's battle against relegation.
Defoe scored a penalty and then a tap-in in the first eight minutes of the game. Fabrice Muamba instantly replied for Birmingham, and then Sebastian Larsson tied the game just before the break, lifting Birmingham's hopes. But this was short lived, as Hermann Hreidarsson's close-range strike put Pompey's noses back in front, and Kanu (on as a substitute) polished off Birmingham's four-match unbeaten run with a diving header from a Pedro Mendes cross in the closing minutes. Goalscorers: Jermain Defoe x2 (Portsmouth), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham), Hermann Hreidarsson (Portsmouth), Kanu (Portsmouth)

Aston Villa 1-1 Middlesbrough Stewart Downing gave a visiting Boro team the half-time lead with his seventh goal of the season at Villa Park. Aston Villa managed to level after skipper Gareth Barry netted a dubiously-given penalty. Goalscorers: Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)

Chelsea 6-1 Derby County A four-goal haul from Frank Lampard saw Chelsea close the gap on Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal to just five points. The England midfielder scored a second-half hat-trick as Derby County were completely embarrassed by the Blues. Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou also put marks on the scorecard, and were answered by a solitary goal in reply from Derby's David Jones. Goalscorers: Frank Lampard x4 (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), David Jones (Derby)

Harold League Reports

STATS:

Highest Gameweek scores: Snapper's (104), Psycho Chickens (101), JAMBOS (98)

Lowest Gameweek scores: Burton Battlers (20), Yoles (22), basilton (25)

Biggest Ladder Climbs: Snapper's (+5), JAMBOS (+4)

Biggest Ladder Falls: Ballarat FC, Team Larry 08, Team Schwarz (-3)

A huge 50 points from a good selection of captain helped Snapper's and Psycho Chickens to impressive triple-figure scores this week. With an average gameweek score of just 48.7 points, Lampard's 4 goal haul has been a great bonus for all those who had him in their side. Good scores were also made by Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the second week in a row.

A point of note: Psycho Chicken's are currently sitting in overall 22nd position of teams who have nominated Australia as their home country - a very impressive feat! Well done Matt! Pressure's on - we're all watching to see how high you can go...

Don't forget about the double-games from Chelsea, Man U, Bolton and Tottenham this round. A well picked captain can make the world of difference, as we've been clearly shown this round. Good luck!

Ryan.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 8:58 PM 1 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 28 Report
March 7, 2008

G'day again,

Another quick one this week - I'm still a bit swamped, but here's last gameweek's results and goal scorers:

Premier League Match Reports

Birmingham City 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur Goals: Mikael Forssell x3 (Birmingham City), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham City), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur)

Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa Goals: Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal), Philippe Senderos - own goal (Arsenal)

West Ham United 0-4 Chelsea Goals: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

Newcastle United 0-1 Blackburn Rovers Goals: Matt Derbyshire (Blackburn Rovers)

Middlesbrough 0-1 Reading Goals: James Harper (Reading)

Fulham 0-3 Manchester United Goals: Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United), John O'Shea (Manchester United)

Derby County 0-0 Sunderland

Manchester City 0-0 Wigan Athletic

Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Liverpool Goals: Jussi Jaaskelainen - own goal (Bolton Wanderers), Tamir Cohen (Bolton Wanderers), Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Fabio Aurelio (Liverpool)

Everton 3-1 Portsmouth Goals: Ayegbeni Yakubu x2 (Everton), Tim Cahill (Everton), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United Goals: Fernando Torres x3 (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Harold League Report

Highest Gameweek scores: Gunners (83), JAMBOS (83), Benit FC (81)

Lowest Gameweek scores: FC Tress (25), Ace's Aces (27), Bend it Like Becko (27)

Biggest Ladder Climbs: Benit FC (+4), Broken Hill United (+4)

Biggest Ladder Falls: figo's army (-6), Hunter FC (-4), Snapper's (-4)

And that's the down-and-dirty for another week. My apologies once more for the quick-quick version. Hopefully it's enough to highlight the teams and players you might want to look at a little closer at the very least. Keep in mind that there are only 9 games this week - ManU and Bolton miss out this week after ManU's quarter final game in the Champion's last night, but the game will be played next week. That means 9 games this week, but 12 the following as Chelsea/Tottenham play their extra game as well. Should be a high scoring round if you play your teams right! Until next time,

