Documents

A full schedule of which weeks each of the cup competitions fall and the transfer deadlines.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwF0dSpz-s35mNx6Q7qKaNw

The Meisterschaft League schedule can be viewed in this spreadsheet.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pwF0dSpz-s366oYcghrqiZw

The Meisterschaft League : The Draw

With the individual league cups about to reach their conclusion, it is time to announce the Meisterschaft League competition, an inter-league contest between all 25 teams in 3 leagues.

The first stage of this competition will be a group contest with 5 sections of 5 teams competing over 5 weeks in January, February and March.

The top three from each group will qualify for the second stage, a knock-out contest culminating in the Meisterschaft League Final on the very last weekend of the season in May.

The highest-scoring group winner will seal a bye through the first knockout stage, with the remaining group winners and highest-scoring runner-up seeded to be drawn against one of the third-placed teams in the knockout round.

No seeding was applied in the draw, so you may well have been drawn with four great teams or four poor teams - that's just the way it goes. The only seeding I've applied is to ensure that I don't draw two of my teams together, otherwise I could be accused of fixing the result between two of them. I also ensured that each group had one team from each league in it.

The draw was made from the CSMCL Champions Cup and here are the results.

Group A	Manager	League
Finntastic FC	David Mason	MMM
Gusset Rovers	Matt Small	VBCL
Done Like A Kipper 2.0	Ken Yau	MMM
Cabernet United	Shiraz Cassim	CSMCL
Forthy's Tractor Boys	Peter Forth	MMM
Group B	Manager	League
Berbie Goes Bananas	Leon Hayes	MMM
Dinorben Tigers	David Trice	CSMCL
Bobby Robson's Old Boys	Marc Bradbrook	MMM
Hoad Harriers	Paul Hoad	CSMCL
Scott Arnold	Scott Arnold	VBCL
Group C	Manager	League
AFC Richmond's Rovers	Pete Fuller	CSMCL
Prancing Show Ponies	Ben Renshaw	CSMCL
Farcelona	Gavin Short	CSMCL
We Were Leeds	Suresh Mistry	VBCL
It's Only Ray Parlour	David Trice	MMM
Group D	Manager	League
Basingstoke Beavers	Jon Small	VBCL
AC Tricey	David Trice	VBCL
Oi Oi Saveloy	Andy Holmes	CSMCL
You Gotta Have A System	Jon Ryder-Oliver	VBCL
The Piemen	Chris Lamy	MMM
Group E	Manager	League
Snaiks 11	Shalin Naik	MMM
The Who	Anthony Trice	CSMCL
Golden Eagles	Glyn Wilmshurst	VBCL
AFC Cornwall	Stuart Guard-Ward	VBCL
Rennet Rovers	Andy Jewitt	CSMCL

The first games will be played on the week of 15th-21st January, so why not check out your opponents and look out for news about the fixtures in the next couple of days.

Meisterschaft : Team of Week 17

I don't want to brag about it, but 1st, 6th and 10th in the same week is pretty pleasing. But lets give Jon Small of the Basingstoke Beavers his due - he benefitted from a good all round team performance and no individual points haul to add almost a third as many points in one week as they have scored all season. Nice one Jon.

1. AC Tricey (VBCL, David Trice) 22 pts
2. Scott Arnold (VBCL, Scott Arnold) 21 pts
3. Basingstoke Beavers (VBCL, Jon Small) 20 pts
4. Snaiks 11 (MMML, Shalin Naik) 20 pts
5. Prancing Show Ponies (CSMCL, Ben Renshaw) 19 pts
6. It's Only Ray Parlour (MMML, David Trice) 19 pts
   

VBCL : Manager of the Month - November

Despite allowing 21 and 26 goals each the Eagles and AFC Cornwall sit atop the league for November. Each of the top three scored 8 goals or more.

Spare a thought for the tribute to the Lillywhites at the bottom of the table. "We were Leeds" is not just a tribute to the echo of a former proud chant but also a poignant reminder of the talent that LUFC has let slip in to the hands of other clubs now in the Premiership. Suresh's team is stocked with former United players, and as luck would have it they all seem to be struck by the Ridsdale Curse. A team consisting of Robinson, Baines, Harte, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Kewell, Milner, Speed, Viduka and Healy would surely have done pretty well in the Premiership (when fit) a few seasons ago. I wonder if this a damning indictment of the way that George Graham and David O'Leary over-played these young players, with their injury breakdowns (Kewell and Woodgate particularly) and the Chairman's financial promiscuity now better remembered than the period in which this club reached two European semi-finals.

1. Golden Eagles (Glyn Wilmshurst) 56 pts
2. AFC Cornwall (Stuart Guard-Ward) 52 pts
3. You Gotta Have A System (Jon Ryder-Oliver) 51 pts
   

VBCL : Stilton Trophy Semi Finals First Leg

STILTON TROPHY : Full details at http://meisterschaft.blogspot.com/

Semi-Finals Second Leg (December 4th - December 10th)

AFC Cornwall (7) vs AC Tricey (22)
Golden Eagles (15) vs Scott Arnold (21)

AFC Cornwall have been in an impressive lead for a few weeks, but a bad week 17 has left them with a narrow two point lead at the top of the table and a 15 point deficit after the semi-final first leg to the same team, AC Tricey. AFC Cornwall are missing the presence of playmaker Cesc Fabregas.

Scott Arnold's recent resurgence lead to a 21 point haul and although the Golden Eagles can be pleased with a 15 point score they still trail in the other semi-final.

MMML : Manager of the Month - November

The prolific goal-scoring of the Tractor Boys (9 goals) saw them to the top of the table and through the Maestros Cup group stages. Finntastic FC dropped from first place after a miserable month of 28pts. There are only 23 pts between 1st and 7th in the month, though, meaning that it is a tight contest with many twists and turns still to come.

1. Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter Forth) 58 pts
2. The Piemen (Chris Lamy) 56 pts
3. Snaiks 11 (Shalin Naik) 47 pts

MMML : Maestros Cup Semi-Final First Leg

MAESTROS CUP : Full details at http://meisterschaft.blogspot.com/

Semi-Finals Second Leg (December 4th - December 10th)
Finntastic FC (13) vs The Piemen (15)
Forthy's Tractor Boys (12) vs Snaiks 11 (20)

Snaiks 11 (Shalin) take an early lead against Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter) in the first leg completing a bad week for the Tractor Boys who fell to third in the table.

The Piemen have a narrow lead over Finntastic FC after the first leg, with the return to follow this week.

CSMCL : Manager of the Month - November

Ben Renshaw's Prancing Ponies kept their heads high, their toes on point and their tack pristine throughout November, taking the league lead and almost setting a new league high with 62 points for the month. They achieved a 14 point swing over the Dinorben Tigers to claim top spot, and beat their nearest rival in the month by 12 points.

But how about that rival, though - Farcelona (Gavin), the team on auto-pilot, grabbed second spot in the month thanks in large part to 10 clean sheets.

Cabernet United (Shiraz) rose up the table with 48 points, equalling the Tigers, and The Who (Anthony Trice) also returned a tidy 47 points for the month to move back in to contention. AFC Richmond's Rovers (Pete) would rather forget the month - allowing 16 goals and scoring just 4 they've slipped down the table.

A miserable month though for Hoad Harriers who scored just 6 points and must surely be questioning their continued faith in Reading defenders!

1. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw) 62 pts
2. Farcelona (Gavin Short) 50 pts
3. Cabernet United (Shiraz Cassim) 48 pts
   

CSMCL : DTT Semi Final Round 2

DAIRYLEA TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT

After a fine first round victory, the league leaders and form team, The Prancing Show Ponies, booked their place in next week's final with a comprehensive 19-5 victory over Rennet Rovers. The Rovers now face The Who in a straight battle for the other spot in the final, with a tie putting The Who through on points difference. Anthony Trice took an early lead with an Emanuael Adebayor strike against Newcastle, but there is still plenty to play for for both teams.

Semi Final Round 1 (November 20th-26th)
The Who 9 - 12 Prancing Show Ponies

Semi Final Round 2 (November 27th - December 3rd)
Prancing Show Ponies 19 - 5 Rennet Rovers

Semi Final Round 3 (December 4th - 10th)
Rennet Rovers vs The Who

VBCL : Stilton Trophy Group Round-Up

Group A

AC Tricey vs Golden Eagles 11-17 You Gotta Have A System vs Gusset Rovers 26-14 Golden Eagles vs You Gotta Have A System 19-12 Gusset Rovers vs AC Tricey 11-20
Facing elimination, AC Tricey won their final game whilst YGHAS lost out to group winners the Golden Eagles. Gusset Rovers failed to record a victory.

Group B

We Were Leeds vs Basingstoke Beavers 12-15 Scott Arnold vs AFC Cornwall 7-23 Basingstoke Beavers vs Scott Arnold 8-29 AFC Cornwall vs We Were Leeds 13-(-6)
AFC Cornwall march on imperiously - they scored 102 points in their six group games. Scott Arnold produced a fantastic weekly performance to record 29 points and defeat the Beavers in their deciding match. Arnold goes through on points difference. We Were Leeds scored just 15 points in six games and failed to record a win or a draw.

Semi-Finals First Leg (November 27th - December 3rd)

AC Tricey vs AFC Cornwall
Scott Arnold vs Golden Eagles

MMM : Maestros Cup Group Round-Up

Group A

Berbie Goes Bananas 14-16 The Piemen
Forthy's Tractor Boys 23-14 It's Only Ray Parlour

The Piemen 26-12 Forthy's Tractor Boys
It's Only Ray Parlour 11-15 Berbie Goes Bananas

After leading the group with two games to go, two straight defeats knocked the Romford Pele out of the tournament. 1 point from the final three games wasn't good enough as The Piemen recovered from last to first in the same period and sealed their place in the semi-finals as group winners.

Forthy's Tractor Boys held on despite defeat in the final week by a considerable margin. In the end on both points diffeerence and Head to Head, Berbie Goes Bananas were second best and go home empty handed without even a UEFA Cup to play for.

Group B

Finntastic FC 3-11 Done Like A Kipper 2.0
Bobby Robson's Old Boys 8-21 Snaiks 11

Done Like A Kipper 2.0 17-19 Bobby Robson's Old Boys
Snaiks 11 13-13 Finntastic FC

The Kippers made a fight off it in the final weeks, defeating Finntastic FC whose luck ran out against weaker opponents. Snaiks 11 cruised on to group victory although Dave Mason's Finntastic FC sealed a point and guaranteed themselves second place after a tight 13-13 draw with the group winners in the final game. Bobby Robson's Old Boys woke up about 5 weeks too late and sealed their first victory and a big 19 point haul, almost twice the number of points they had scored in the previous five weeks.

Semi-Final First Leg (November 27th - December 3rd)
The Piemen vs Finntastic FC
Snaiks 11 vs Forthy's Tractor Boys

These should be two exciting games with the first place Tractor Boys taking on the most impressive qualification team in Snaiks 11. The score is already 5-4 to the Tractor Boys after the first game of the week (Villa-Blackburn).

The Piemen (2nd) already have a three point cushion as Finntastic FC's Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel let in 4 goals in mid-week. Can the early season leaders claw their way back?

Meisterschaft Team of Week 16

1. Scott Arnold (VBCL, Scott Arnold) 29 pts
2. The Piemen (MMML, Chris Lamy) 26 pts
3. AC Tricey (VBCL, David Trice) 20 pts
4. Cabernet United (CSMCL, Shiraz Cassim) 20 pts
5. Bobby Robson's Old Boys (MMML, Marc Bradbrook) 19 pts
6. Golden Eagles (VBCL, Glyn Wilmshurst) 19 pts
   

Meisterschaft Team of Week 14

1. Prancing Show Ponies (CSMCL, Ben Renshaw) 28 pts
2. You Gotta Have A System (VBCL, Jon Ryder-Oliver) 26 pts
3. Forthy's Tractor Boys (MMML, Peter Forth) 23 pts
4. AFC Cornwall (VBCL, Stuart Guard-Ward) 23p ts
5. Farcelona (CSMCL, Gavin Short) 21 pts
6. Snaiks 11 (MMML, Shalin Naik) 21 pts
   

CSMCL : DTT Semi-Final Round 1

Semi Final Round 1 (November 20th-26th)
The Who 9 - 12 Prancing Show Ponies

A narrow win for the league-leading Ponies after The Who's big stars Rooney and Adebayor drew blanks. The Ponies have a chance to seal their final place with victory, but a big win for the Rennet Rovers could threaten Ben's chances of making the final.

