Pitchcare in a fantasy world!
Fantasy Football league reaches its conclusion with Dominic Murray, a groundsman at Shrewsbury Town FC, topping the table
BY the time a sublime performance from Lionel Messi had condemned Manchester United to a 3-1 Champions League lesson in football, there were many of us who simply didn't care; the transfers had stopped, office wagers decided, point scoring ceased, and banter between colleagues had come to a close. Yes, the DLF and Pitchcare Barclays Premier League Fantasy Football League 2010/2011 places had been decided and, to coin a catchphrase ‘points mean prizes’ - to the tune of £800.
The second season of the most popular and interactive Fantasy Football game proved popular with Groundsmen and Greenkeepers from all over the UK.
The passion for sport many of us reflect in our chosen careers was translated into knowledge, as the DLF Pitchcare mini league ranked 1,769 out of 223,722 around the world.
So, for those unfamiliar with our Fantasy Football game, here’s a simple summary. You have a budget to select a squad of fifteen Premiership players. Points are awarded to your players for match performances, goals, clean sheets etc., and you have the ability to make changes to your squad throughout the season.
This season threw up its fair share of surprises, and key to accessing the prize money is the ability to sniff out a bargain and monitor the form of key players and teams.
Value for Money
Peter Odemwingie, Andy Carroll, Kevin Davies and D. J Campbell represented excellent value for money in the attacking department, with Carlos Tevez the top scoring attacker. Perhaps surprisingly, perennial Oscar nominee, Nani, was the game’s overall highest accumulator of points with 9 goals and 18 goal assists.
Elsewhere, in the midfield, Premiership newbies Rafael Van Der Vaart, Yaya Toure and David Silva performed well for managers, whilst Blackpool’s courageous approach and attacking style of football (we salute you Ian Holloway), spearheaded by talisman, Charlie Adam, and David Vaughn, scored very well -
Highest point scorers -s Player
Goalkeeper Hart
Defenders Baines
Hangeland Cole A
Midfielders Nani
Adam
Malouda Kuyt
Forwards Tevez
Berbatov Drogba
8 season 2010-1 Club Man City
Everton Fulham Chelsea
Man Utd Blackpool Chelsea Liverpool
Man City Man Utd Chelsea
11 Cost (£m) 6.9
8.1 5.9 8.1
9.4 6.0 9.7 9.7
11.5 9.2
12.2 Points Scored 175
178 154 150
198 192 186 177
185 176 176
they will be sadly missed by some for next season.
Never underestimate your defender’s abilities to score big - Leighton Baines topped the table, with Haangeland, Huth and Fulham's Aaron Hughes offering excellent points for pounds ratio. A solid English display between the sticks saw Joe Hart as the highest scoring goalkeeper, whilst Messrs Foster and Robinson offered managers excellent value as the last line of defence.
Form
A team’s form is crucial when deciding which players to pick. Early season selections, featuring players from Everton, Aston Villa and Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool left some managers scratching their heads. Alton Towers are now considering naming their next ride the ‘Gunners’ after Arsenal’s sensational end of season dip, with Birmingham City also considered for this accolade.
Elsewhere, Dalglish inspired a Liverpool resurgence, and West Brom and Wolves showed some true Black Country grit with late season form to escape the drop. Credit again to Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in the long illustrious history of English football for guiding Manchester United to a deserved title, with veterans Van Der Saar and Giggs (ssshhhh) contributing to their excellent form all season.
DLF Pitchcare Fantasy Football League 2010/2011 -T
Top Placed Managers
1 Dominic Murray, Groundsman at Shrewsbury Town FC - £300
2 Richard Ponsford, Greenkeeper at Henbury Golf Club - £150
3 Alan Loose, Greenkeeper at Royal West Norfolk Golf Club - £100
4 Gary Hawley, Course Manager at Henbury Golf Club - £50
5 Robert Hogarth, Course Manager at Remedy Oak Golf Club - £40
6 Matt Hawker, Head Greenkeeper at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club - £30
(Shrewsbury Town FC Groundsman), John Richards (Pitchcare)
Dominic Murray’s winning team -T Player
Club
Goalkeeper Foster
Defenders Vidic
Dawson Zabaleta Johnson R
Midfielders Downing Nani
Adam
Yaya Toure Malouda
Forwards Van Persie (c)
Birmingham Man Utd
Tottenham Man City
Birmingham
Aston Villa Man Utd Blackpool Man City Chelsea
Arsenal
The Cereal Killers Cost (£m)
5.3
8.1 5.2 6.1 5.3
7.1 9.4 6.0 6.3 9.7
11.0 L-r r: Phil Seedhouse (DLF), Dominic Murray
7 David Holland, Volunteer Groundsman at Connacht Rugby - £25
8 Richard Hollingsworth, TigerTurf (UK) Ltd. Accounts Assistant - £20
9 Liam Daw, Greenkeeper at Henbury Golf Club - £20
10Gary Conway, Assistant Groundsman at Manchester City FC - £15
So, why not join us for next season’s competition, which will be sponsored by Limagrain. It is free to enter and, who knows, you may walk off with the top prize.
The more players that enter, the more prize money becomes available.
Details for the 2011/2012 Fantasy Football competition will be posted online at
www.pitchcare.com in advance of the new football season.
Points Scored 153
148 77
102 120
163 198 192 146 186
157
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148