R.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 12:08 PM 0 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 27 Report
February 28, 2008

Hi all,

Just a quick one this week, sorry - I'm a bit busy at the moment! Some higher scores throughout the league this week, particularly from those who rode out Ronaldo's slump in form an retained his captaincy - an 18 point week (36 points if captain!) will definately help booster any team! Now, to a quick and dirty breakdown of this weeks matches:

Premier League Match Reports

Birmingham City 2-2 Arsenal Goals: James McFadden x2 (Birmingham City), Theo Walcott x2 (Arsenal) A surprising result from Birmingham City! Eduardo De Silva will be sidelined for a while after suffering a broken leg during the game.

Portsmouth 1-0 Sunderland Goals: Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

Fulham 0-1 West Ham United Goals: Nolberto Solano (West Ham)

Liverpool 3-2 Middlesbrough Goals: Fernando Torres x3 (Liverpool), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)

Wigan Athletic 2-0 Derby Count Goals: Paul Scharner (Wigan Athletic), Antonio Valencia (Wigan Athletic)

Newcastle United 1-5 Manchester United Goals: Abdoulaye Faye (Newcastle), Cristiano Ronaldo x2 (Man U), Wayne Rooney x2 (Man U), Louis Saha (Man U)

Reading 1-2 Aston Villa Goals: Nicky Shorey (Reading), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa)

Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Bolton Wanderers Goals: Benni McCarthy x2 (Blackburn), David Bentley (Blackburn), Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn), Kevin Davies (Bolton)

Manchester City 0-2 Everton Goals: Ayegbeni Yakubu (Everton), Joleon Lescott (Everton)

Harold League Report

Highest Gameweek scores: Psycho Chickens (93), The Sararoos (88), Rivers Stockpile (86)

Lowest Gameweek scores: Scotland FC (22), Know Idea (23), ToonArmy (27)

Biggest Ladder Moves: Knobs, basilton, boldandthebeautiful, The Sararoos (+3), Shaggy's Stars, Dave's Dudes (-3)

Sorry this week was so succinct. Don't forget about the double-matches for Liverpool and West Ham United this week. And pay no further attention to my advice after the whole ignore-Ronaldo-and-make-Adebayor-captain thing last week...

R.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 1:58 PM 0 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 26 Report
February 12, 2008

G'day again Harold-Leaguers,

Another week with some average scores - I'm starting to see a pattern here. If Ronaldo scores well, average scores are high, when he has a mild week like this week the average Harold League score is a lot lower. Without looking at each team, I'm guessing a good percentage of people are relying on Ronaldo with their captaincy. Are you one of them?

To the business at hand:

Premier League Match Reports

Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle United Newcastle United looked set for their first win in nine Barclays Premier League matches after Michael Owen scored in the fourth minute (his second goal in two games) and lead the Magpies to a 1-0 halftime lead. The home side fired up in the second half and scored a blistering four unanswered goals to finish the match at 4-1. The first Villa goal came in the 48th minute from Wilfred Bouma, who scored his first goal for Aston Villa after nearly three years at the club. This was followed by a remarkable hat-trick from forward John Carew earning him the 3 bonus points and an impressive 16 fantasy league points for the round.

Derby County 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur Derby continued their disastrous season, going down 3-0 to Tottenham at Pride Park. The Hotspurs waited until the 68th minute to score their first as captain Robbie Keane tapped in a rebounded ball from 6 yards out. Younes Kaboul netted a second goal after 81 minutes play, followed by a goal from penalty in injury-time after Alan Stubbs handled a Malbranque cross. Dimitar Berbatov coolly stepped up and sent Carroll the wrong way from the spot to complete Tottenham's second away win of the season.

West Ham United 1-1 Birmingham City A valuable point from their one-all draw with West Ham United might help save Birmingham City from relegation. The draw has moved the Blues out of third-last on the ladder and into safety (for now). Freddie Ljungberg scored the opening goal for the Hammers in just the seventh minute, but West Ham only kept their lead for a further 9 minutes after Lucas Neill needlessly fouled James McFadden in the penalty area. McFadden converted the penalty to tie the game at 1-1.