Semi Final Round 2 (November 27th - December 3rd)
Prancing Show Ponies vs Rennet Rovers

Semi Final Round 1 (December 4th - 10th)
Rennet Rovers vs The Who

Meisterschaft Team of the Week 13

1. Golden Eagles (Glyn Wilmshurst, VBCL) 20pts
2. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw, CSMCL) 18pts
3. Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter Forth, MMM) 18pts
4. The Who (Anthony Trice, CSMCL) 17pts
5. Finntastic FC (David Mason, MMM) 15pts
6. AC Tricey (David Trice, VBCL) 15pts
   

Meisterschaft Team of Week 12

1. AFC Cornwall (Stuart Guard-Ward, VBCL) 21pts
2. AC Tricey (David Trice, VBCL) 21pts
3. Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter Forth, MMM) 20pts
4. Scott Arnold (Scott Arnold, VBCL) 19pts
5. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw, CSMCL) 19pts
   

Meisterschaft Team of Week 11

1. Snaiks 11 (Shalin Naik, MMM) 22pts
2. The Piemen (Chris Lamy, MMM) 20pts
3. Dinorben Tigers (David Trice, CSMCL) 18pts
4. Cabernet United (Shiraz Cassim, CSMCL) 17pts
5. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw, CSMCL) 15pts
6. Farcelona (Gavin Short, CSMCL) 15pts
   

CSMCL : Manager of the Month - October

In building a formidable challenge to the Tigers, Ben Renshaw's Prancing Show Ponies posted a fanstastic 43 points on 7 goals, 4 assists, 7 clean sheets and 16 goals allowed. Cabernet United had a great month for Shiraz Cassim, with the "dream" midfield of Lampard and Gerrard helping to generate 7 goals and 11 assists, but a leaky defence cost them first place.

Save a thought for The Who whose 43 goals allowed were balanced by 32 points from goals and assists and 7 from clean sheets (amazingly!) as they finished in the middle of the pack.

1. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw) 43pts
2. Cabernet United (Shiraz Cassim) 42pts
3. Dinorben Tigers (David Trice) 36pts
   

VBCL : Manager of the Month - October

In building a lead in the division, Stuart Guard-Ward finished October with a fine total of 52 points on 9 goals, 4 assists, 7 clean sheets and a miserly 11 goals allowed. 10 goals from the System were only good enough for 3rd place since they only recorded 2 clean sheets, whilst the Beavers may have had 7 clean sheets but lacked the firepower up front to challenge the top teams.

1. AFC Cornwall (Stuart Guard-Ward) 52pts
2. AC Tricey (David Trice) 39pts
3. You Gotta Have A System (Jon Ryder-Oliver) 34pts
   

MMM : Manager of the Month - October

With 8 goals, 9 assist and 5 clean sheets and 20 goals allowed, Snaiks 11 won a hotly contested Manager of the Month Contest. Congratulations Shalin.

David Mason kept up his league leadership with a strong second place, but both Marc and Ken will look to put the month behind them quickly with -2 and -3 points respectively.

1. Snaiks 11 (Shalin Naik) 49pts
   
2. Finntastic FC (Dave Mason) 43pts
3. Forthy's Tractor Boys 42pts

VBCL : Stilton Trophy Round 4

AC Tricey 15-13 YGHAS
Golden Eagles 20-11 Gusset Rovers

Another big week for the Eagles who are consistently inconsistent. Their victory puts them top of the group with 9 points tied with AC Tricey who record a crucial win over YGHAS. Victory for AC Tricey or the Eagles and anything but a YGHAS win would seal them a semi-final spot. Gusset Rovers are eliminated.

We Were Leeds 0-12 Scott Arnold
Basingstoke Beavers 8-14 AFC Cornwall

AFC Cornwall qualify with their fourth victory in four games, and can now concentrate on their bid for independence from the rest of Britain. The crucial game will be the Beavers vs Scott Arnold in Round 6, as We Were Leeds are now eliminated.

MMM : Maestros Cup Round 4

Berbie Goes Bananas 6-18 Forthy's Tractor Boys
The Piemen 14-14 It's Only Ray Parlour

The Tractor Boys win again as Leon doesn't goes bananas without Berbie. It's a tie for the Piemen and the Romford Pele, who have a slender one point lead on top of the group. Victory next week would see them in to the next round.

Finntastic FC 15-10 Bobby Robson's Old Boys
Done Like A Kipper 2.0 7-9 Snaiks 11

Snaiks 11 seal their semi-final place whilst Finntastic FC are all but in.

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Final Group Standings

With the winner of each of the three groups still unknown, the final round was important for all clubs involved.

In Group A "The Who" gave Anthony Trice the semi-final place with a 14 point performance thanks in part to Martin Laursen's clean sheet and goal for Aston Villa. Shaun Wright-Phillips chipped in with his first four points of our season, and Wayne Rooney added an assist to become joint top scorer with 20 points. Allegedly the Rovers were looking good until a 93rd minute equaliser from Kevin Nolan robbed West Ham defenders Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson of a clean sheet and Pete of 6 points. It's these moments that can make the difference between silverware and misery...

Late update : Monday night's game between Manchester City and Sunderland hadn't been counted at the time of publication, and a clean sheet for Richard Dunne in the Sky Blues 1-0 victory gave The Who a further 3 points and a comfortable 17-9 winning margin.

