GW 34 – Review

It was another fairly pedestrian week here on The Ultimate Goals. In a mostly low scoring gameweek, there wasn’t too much to shout about, and while we had a surprisingly low number of negative scorers, the highest score actually broke an unwanted record. Let me explain in more detail…….

As per tradition, we shall commence with the news that James Legg topped the Weekly Global League table for GW 34, following a respectable score of 78. While this is the lowest high score for a single gameweek we’ve had all season, its a total not to be sniffed at in another difficult gameweek, especially considering no one else can say they did any better! 3 goal Peterborough Utd (23 selections) and Watford (66) were the standout picks in James’ lineup, wisely chosen on x7 and x8, maximising his profit from the sides. Other 1 and 2 goal sides padded out his lineup to get him to that table-topping position, which is the hard part of this deceivingly tricky game.

James’ score only made up 61% of the weekend’s Perfect 7, which stood at a noticeably low 120, matching the worst P7 total this season, that incidentally came in the midweek round just gone. With the highest possible score seemingly on a downward trend, is it any wonder everyone is struggling to put a decent score on the board, never mind visit the ever more elusive Club 100! Games at this point in the season are often much tighter, given the pressure to produce results for those plethora of teams either desperate to go up, or on the other hand desperate to stay up! It was unfancied sides Kilmarnock and Weymouth who made the x7 and x8 spots in the P7 matrix with 4 goals apiece. Only Weymouth were picked (once) out of these sides, little surprise therefore that the average score sat at just 28! Any other 3 goal side in all the remaining multipliers would have taken you to that giant jackpot of £7,777!

Other notable high-scoring sides were Southampton (4 selections), 3-0 winners at Bournemouth in the FA Cup, and Barrow (1) with The Bluebirds coming away with an impressive 3-2 win against play-off chasing Crawley Town (3 picks). Rochdale (0) and Peterborough Utd shared 6 goals between them, as did West Ham (2) and Arsenal (3) in a sensational London derby comeback for The Gunners.

It was FA Cup Semi-Final bound Chelsea who were the most picked side overall at the weekend, with 95 picks (Manchester City next with 75 – and leaving it late to bag twice at Everton in the cup Quarter-Finals). Interestingly Rangers, so often the most picked side, were picked 8 times in their Old Firm draw against Celtic, who unuaually had no backers at all! Chelsea were also the most picked ‘banker’ side on x2, as well as the points earning at x7 and x8 slots, while Norwich City (74) were the most picked side on x3, x4 and x6, with Stirling Albion (54) filling in the gap on x5, the Scottish lower leagues being a very welcome return to TUG for all of our players! 

At the foot of the Global Weekly table were nine sorry minus scores, including a crushing -60 for Graham Hawkes, better luck next weekend Graham!

That’s your lot this week. With the first international week of 2021 looming, it’s a chance for many of you to dip your toe into more unfamiliar territory and see what you can score, although sadly we don’t have the National North & South Leagues available due to them being curtailed for the season. There are some early kick-offs as usual, with Forest Green Rovers v Bolton Wanderers in a high-noon League Two promotion showdown and Salford City’s trip to Exeter City commencing an hour later. We also have both FA Trophy Semi-Finals in play if either (or both) take your fancy. Good luck and happy scoring!

-Sam Brooke-Wilkinson