Sunderland 2-0 Wigan Athletic Sunderland moved up two places to 14th position on the Barclays Premier League ladder after overtaking 15th placed Wigan in a 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Lights. Dickson Etuhu scored his first goal for Sunderland in the 42nd minute, and a bullet from the boot of Daryl Murphy in the 75th minute cemented the win.

Middlesbrough 1-0 Fulham Jeremie Aliadiere's early strike proved enough for Middlesbrough to topple Fulham in Saturday's match at The Riverside Stadium. The goal in the 11th minute of the game was only Aliadiere's 3rd for the season, 2 of which came from the last 3 games. All 6 bonus points were awarded to Boro, with Aliadiere, Rochemback and Huth receiving the 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.

Everton 1-0 Reading Everton scored their first goal in 3 matches on Saturday, and in doing so dealt Reading their 7th straight loss. Phil Jagielka delivered the header from a Leon Osman lob, scoring his first goal for Everton.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Portsmouth Despite dominating for the majority of the game, Bolton Wanderers were defeated at the Reebok Stadium by the visiting Portsmouth 0-1. Portsmouth did not have a shot on target until the 79th minute, but seconds later they scored the winner. Lassana Diarra scored the controversial goal despite being in an offside position when the ball was deflected to him off team-mate Kanu. The Wanderers failed to convert a string of chances and hence lost a game that they clearly should have won.

Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City Manchester City completed a league double over Manchester United, a feat they haven't acheived since 1970. The last time City had won at Old Trafford was 1974. Darius Vassell scored the first goal for City in the 24th minute after Van der Sar blocked his first attempt but rebounded the ball back to Vassell for a follow-up shot. Benjani Mwaruwari, on his debut after transferring from Portsmouth, headed the second goal. United replied with an injury-time goal from Michael Carrick but City held on to take the spoils.

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool The long awaited return of Frank Lampard couldn't bolster Chelsea to a win, finishing in a nil-all draw against Liverpool on Sunday. The Blues early fire seemed to die as quickly as it began and soon it was Liverpool who started to dominate proceedings, however their ability to finish left a lot to be desired. Frank Lampard's contribution ended early in the second half with the England international clearly not fully match-fit. Even though they couldn't secure a win, the draw enabled Chelsea to increase their unbeaten home league sequence to 76 matches.

Arsenal 2-0 Blackburn Rovers The Rovers made Arsenal fight every step of the way but finally succumbed 2-0 as Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League ladder. Arsenal missed several chances throughout the game starting from as early as the fourth minute, but as solid as the Blackburn defense seemed the visitors could not deny the two goals from Philippe Senderos and Emmanuel Adebayor. Adebayor's goal, scored in overtime, was his 9th goal from the previous 7 matches, having scored at least 1 goal in each.

Harold League Report

The league is really starting to flatten out now. Over half of the ladder has remained unchanged, and only 2 teams managed to climb more than a single place, with Snapper's climbing 3 places and figo's army up 2. The biggest move for the week came from FC Tress, falling 5 places to an overall 22nd.

The average score this week was 44.8, and as mentioned earlier, I'm sure this general lower score is predominately due to a lack of Ronaldo/Fabregas action. It's interesting to see that 11 out of the top 15 teams on the Harold League ladder had either Ronaldo or Fabregas nominated as their captain this week.

Top score for gameweek 26 came from Gunners, with a total of 63 points, keeping their top-10 dream alive. Gardo's Tryers, Snapper's and The Azmans all had good weeks as well, scoring 57 points apiece. At the other end of the gameweek table, Know Idea are living up to their namesake, scoring just 23 points for the round. It looks like Brett is determined to stay in last position this season.

Keep in mind that the next gameweek starts on the 23rd Feb, giving managers an extra week to organise their Fantasy teams. Good luck!

R.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 9:06 PM 0 replies

Labels: Reports

Gameweek 25 Report
February 4, 2008

Hi all,

Well, it looks like I've been deserted by my "regular" reporters so I'm taking matters into my own hands. While time allows, I'll be writing the gameweek reports myself for a little while. So here goes...

Premier League Match Reports

Manchester City 1-3 Arsenal Arsenal emphasised their Barclays Premier League title credentials by becoming the first side to win at the City of Manchester Stadium in the league this season. The 16 points resulting from Emmanuel Adebayor's two goals and an assist helped to extend his lead as this seasons highest scoring forward. Goals were also scored by Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva and City's Gelson Fernandes.