Group B saw the league leaders crash out with a second defeat at the hands of the Prancing Show Ponies. A perfect 4 wins from 4 for Ben saw his team through to the semi-final stage as favourites for the cup. A goal from Belletti in Chelsea's defence - he was undrafted in the pub but now has 8 points for Ben - and Fabregas and Ronaldo goals in the big game were amongst the highlights for Ben. Tigers manager David Trice pronounced himself "sick as a parrot" and "glad to be able to concentrate on the league"... New Spurs manager Juande Ramos' decision to drop Dimitar Berbatov drew stinging criticism from the defeated manager.

Group C had a finely balanced three-way contest, and in the end Rennet Rovers became the lowest scoring team to qualify for the final stages with a narrow 7-5 win over Oi Oi Saveloy. In the end it was Cabernet United who missed out on the chance to qualify with the Saveloy's strike force of Anelka, Martins and Kamara drawing a blank.

So, on to the next stage, a three-way group tournament with the best two teams qualifying for a one week final in mid-December. The prize-giving will happen in the Golden Triangle sometime the week after, just before Christmas.

The fixtures for the semi-final stage are as follows.

November 20th-26th : The Who vs Prancing Show Ponies
November 27th-December 3rd : Prancing Show Ponies vs Rennet Rovers
December 4th - 10th : Rennet Rovers vs The Who

Final : December 11th-17th

Good luck Dad!

MMM : Maestros Cup Rounds 2 & 3

Round 2 : 16th-22nd October 2007

Berbie Goes Bananas 13-8 It's Only Ray Parlour
Forthy's Tractor Boys 11-20 The Piemen

Bobby Robson's Old Boys (-2) - 6 Done Like A Kipper 2.0
Finntastic FC 14-22 Snaiks 11

Round 3 : 23rd-29th October 2007

It's Only Ray Parlour 16-7 The Piemen
Forthy's Tractor Boys 20-6 Berbie Goes Bananas

Snaiks 11 13 - (-1) Done Like A Kipper 2.0
Bobby Robson's Old Boys (-5) - 14 Finntastic FC

A very balanced group, Group A, with very little to call between each team. The Tractor Boys can consider themselves unlucky, high-scoring over the three weeks but beaten twice. They look to rectify this with another victory over previously unbeaten Berbie Goes Bananas. The Piemen aim for revenge over It's Only Ray Parlour. A second consecutive defeat for either team will make it hard for them to qualify for the semi-finals.

Despite topping the league table, a good week for Snaiks 11 consigns David Mason's Finntastic FC to second place in Group B. It is a low-scoring Group with negative scores having been registered in 4 of 6 games. Snaiks 11 can seal their place in the semi-finals with victory over Done Like A Kipper 2.0 this weekend. If Shalin wins then Finntastic FC can join them in the semi-finals with a victory of their own this weekend and a point next week against the Kippers. Bobby Robson's Old Boys now have to pray for a miracle, or perhaps more pertinently hope someone will tell them where they left their glasses.

VBCL : Stilton Trophy Rounds 2 & 3

Stilton Trophy Round 2 - October 16th - 22nd

AC Tricey 11-3 Gusset Rovers
You Gotta Have A System 7 - (-1) Golden Eagles

We Were Leeds 3-13 AFC Cornwall
Scott Arnold 10-14 Basingstoke Beavers

Stilton Trophy Round 3 - October 23rd - 29th

You Gotta Have A System 12-21 AC Tricey
Gusset Rovers 6-9 Golden Eagles

Scott Arnold 19 - (-1) We Were Leeds
AFC Cornwall 21-1 Basingstoke Beavers

I've got some sympathy for Suresh's "We Were Leeds" in Group B. Scoring 9 points in 3 weeks isn't the stuff of cup triumph, true, but when the team at the top of the table concede just 8 they've got to be a little disappointed that they didn't catch one of their opponents on a bad week. No doubt, though, AFC Cornwall lead the way in this group and deservedly so with 52 points over the three weeks. The game in Round 6 between the Beavers and Scott Arnold already looks like the decider for second place.

In Group A after a great start the Golden Eagles crashed to -1 points. With a narrow win over Gusset Rovers they moved in to a tie for 1st place, spiit on points difference. Rovers' are now on the brink of elimination - they must win this week against the Eagles to advance. Top of the table YGHAS play AC Tricey (3rd) in an effort to avenge their first defeat last week.

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Rounds 4 & 5

Sorry for being a bit tardy with these - life intervened!

October 16th-22nd - Round 4

Group A - The Who 6-5 Hoad Harriers
Group B - Dinorben Tigers 18-15 Farcelona
Group C - Rennet Rovers 3-17 Cabernet United

October 23rd-29th - Round 5

Group A - Hoad Harriers 4-5 AFC Richmond's Rovers
Group B - Farcelona 9-19 Prancing Show Ponies
Group C - Cabernet United 18-9 Oi Oi Saveloy

Hoad Harriers were desperately unlucky - squeezed out by a point in each of their last games in the group and unfortunately knocked out. This leaves AFC Richmond's Rovers needing just a draw or better to seal their progress in to the Semi-Final Group, but The Who did get the better of them in Round 3 with an 18-16 victory. Could be another high-scoring affair, but a lot rests on how The Who's star striker, Emanueal Adebayor, performs against Manchester United in the first game of the weekend.

The Show Ponies have all but sealed their progress at the expense of the league leaders in Group B. Defeat in Round 3 and high-scoring efforts by Farcelona in their only two victories have left the Dinorben Tigers requiring a victory by handsome margin to overturn a 15 point gap on points difference. Anything but a Tigers victory by 8 points or more will see the Show Ponies claim the first major scalp of the cup. Farcelona, meanwhile, have proven that you need more than good strikers in this game - although four defeats with 43 points seems a bit harsh.

Group C is for Cabernet United - Shiraz came back from two early defeats to win handsomely against both the Rovers and Saveloy. This sets up an intriguing final game between Oi Oi Saveloy and Rennet Rovers and Cabernet United look on. A win or a draw for Rennet Rovers and they qualify as group winners. Victory for Oi Oi Saveloy by 19 points or more would see them through (perhaps quite unlikely). Any other Saveloy win will see Cabernet United qualify. Will it be a Cheese, Wine or Sausage party on Monday evening???

