GW 11 – Review

Oh yes! In a dramatic change of form from recent rounds, gameweek 11’s bucketload of goals actually meant we were treated to a bucketload of high scores! Club 100 was full to bursting by the end of Sunday’s action and another new name was carved into the list of weekly top scorers. Here’s how the action played out…..

It would be churlish not to begin with the second-highest weekly score of the season thus far, would it not? Congratulations to Simon French and his ‘Titanic’ total of 143 points! In a remarkably close-run race with Mike Kokins (142 points), Simon laid out a pretty formidable matrix with 5-goal Liverpool (15 selections) and 7-goal Chelsea (the most selected side with 83 picks) earning him 91 points alone on x7 and x8 respectively. With 12 goals from those multipliers alone, Simon’s score was well on its way to smashing the 100-point barrier, but only if his earlier selections could get him there – and the answer was yes they could! 4-goal Man City (43 picks) got the party started on x2, while a middle order of 1, 2 and 3-goal sides kept him climbing to those glorious points on x7 and x8. The net result was a top score and a seat at the head of the table, with a whopping total of 39 diners at the best club in town! Well done to all of you who made it there.

Simon’s huge score did nothing to alter the standings at the top of the overall season table however, as John Richardson has yet again managed to pull away from his nearest rivals thanks to another ton of his own (104 points)! He now sits on a sensational 900 points, with Graham Taylor taking up the running as his chief competitor……but he’s a long way behind on 759 points! It’s time to stop that gap growing any more before the runaway leader sews this season up by Christmas!

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea’s 7-0 pummeling of the Premier League’s punch bag, Norwich City, made them the highest-scoring side of the weekend as well as the most selected – no wonder the average score reached a mammoth 65 points! Liverpool’s 5-0 humiliation of Man Utd (15-1 in terms of picks!) etched their name into the P7 matrix behind Chelsea, while Watford’s (0 picks!) late blitz of Everton saw the Hornets bag five by the full-time whistle. Meanwhile, Banks O’Dee (7 picks and no, I’ve never heard of them either!) came away from the second round of the Scottish Cup having seen off Nairn County 5-0, making themselves the final named side in the Perfect 7 – great to see sides like this making an appearance! To finish off the perfect matrix for GW 11 you would have needed any 4-goal sides in the first three positions. Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town (1 pick), Fulham (5) Alloa Athletic (1), Montrose (5), East Kilbride (4), Kelty Hearts (48), Stenhousemuir (27) and the Civil Service Strollers (1) each netted four goals and boosted a plethora of scores to the next level! I must say everyone here certainly enjoyed seeing so many of the ‘unknows’ from the Scottish part-time leagues selected – though those of you who backed Stranraer (13 picks) to comfortably see off junior side Darvel FC (1 pick!) will be ruing that decision, following a shock 1-0 away win in the competition’s most surprising result.

Chelsea were understandably the weekend’s most popular ‘banker’ side too, as half of their selections came on x2! Wycombe Wanderer’s (47 picks) position of second in League One made them the favourites as they faced up against the bottom side Crewe Alexandra and this translated into The Chairboys being the most popular x3, x4 AND x5 choice. Meanwhile, Celtic (61) were the most selected side on x6, with Kelty Hearts (48) the clear favourite as a big points-earning side on x7 and x8.

That’s your lot for another week. Get your selections for GW 12 in promptly should you wish to take advantage of the early kick-offs (or completely ruin your score before the deadline even closes!) Arsenal travel to Leicester in the Premier League, while Fulham host West Brom in a fight for the top two in the Championship and Northampton Town take on Carlisle Utd at 2pm. Good luck!

 Sam.