Portsmouth 1-1 Chelsea This game proved the value of mid-season transfers, as both goals were scored by recent ring-ins. Nicolas Anelka (former Bolton forward) scored in the 55th minute to put Chelsea in front. Jermain Defoe, recently transfered from Tottenham Hotspurs, scored the equaliser for Portsmouth on his debut to earn his new side a valuable point.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Manchester United Manchester United earned a point deep in injury time against Tottenham Hotspur but still lost top place in the Barclays Premier League following the draw at White Hart Lane. Half way through the first half, Dimitar Berbatov scored the opener for Tottenham after an Aaron Lennon cross. Carlos Tevez celebrated the equaliser with the last move of the match and was eventually credited with the goal after it was initially marked down as a Michael Dawson own goal.

Birmingham City 1-1 Derby County Emanuel Villa scored his first goal for Derby in the last minute of the game to rescue a point against Birmingham City. That cancelled out a 69th-minute effort from Birmingham midfielder Sebastian Larsson.

Reading 0-2 Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers won an away game in the Barclays Premier League for the first time this season to leave Reading in trouble of relegation. Goals from Kevin Nolan and Heidar Helguson allowed the Wanderers to bank three precious points and move further from the relegation zone that they've occupied for most of the season, and into 13th position.

Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Everton A nil all draw between fourth placed Everton and eighth placed Blackburn has dealt a blow to Everton's Champions League aspirations. Everton dominated the match but failed to score, even as an 84th minute strike by Andy Johnson found the back of the net but was controversially disallowed.

Wigan Athletic 1-0 West Ham United Kevin Kilbane lifted Wigan Athletic out of the bottom three of the Premier League table with a rare strike for the Latics. It was only his second goal for the club in his 60 appearances. The win broke Wigan's 3 game losing streak.

Liverpool 3-0 Sunderland Goals from Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and a Steven Gerrard penalty sent Liverpool back into fifth place in the Barclays Premier League. The crushing 3-0 win over Sunderland ended Liverpool's 5 game streak without victory. Sunderland were unfortunate not to get a penalty in the 73rd minute when the ball struck Carragher's arm but wasn't called by the ref.

Newcastle United 1-1 Middlesbrough Newcastle are now winless from the last 8 matches after a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough. Michael Owen scored his first goal for Newcastle since gameweek 9, but couldn't secure a win for the Magpies as Middlesbrough fought back to deny Newcastle all three points. Robert Huth headed home an 87th-minute cross to cancel out Owen's goal and tie the game.

Fulham 2-1 Aston Villa In a surprise upset, Fulham came away with the three points as they toppled Villa 2-1. More even more surprisingly, Villa's only goal resulted from an Aaron Hughes own goal in the 68th minute. Fulham's goals came from Jimmy Bullard and Simon Davies.

Harold League News

This round saw very little change in the Harold League ladder, with a rather poor league average of just 44.1 points.

The biggest move up the ladder was only two places, and was achieved by 4 teams, Benit FC, boldandthebeautiful, Broken Hill United and ToonArmy. The biggest downward move came from Bend it Like Becko, moving down 3 places to 42nd overall.

The top scores for the round came from Broken Hill United, Team Schwarz and Benit FC, who scored 69, 67 and 66 points respectively.

The low scorers this week were West Penno Lions (27 points), Bend it Like Becko (16 points) and Scotland FC (12 points). If these 3 teams combined their scores they'd still only make equal 8th for the week! And Scotland FC's 12 points also landed them in 5th place on the Hall of Shame for season low scores. Ouch.

With just 13 rounds left in the season, it's time to thoroughly review your team! If you haven't used your wildcard trade yet, I'd suggest it's well overdue!

Good luck next round.

Ryan.

The thoughts ofRyan Minster at 11:31 AM 2 replies

Labels: Reports

Game Week 13 Wrap Up
November 14, 2007

Welcome fellow readers.