MMML : Maestros Cup Round 1

The Piemen 9 - 15 Berbie Goes Bananas
It's Only Ray Parlour 14 - 11 Forthy's Tractor Boys

Done Like A Kipper 2.0 (-10) - 15 Finntastic FC
Snaiks 11 14 - 11 Bobby Robson's Old Boys

KIPPERS SMOKED - Yes - that really was -10 points for the Kippers. Tough day at the office for Wigan defenders, Middlesborough defenders, Liverpool defenders, Newcastle defenders....

NEXT CUP GAMES : 16th-22nd October 2007

Berbie Goes Bananas vs It's Only Ray Parlour
Forthy's Tractor Boys vs The Piemen

Finntastic FC vs Snaiks 11
Bobby Robson's Old Boys vs Done Like A Kipper 2.0

Meisterschaft Team of the Week : Week 9

1. Golden Eagles (VBCL, Glyn Wilmshurst) 24 pts
2. AFC Cornwall (VBCL, Stuart Guard-Ward) 18 pts
3. Rennet Rovers (CSMCL, Andrew Jewitt) 18 pts
4. The Who (CSMCL, Anthony Trice) 18 pts
5. AFC Richmond's Rovers (CSMCL, Pete Turner) 16 pts
   

VBCL : Stilton Trophy Round 1

STILTON TROPHY ROUND 1

Golden Eagles 24-7 AC Tricey
Gusset Rovers 0-15 You Gotta Have A System

Basingstoke Beavers 13-7 We Were Leeds
AFC Cornwall 18-4 Scott Arnold

Tough week for me - mind you I don't mind being obliterated by a team with Arsenal strikers!

NEXT WEEK : October 16th-22nd

AC Tricey vs Gusset Rovers
You Gotta Have A System vs Golden Eagles

We Were Leeds vs AFC Cornwall
Scott Arnold vs Basingstoke Beavers

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Week 3

October 2nd-8th

Group A - AFC Richmond's Rovers 16-18 The Who
Group B - Prancing Show Ponies 7-4 Dinorben Tigers
Group C - Oi Oi Saveloy 9-18 Rennet Rovers

The league leaders get caught out by Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals and fall to defeat. The Who only got an assist from top scorer Emanuel Adebayor, but clean sheets for Villa and Reading and Wayne Rooney's 5 points powered them past an (almost) equally impressive Rovers side. And in the "Food Bowl" the Cheese betters the Sausages.


October 9th-15th

International Week

October 16th-22nd

Group A - Hoad Harriers vs The Who
Group B - Farcelona vs Dinorben Tigers
Group C - Cabernet United vs Rennet Rovers

Meisterschaft : Manager of the Week - Week 8

By using the cunning "Linked League" facility I can exclusively reveal that the Top 5 teams on National Position across all leagues were as follows.

1. Dinorben Tigers (CSMCL, David Trice) 21 pts
2. Finntastic FC (MMM, David Mason) 19pts
3. Oi Oi Saveloy (CSMCL, Andy Holmes) 18pts
4. It's Only Ray Parlour (VBCL, David Trice) 18pts
5. AFC Richmond's Rovers (CSMCL, Pete Turner) 15pts
   

Hats off to "The Who" from the CSMCL that gave up 24 goals but didn't finish last.

MMM : Manager of the Month September

OK - so this is for all of 9 games in the Premiership, but lets give Dave his due!

1. Finntastic FC (Dave Mason) 19pts
2. It's Only Ray Parlour (David Trice) 18pts
3. The Piemen (Chris Lamy) 15pts
   

CSMCL : September Manager of the Month

1. Dinorben Tigers (David Trice) 63 pts
2. Oi Oi Saveloy (Andy Holmes) 56 pts
3. Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw) 47 pts
   

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Week 2

September 25th-October 1st

Group A - Hoad Harriers 1-15 AFC Richmond's Rovers
Group B - Farcelona 10-13 Prancing Show Ponies
Group C - Cabernet United 8-18 Oi Oi Saveloy

Each team playing their first game opened their account with a victory, with Villa, Portsmouth, Reading and Tottenham defenders causing havoc to some teams.

This week's match winners also took top spot in the table on goal difference, with Hoad Harriers, Dinorben Tigers and Rennet Rovers all in second place with one win but a poorer points difference. The Who, Farcelona and Cabernet United are yet to open their account.

NEXT WEEK : October 2nd-8th

Group A - AFC Richmond's Rovers vs The Who
Group B - Prancing Show Ponies vs Dinorben Tigers
Group C - Oi Oi Saveloy vs Rennet Rovers

In Group B & C there are 'top of the table' clashes to settle group leadership at the half-way stage of the contest.

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Week 1 Results

September 18th-24th

Group A - The Who 18-19 Hoad Harriers
Group B - Dinorben Tigers 10-9 Farcelona
Group C - Rennet Rovers 9-7 Cabernet United

Three very tight games in the opening weekend, with late decisions in the Chelsea-Manchester United game proving pivotal.

MMM Maestros Cup Draw

The draw for the group stages of the Maestros Cup took place this evening with each team drawn in to one of two groups of 4 teams each.

The winner and runner-up of each group will proceed to the semi-finals, with the winner's meeting in the final in mid-December; the weekend of 'Super Sunday' when Arsenal play Chelsea and Man Utd play Liverpool.

Here are the groups.

Group A

The Piemen (Chris)
Berbie Goes Bananas (Leon)
It's Only Ray Parlour (David T)
Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter)

Group B

Done Like A Kipper 2.0 (Ken)
Finntastic FC (David M)
Snaiks 11 (Shalin)
Bobby Robson's Old Boys (Marc)

The first games are next weekend - thanks, and good luck!

MMM Maestros Cup Schedule

October 2nd-8th

The Piemen vs Berbie Goes Bananas
It's Only Ray Parlour vs Forthy's Tractor Boys
Done Like A Kipper 2.0 vs Finntastic FC
Snaiks 11 vs Bobby Robson's Old Boys

October 9th-15th

International Week

October 16th-22nd

Berbie Goes Bananas vs It's Only Ray Parlour
Forthy's Tractor Boys vs The Piemen
Finntastic FC vs Snaiks 11
Bobby Robson's Old Boys vs Done Like A Kipper 2.0

October 23rd-29th

Forthy's Tractor Boys vs Berbie Goes Bananas
It's Only Ray Parlour vs The Piemen
Bobby Robson's Old Boys vs Finntastic FC
Snaiks 11 vs Done Like A Kipper 2.0

October 30th-November 5th

Berbie Goes Bananas vs Forthy's Tractor Boys
The Piemen vs It's Only Ray Parlour
Finntastic FC vs Bobby Robson's Old Boys
Done Like A Kipper 2.0 vs Snaiks 11

November 6th-12th

Berbie Goes Bananas vs The Piemen
Forthy's Tractor Boys vs It's Only Ray Parlour
Finntastic FC vs Done Like A Kipper 2.0
Bobby Robson's Old Boys vs Snaiks 11

November 13th-19th

International Week

November 20th-26th

The Piemen vs Forthy's Tractor Boys
It's Only Ray Parlour vs Berbie Goes Bananas
Done Like A Kipper 2.0 vs Bobby Robson's Old Boys
Snaiks 11 vs Finntastic FC

November 27th-December 3rd

Semi-Final First Leg

December 4th-December 10th

Semi-Final Second Leg

December 11th-December 17th

Maestros Cup Final

VBCL Stilton Trophy Schedule

October 2nd-8th

Golden Eagles vs AC Tricey
Gusset Rovers vs You Gotta Have A System
Basingstoke Beavers vs We Were Leeds
AFC Cornwall vs Scott Arnold

October 9th-15th

International Week

October 16th-22nd

AC Tricey vs Gusset Rovers
You Gotta Have A System vs Golden Eagles
We Were Leeds vs AFC Cornwall
Scott Arnold vs Basingstoke Beavers

October 23rd-29th

You Gotta Have A System vs AC Tricey
Gusset Rovers vs Golden Eagles
Scott Arnold vs We Were Leeds
AFC Cornwall vs Basingstoke Beavers

October 30th-November 5th

AC Tricey vs You Gotta Have A System
Golden Eagles vs Gusset Rovers
We Were Leeds vs Scott Arnold
Basingstoke Beavers vs AFC Cornwall

November 6th-12th

AC Tricey vs Golden Eagles
You Gotta Have A System vs Gusset Rovers
We Were Leeds vs Basingstoke Beavers
Scott Arnold vs AFC Cornwall

November 13th-19th

International Week

November 20th-26th

Golden Eagles vs You Gotta Have A System
Gusset Rovers vs AC Tricey
Basingstoke Beavers vs Scott Arnold
AFC Cornwall vs We Were Leeds

November 27th-December 3rd

Semi-Final First Leg

December 4th-December 10th

Semi-Final Second Leg

December 11th-December 17th

Stilton Trophy Final

VBCL Stilton Trophy Draw

The Draw for the group stages have been made, even though the league hasn't begun, and this is the lineup.

Group A

Golden Eagles (Glyn)
AC Tricey (David)
Gusset Rovers (Matt)
You Gotta Have A System (Jon R-O)

Group B

Basingstoke Beavers (Jon S)
We Were Leeds (Suresh)
AFC Cornwall (Stuart)
Scott Arnold (Scott)

It is a complete coincidence, but all three newcomers are in Group B.

Can anyone lay claim to being the current holder of the Stilton Trophy, by the way?

David

MMM : First Round Auction Results

The first round of the Online Auction for the Monday Morning Magnificos has now ended with some surprising results. This is my first experience of an online auction league, and I have to admit to being surprised with just how many players we all ended up with.

The lowest number of bids won was 7 by both Leon Hayes and Shalin Naik, with five teams managing to win 11 bids or more. The Piemen (Chris Lamy) topped out with 13 and a further £36m in the bank to spend on just three more players.

But looking just at budgets and bids won doesn't tell the whole story - as Arsene Wenger would say, what is the quality of the player that each manager has bought. Here's my first take.

Berbie Goes Bananas (Leon Hayes), 7 Bids Won for £58.5m

In probably the most inevitable bid, Leon went for Dimitar Berbatov with an amazing bid of £21.5m - outbidding Finntastic FC by £5.5m. But he backed this up with successful bids for strikers Fernando Torres (£21.5m) and Andy Johnson (£6.25m) with Johnson perhaps a bargain at this value with only Snaiks XI submitting a bid for the Everton striker.

The amazing bargain of the lot might be Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho for £2.25m, which certainly does make Leon's defence look a lot better than it might have done, losing out on several low bids for good quality defenders. I bet Leon wonders what he might have done with the £4.25m he bid for Jermaine Pennant unchallenged.

Whilst Leon may have three top quality strikers, his season will rest on what he can do with a limited budget and a lot of positions still to fill including key defenders and goalkeeper.

Bobby Robson's Old Boys (Marc Bradbrook), 11 Bids Won for £45.5m

Marc adopted what appears to be a similar strategy to me - to the extent that he bid for two strikers that I went for. Anelka (£8.75m) and Viduka (£7.5m) form an excellent if temperamental strike force. Marc missed out on Michael Owen, though, as he tried to collect Big Sam's strikers.

Elsewhere Marc was unlucky to miss out on Jose Reina by quarter of a million, and Leighton Baines by £2.75m but otherwise secured a good defense lead by Steve Finnan, Micah Richards, Olaf Mellberg, John Terry and Alan Stubbs (if he'll play). Terry is pretty good value at £8m, but Finnan outstanding value at £2.25m.

Shaun Wright-Phillips stands out in midfield for £6m, with fellow Ipswich fan outbidding Marc for Ashley Young and Morten Gamst Pedersen. I've got to admit that I refused to pay big money for midfielders since the difference between a pretty good one and an average one can only by about 20 points which compares very unfavourably with the differences for goalkeepers - but more of that later.