Game week 13 has come and gone, so it must be time to wrap up the events that occured over the weekend in the world of English soccer. However before I begin I would like to mention that Ryan has assured me that people DO actually read my dribble each week (I do feel warm and fuzzy on the inside now that I know my words were not floating off into the cyber abyss unnoticed) and for that I thank you, and appologise for being downcast about it in my last weeks posting. To prove this Ryan allowed me access to one of the most nerdest stats sites going around (well not quite, but nerdy enought at least). Wow, I tell ya it was pretty cool looking at home many hits it recieves, busiest days, averages, outliners, bell curves....its all there! Shouts out to Ryan.

Okie Dokie. Arsenal wins again, Man U wins again, Liverpool wins again and Chelsea drew. Yep another usual week in the EPL. Interesting points to make. Febregas recieved his FOURTH yellow card in a row, the forth during the match against Reading, which earns him a rest on the sidelines for two weeks. Managers who have him take note of this. Tim Cahill scores a ripper for Everton on the weekend, great to see him back in fine form, and Ronaldo scores two for united to continue to punish me for dropping him two weeks ago.

As for the Harold Premiership Cup, again no change to the top 2 for the fourth week running, and no change to the top four this week. Farsenal and Psycho Chickens continue to score huge points each week, placing them both 50+ points clear of third place (what a nice little buffer for you guys). Due to this fine form, they were also our two top scorers for the round as well. Lets just hope it doesnt turn into the same old Man U - Arsenal fight for the title, and that at least one of us remaining 43 managers can make em sweat just a tad more than they have.

Biggest movers up for the week goes to Sararoos (well done Ross...um I mean Sair) who jumped up 6 places, and to Burton Battlers who jumped up 4. Biggest movers down the slippery slope were Deviant FC (6 places down) and Scotland FC (3 places down....oh and I hope to see ya back at on the court on Monday Scotty, we need ya for the Bball finals!) And thats about it for this weeks movers and shakers of the Harold League.

Finally before I sign off, its ... "Troys Final Say"....This coming week is the first week of the comp where two clubs play twice (Blackburn & Aston Villa), so my tip is to make sure you stock up on players from either of these teams. It can be a gamble to make one of them captain, but if they play well in both games, it will double your points for the round...which means if McCarthy, for example, scores twice in each game for Blackburn as captain could earn you a whopping 40+ points, just for him. But having said that, this would mean you would have to scarifice your normal trustworthy Derby captain for the round, and that would be a bad decision to make. Your call.

Cheers Troy.

The thoughts ofAnonymous at 3:22 PM 0 replies

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Gameweek 12 report
November 9, 2007

Hi folks,

Gee wizz the weeks are flying by fast. It feels like only yesterday that I completed my last report. I'll try and keep up guys, however sometimes im not so sure how many people actually pay attention to my dribbling each week! Well I know Ryan must as he set up the sight, so thats at least one.....oh and James from ToonArmy as he give me the occasional 'bagging'...which is ok too as I encourage the feedback. But at the end of the day I enjoy the calmness that comes along with putting words on paper (or in this case screen). What i will do (just as a test) is place some inconspicuous references in my report to see if people pick up on it toonarmy is a muppet.

Righto. Arsenal and Man United (great name for a gay nightclub dont you think) played in this round and what a game it was. In the end it was all tied, which goes to show the contest to be had over the coming 26 weeks as the top 4 fight for the title (Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea). Not doubt there will be a strong fight from Portsmouth, Blackburn and hopefully Everton. However the gap between the top 4 and the others is increasing ever so slightly, and no doubt will blow out eventually. For the sake of the comp I hope some of the other clubs give the big 4 a run for their money.

The teams that wont be giving the top 4 a run for their money will be bolton (what is going on!!!.....very lucky this week to get away with a draw), Wigan (not even a change of coach will save this team from a relegation battle) and yes of course my favourites in the baggin stakes, Derby County ......(someone has to be last dont they?). Other team which I believe will battle are Middlesborough, Reading and Sunderland. The others should be safe. Only time will tell I guess.