Done Like A Kipper 2.0 (Ken Yau) - 11 bids won for £31m

Ken has a lot of money left in the bank which makes him dangerous in the second round, but he is left hunting for strikers since he missed out on each of Torres, Owen and Berbatov.

Having Wigan's keeper is a bit of a liability, but clearly Ken has faith since he's added Emerson Boyce at full back. Tony Hibbert is a sold selection too as he seems to have a spot in Everton's regular team. Big splashes for Jonathan Woodgate and William Gallas will leave Ken waiting on injury news much of the season, but Amdy Faye might be a really shrewd selection.

Ken spent heavily on Gareth Barry - another player with an international week that boosted his value - but will not be pleased to learn that he was the only player to bid. That's £11.5m wasted... Continuing the theme of big purchases coupled with shrewd investments a midfield of Cahill, Richardson and Parker for £0.5m is not to be sniffed at.

Ken has a lot of money in the bank left - he'll have to hope that there are some good strikers to pick up with it.

Castores Venezolanos (David Trice) - 9 bids won for £51m

Not one but two of the best goalkeepers in the game are on my team. Cech and Reina were secured for £8.25m, and yes that was part of the plan! I'm even more delighted to learn that I outbid colleagues by that extra £0.25m - no, even as chair I cannot see your bids so there is no cheating going on.

As I said before the drop-off at 'keeper and defnder lead me to try and focus on these players, but sadly my plan didn't quite come off. Whilst I picked Emanuel Eboue and Phil Jagielka for next to nothing from good teams (hoping Eboue will be fit on two counts!) I was disappointed not to get Champions League Final scoring Chelsea fullback Belletti with Forthie outbidding me by £3.75m.

Still, securing Daniel Agger of Liverpool at centre back gives me a rock in this position and Mikael Silvestre and Gary Neville's injuries are good news for Man Utd defender Wes Brown who came in to the team for £2.25m.

In midfield I made speculatively low bids for quality players and it came off securing El-Hadj Diouf, whilst Paul Scholes came at a high price considering my only challenge was a minimum bid from the Kippers.

Robin Van Persie leads the line and for a man who had scored 8 from 8 before his season ending injury he looks like a relative bargain compared to Berbie and Torres at £13.25m.

Sadly I came up short on Anelka and Viduka and I'll be looking jealously at Bobby Robson's Old Boys all season long. Still, happy to get RVP, Cech, Reina, Agger and Scholes, my big five targets, and need to get lucky in my next picks on a limited budget to secure the rest of the team.

By the way - for any VBCL owners reading... don't expect me to have followed this strategy in your league!

The Piemen (Chris Lamy) - 13 bids won for £39m

The Piemen are fat on their bidding success... 13 players. Carson and Schmeichel were excellent selections at low prices. Clichy, Warnock and Arbeloa absolute bargains for a £1m apiece. Tal Ben Haim, Joleon Lescott (sickening) and David Rozenahl are all quality centre backs also at a low low price of £1m.

In midfield Chris also bid a low £1m for Elano and Sibierski who are hot right now and Seb Larsson (perhaps betraying his Arsenal allegiances a little too much!). Fortunately he didn't sneak Arteta past us with a low bid.

But what did all of this fiscal prudence get Chris? Well, a chance to big bid money for quality players - and that's where the strategy didn't quite work. Cesc Fabregas came for £15m and he is an outstanding player with a very strong scoring record already this season. Benni McCarthy is an excellent striker and if he repeats last season's 50+ points haul he'll be worth his £10m bid. But failing to secure Torres and Owen spoils this set of bids a bit.

With only three players remaining, Chris's research should be easy for this one and his bid decision-making... well pretty easy too. He just needs to find two great strikers amongst the free agents.

Forthie's Tractor Boys (Peter Forth) - 12 bids won for £51m

Peter was last to submit his bids, and has done well for his money. Tim Howard for £2m is excellent value although getting Cech too would have made this a great pair of keepers. Belletti, Baines and Bale are all excellent pick ups at full back although Bale's bid was uncontested.

Central defence is a bit softer, missing out on Agger Peter has Laursen of Villa and Distin of Portsmouth whilst a solid midfield of Ashley Young, Morten Gamst Pederson, James Milner and Jermaine Jenas is good value too despite £16m spent. A tied bid was lost for Noble.

Up front though the Tractor Boys look a little light. Aliadiere and Ashton were good value at their price, but without Benni McCarthy the team is short of a player who will score 10-15 goals this season, in my opinion. The success of this selection rests on finding a good striker and getting further quality in defence.

Finntastic FC (David Mason) - 12 bids won for £52m

And finally - Dave Mason picked up some excellent defenders in Friedel, Cole, Riise and Toure at reasonable prices. Toure particularly for £2m. Losing out on Wes Brown and Micah Richards and not losing out on Ledley King spoiled this a bit ;-)

This is probably the most interesting midfield so far - Reo Coker for £0.25m is a very shrewd selection IMO. Bentley for £5m and Arteta for £6m gives Dave an excellent platform. Babel has looked superb in his brief Liverpool appearances and Freddie Ljungberg could get 30+ points if he stays fit.

Up front Dave picked up Michael Owen who I suspect he'll be really pleased to have on his team, but not getting Berbatov or Anelka spoils the selection a bit.

Overall some shrewd picks and a very sound base in midfield. Without much budget left and two strikers left to buy, Finntastic FC need to be lucky in their final selections. But if they can, they'll round out a very good team indeed.

Free Agents

Well - to be honest this is the big news... we could all have had Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo for absolutely no cash outlay whatsoever. Shocking!

In goal Jens Lehmann may have gone AWOL mentally but no one picked him or his replacement Manuel Almunia. Other good keepers available include David James, Marcus Hahnemann, Jaskelainen, Robert Green and Paul Robinson.

Full backs include Gary Neville, Wayne Bridge, Paulo Ferreira, Geremi and others. Centre backs left include Rio Ferdinand and Tony Vidic, Yobo, Hyppia and many more besides.