With all this in mind, how has the Harold Premier League fared amongst all the highs and lows of the EPL. No changes to the top two. Over the past four weeks Farsenal and Psycho Chickens have remained in first and second spots (a great effort given that there are 43 other teams nipping at their heals). Top scorer for the round was Shaggys stars with another impressive score of 84 (well done Sean). I must say we, as a league, are doing very well on the scoring side of things each week....so keep up the good work everyone. Just like last week, there has been no major movements within the ladder positioning. The highest movement up the ladder was 3 places by Shaggys, West Penno Lions (there ya go Ross I gave you a mention....but I dont think you read it this anyway), United Hearts, Burton Battlers, Yoles, and my favourite named team Knobs. The lowest movement down the ladder goes to Port Haste (yep thats you Ryan...and I do know you read this....so congratulations, I think?), Ryan dropped down five places. As for the rest of you guys, until you do something spectacular like score 100 points, or score nothing it is very hard to mention everyone, but i will give the shouts out to Ben Reeves FC Tress just for the hell of it......well done Ben.

Ok so to wrap up this mess as usual I will finish with ...'Troys final say'..... The only bit of advice I can give this week is to stop reading this garbage i spit out each week. Oh and grab as many Derby players as you can and make em captain!!

Over and Out

Troy

The thoughts ofAnonymous at 4:41 PM 1 replies

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Gameweek 11 Report
November 2, 2007

Hi All,

Another week another set of English Premier League results. Chelsea absolutely mauled Man City with a thumping six goal win. For those of you that had any Man City players in your team, my heart goes out to you. For those of you who had Frank Lampard in your team (or just about any other Chelsea player) well done!

Arsenal hang on to top spot by the skin of thier teeth with a nice draw away from home at Liverpool. Next weeks match against Man United will be the decider of out right top spot. Should be an absolute ripper, and more than likey Ronaldo will score a hat trick just to annoy me as I traded him last week (for Mr Lampard).

Righto as I am pressed for time lets look at our league. Farsnel remains on top, followed by Psycho Chickens (who still amaze me. This is Matt's first time at even looking at a soccer ball let alone managing a team), well done Psycho's. It was a pretty queit round as far as positions go, with our biggest movers only going up as far as 5 places (Well done Reliv Rovers....and my wife who manages them...go babe), and dropping as low as 4 places to several teams, two many to mention.

Congratulations must go to Warra's Rovers who scored our highest amount of points in this round with a whopping 85, closely followed by the Gunners with 82. Well done Sam and John.

Righto thats about it from me. I gotta scoot, many things for me to do besides researching the soccer (although what a great job it would be to do full time!!). But before I go I must finish with ...................."Troy's Final Say"............Im going to stop bagin Derby and start on Liverpool. Careful when selecting Liverpool players as their manager likes to use a rotation policy each week. So for those who thought that Torres was going to play each week guess again. Its bloody frustrating. My hot tip would be to research Blackburn a little more in your trades. They are going very strong at the moment and have some excellent and well priced players in their squad....otherwise stick to picking as many Derby players as possible and make em captain ...(sorry Derby fans, I cant help my self)...

P.s - Im watching you Toon Army

Cheers and bye for now.

The thoughts ofAnonymous at 5:17 PM 0 replies

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Game week 9 Report
October 9, 2007

Welcome there reader, and a welcome back to me too.

Before we begin I would like to apologise for my lack of coverage over the past two rounds. Sometimes believe it or not, things do get in the way of football (yep i know im shaking my head too). May i add however, these distractions are not for very long. Therefore allow me to stop waffling on, and get straight back down to the business at hand.

Week 9 of the English Premier League saw the rise and fall of some very big clubs. Lets start with 'Rise'. A Manchester United outfit, lead by Christan Ronaldo, showed that their big named stars are not just there for their fashion sense. Ronaldo scored two goals in a display that would sure please those of you who hung onto him during his bad start to the season. Rooney and Teves also scored on a day that would have pleased Sir Alex. Dont get me wrong Im not a Man U fan by all means, I just enjoy watching them play.

This brings now to the other side of town where Man City continue to prove their critics wrong by showing that they can continue their good start to the season. Recording another win this week places them in 3rd posse. Arsenal scored late to defeat a gallant Sunderland at home. This strengthens their position on top of the Barclays Premier League ladder. Now for the Falls, Bolton and London based club Fulham are sitting very nervously in the drop zone of the league. Although Bolton are struggling Anelka continues fine form. Hitting the post on the weekend denied him his 6th goal for the season. Special mention goes to Robin Van Persie from Arsenal and Roy (the machine) Keane from the Hotspurs for both scoring twice.

So how has all this drama, excitement and disappointment been absorbed amongst the Harold League management contingent. Lets see aye. Congratulations goes to Gardo's Tryers (78), Psycho Chickens (77) and Deviant FC (70) as our highest scorers for the week. Nice work fellas, and nice scores too. Our lowest scores for the round go to the disappointed Gazza's Team (24), The Azmans 25 and Wasted (26), there is always next week guys. Our biggest movers up the ladder has been Gardo's Tryers who for the second week in a row scored the highest move up the ladder with 10 places. This comes to 18 places up the ladder in two weeks. Well done Andrew the teams working well for you. The teams the are now looking over at Gardo's team page for guidance are Gazza's Team (-8), The Azmans (-7) and Hunter FC (-6) were our biggest movers down. However looking at the table there really is not that much in it at all. Considering there are 45 of us in the league, it is really anyones game still. Before I go congratulations must go to all us mangers this week as we scored our highest overall average of 50.

Now i know some of you have been following my tips with interest each week so I will continue the trend and end with (tada) ...'Troy's Final Say'... Now I know that i have bagged Derby of late, but I do like the look of Miller. He has scored in every game they have won. This may be only twice, but hey, its still an impressive stat to have. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.

Until next week.
Troy

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Game Week 6 Report
September 19, 2007

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Gameweek 5 Report
September 6, 2007

Hi all and welcome to game week five rap up. Hopefully by now everyone has settled in and gathered a good handle on how they wish to manage their teams. INJURIES! Why are all the big name players copping injuries each week? Anyone who had Lamps in their side (which would be a lot) and who had him as captain must have no hair left. Same goes for Gerrard from Liverpool. Never the less this highlights that having the biggest names in your team not always pays the dividends. In saying this though, all is not lost!! Ronaldo, Man U's favorite son and import returns next week, and after three weeks rest...lookout Everton. The verdict as it stands. Liverpool and Arsenal sit pretty at top of the Barclays Premier League Ladder, both havent lost a game and both have a game in hand. I must say though, watching the BBC weekend rap up of the games, Liverpool are one to watch. They appear to have so much depth this year that Crouch cant even get a game (and im not even going to mention Kewell...opps just did). Same goes to Arsenal, perhaps the departure of Henry has opened the door for the whole team to pull together and not rely on one super human striker up front.....so far so good. At the other end of the table, Derby have shown themselves to be the token whipping boys team of the year, as they get hammered each week. Bolton are still struggling to get out of the drop zone, however with Anelka scoring in every game thus far Im sure they will bounce back. Now to the business at hand: Highest Game Week Honours go to: Gunners - 63 (highest league score to date) FC Tress - 61 Psycho Chickens - 60 (not bad for a bloke who has no idea about soccer!) Lowest GW scores: Knobs - 18 Bend It Like Becko - 21 Yoles - 23 Biggest Moves (position) Up: Farsenal07 +13 FC Tress, Gunners +10 boldandthebeautiful, Matt's mob +9 Biggest Moves (position) Down: Yoles -15 Bend It Like Becko -14 Burton Battlers -10 And that's about it! Usually I like to end my blog each week with a tip, however considering my team 'Howard United' is sitting in the boring spot of 31st in the league the only bit of advice I can give to you all is grab as many Derby players as possible, and make em captain! Troy.

The thoughts ofAnonymous at 1:48 PM 1 replies

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Gameweek 4 Report
August 27, 2007

Hi Everyone,

We're a few weeks in & the league is starting to take shape. Warra's Rovers have extended their lead to 13 points, but behind him there is only 20 points seperating 2nd from 20th. A good week from anyone in the top 20 could catapult them to the lofty hights of the top 5, with the reverse being available to anyone in the mix who puts in a shocker.

Talking about the Premier League itself: It was nice to see Ronaldo Jnr (Manchester United's Nani) put in a big week for the Red's & help the defending champions to their first win of the season. As hard as it is to say, lets hope he puts in another couple of big performances so that there's someone around to challenge Chelski for the Championship when the pointy end of the season rolls around. (Being only 8 million & having played in all United's games so far, he might be a good pick-up for a manager with some extra bucks to spend). Chelsea have taken 4 rounds but have assumed their position at the end of the league after Blue-eyed Sven's Manchester City remembered how to lose after 3 rounds of pretending to be someone else. At present Chelsea's main rivals look like Liverpool who are 3 points behind, but have a game in hand after missing GW2 after playing a qualifier in Europe (which they won). Fernando Torres is looking like the buy of the season at a bargain price of 50 million for Merseysiders (At 10.1 million & a goal & an assist in his 3 games so far, Torres might be expensive for a FPL manager, but he is worth the money so far).

To the Harold League:
A big 61 points from Jambo's was the highest score of the week, followed by West Penno Lions with 57 & Rivers Stockpile with 56. The average score for the week was 43.
The gigantic moves are starting to settle down, but with a good week you can still make big ground demonstrated by Psycho Chickens who made 9 places with a solid score of 55, West Penno rose 7 places with their 2nd highest score for the GW & Rivers Stockpile also rose 7 places with the third highest score.
Down the other end Basilton, Figo's Army & Team Larry 08 scored 26, 27 & 28 points respectively, and as Figo & Larry are both in the bottom three they will need to do some real work to avoid being anchored to the bottom for the next 8 months.
The slides down were bigger than the rises with Matt's Mob dropping an impressive 14 places from the top 10 to outside the top 20. Ballarat FC & Hunter FC also had weeks that would be best forgotten with drops of 11 & 10 places respectively.

That's about it for round 4, but looking ahead two of the big thre (ManU & Liverpool) play premoted sides & it could be worth an investment into those teams for a rapid rise next week. Also worth considering is that Reading have battled through a season start that included ManU, Chelsea & Everton in the first three weeks & might be poised to do some damage to mid table teams in the coming weeks.

Wishing you all good selections (as long as they're not as good as mine),
Rosco

Oh, Troy ended with a tip last week... read the pundit on the FPL site he provides some 'educated insight' into comings & goings and will usually discuss some players from the mid-table teams you've barely heard of.

The thoughts ofRoss Andrews at 6:35 PM 0 replies

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Gameweek 3 Report
August 22, 2007

Welcome to all HPL (Harold Premier League) managers for round 3 results, What a start to the season. As an avid follower of the EPL over the years it is good to see an unpredictable start for a change as opposed to the typical Man United/Chelsea show. By the end of round three we see Manchester City (yes City!) on top undefeated, followed by Chelsea and the current surprise packet of Wigan sitting in third. At the opposite end of the table we see Man United (their worst start since 1992) and Bolton (their worst start to a premier league campaign) both winless. No doubt this has had an impact on some of the Harold team managers. With one of the most expensive players, Ronaldo currently in the sin bin for engaging in the ancient art of Liverpool kissing (headbutt for those unfamiliar with that term) created headaches for many who had him not only in their team but captain as well. Never the less its still early days, and my only bit of advice is trade and trade well. Also for those new to the game, don't forget your wild card option when transferring players. You get the chance to make as many trades as you like without incurring penalty points by using the one off option of the wild card. This may come in handy if your team is based around players that have not played a game yet. Righto, to the Harold League stats. Congratulations to Burton Battlers (55), Boldandthebeautiful (54) and Matt's mob (53) who were our highest scorers for game week three. The accolades for the biggest movers up the ladder this week go to Matt's Mob with an impressive jump of 15 places up the ladder to 9th, followed by Burton Battlers up 11 places to slot in 4th position and Howard United up 7 to slot in at 31st place. The overall bragging rights currently go to Sam's Warra Rovers who sit 8 points clear at the top of the ladder (only 53 points behind the overall fantasy league leader), good start Sam! Righto now to the teams the need to pull their socks up (sorry that's unfair considering its only three games in). The lowest scores for this round go to Figo's Army (13), Deviant FC (18) and JAMBOS (21). The biggest movers down the ladder this week go to Gunners (-12 places), Benit FC (-9 places) and my lovely 'wife to be' Marees Reliv Rovers (-7 places....hang in their honey!). Special mention this week goes to Toon Army...come on Jim your a Newcastle loving pom, you should have us all covered at this game :) And thats it for round three. Dont forget to keep an eye on your team as injuries to players are a frequent occurence, and with a record 43 teams in the 'neighbours loving' Harold league its easy to get left behind. Good luck to all managers for round 4! Troy

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Gameweek 1 Report
August 15, 2007

The thoughts ofRoss Andrews at 9:13 AM 0 replies

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