So there is plenty of quality still available and plenty of competition for those remaining spots. Don't forget to submit your bids by Thursday night (10pm) and look out for more news.

CSMCL : Transfer Deadlines

Quick confirmation that all transfer deadlines will be at 2200 on a Thursday, on the following dates.

1 - 27th September
2 - 18th October
3 - 8th November
4 - 6th December

5 - 10th January
6 - 17th January
7 - 24th January
8 - 31st January

9 - 7th February
10 - 6th March
11 - 3rd April
12 - 1st May

You'll note that save for the January transfer window the deadlines are the first Thursday of each month from December onwards.

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Schedule

September 18th-24th

Group A - The Who vs Hoad Harriers
Group B - Dinorben Tigers vs Farcelona
Group C - Rennet Rovers vs Cabernet United

September 25th-October 1st

Group A - Hoad Harriers vs AFC Richmond's Rovers
Group B - Farcelona vs Prancing Show Ponies
Group C - Cabernet United vs Oi Oi Saveloy

October 2nd-8th

Group A - AFC Richmond's Rovers vs The Who
Group B - Prancing Show Ponies vs Dinorben Tigers
Group C - Oi Oi Saveloy vs Rennet Rovers

October 9th-15th

International Week

October 16th-22nd

Group A - Hoad Harriers vs The Who
Group B - Farcelona vs Dinorben Tigers
Group C - Cabernet United vs Rennet Rovers

October 23rd-29th

Group A - AFC Richmond's Rovers vs Hoad Harriers
Group B - Prancing Show Ponies vs Farcelona
Group C - Oi Oi Saveloy vs Cabernet United

October 30th-November 5th

Group A - The Who vs AFC Richmond's Rovers
Group B - Dinorben Tigers vs Prancing Show Ponies
Group C - Rennet Rovers vs Oi Oi Saveloy

November 20th-26th

Semi-Final Week 1 - Winner Group A vs Winner Group B

November 27th-December 3rd

Semi-Final Week 2 - Winner Group B vs Winner Group C

December 4th-December 10th

Semi-Final Week 3 - Winner Group C vs Winner Group A

December 11th-December 17th

Dairylea Triangular Tournament Final

CSMCL : Dairylea Triangular Tournament Draw

The draw for the first cup competition of the season in CSMCL is complete. The Dairylea Triangular Tournament will conclude just before Christmas with a final on the same weekend that Arsenal play Chelsea and Liverpool play Manchester United.

We have split the nine teams in the CSMCL in to three groups of three (hence, triangular) and each team plays each other in their group twice over the next few weeks.

The idea of a head-to-head game is that the team with the most points that week between you and your opponent wins the game and earns three points in the league table. A draw (i.e. equal points for a game week) earns you one point each. I'll keep you posted on fixtures, results and league tables, but basically you have to try and do as well as you can each week in the Premiership and hope to outscore your opponents.

So, without further ado... here are the groupings.

Group A - The Who (Anthony Trice), Hoad Harriers (Paul Hoad), AFC Richmond's Rovers (Pete Turner)

A grudge match between father and son-in-law for The Who and the Harriers, and Pete Turner professed himself to be quietly confident about this group - we'll see.

Group B - Dinorben Tigers (David Trice), Farcelona (Gavin Short), Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw)

Initially dubbed "The Group of Death" this could be an interesting group with Farcelona's undoubted power in attack pitted against the Tigers' defence. The Show Ponies will do far more than make up the numbers and have every chance for success.

Group C - Rennet Rovers (Andy Jewitt), Cabernet United (Shiraz Cassim), Oi Oi Saveloy (Andy Holmes)

As the final name was being drawn out of the hat, the Saveloys could have ended up with the Tigers and Farcelona. However Cabernet United will be formidable once their players are fit and Rennet Rovers have had a good start to the season so this may truly be the Group of Death with three very good teams battling each other.

The winner of each group will progress to a further three team "Semi Final" grouping, with the top two from that group meeting in the Final.

Matches start in the week 18th-24th September with the following fixtures.

A - The Who vs Hoad Harriers
B - Dinorben Tigers vs Farcelona
C - Rennet Rovers vs Cabernet United

I'll publish a full schedule in due course.

David

CSMCL Draft is Complete

The Czechoslovakian Sheep's Milk Cheese League's selection draft was completed last Wednesday evening (29th) and the league began competition in the first weekend in September.

The first league in the Monday Morning Meisterschaft network used an American style selection draft rather than an Online or Traditional auction to select teams with Pete Turner's "AFC Richmond's Rovers" making the first selection of the evening.

Debate had raged at the bar prior to the first selection - would Drogba's indifferent start to the season bump him from the top spot, would Rooney's injury scare off manager's or would the first pick be a surprise selection of a midfielder in last year's top points scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

We didn't have to wait long to be surprised by the first pick. Pete chose Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie, a move which caused great disappointment for the chairman at the other side of the table.

With the second pick Ben Renshaw selected Cristiano Ronaldo, and with the third Gavin Short picked Didier Drogba. The first real eyebrow raising selection of the evening was to Rennet Rovers when Andy Jewitt chose Manchester United midfielder Nani - this could be an inspired choice but could have been an unnecessary risk so early in the draft. His goal against Tottenham had clearly impressed Andy sufficiently though, and we moved swiftly on.

By the end of the first round it was no surprise to see strikers Wayne Rooney (MU), Mark Viduka (NEW), Obafemi Martins (NEW) and Dimitar Berbatov (TOT) go off the board, with midfielder Frank Lampard (CHE) joining Cabernet United with their first pick.

I felt pretty conflicted about my pick - whilst I was delighted that Berbatov was still available to me at the 8th pick, as an Arsenal fan it is going to be difficult for me to will a Spurs player to score goals for the rest of the season.

Once "Oi Oi Saveloy" picked Martins we began with the second round and Andy Holmes added to the Newcastle striker with Nicolas Anelka from Bolton - a very strong strike force with the first two picks of his draft.

As the draft snaked it's way back to Pete Turner with the 18th pick, I started a run on goalkeepers by picking up Chelsea's Petr Cech with the 10th pick. Jose Reina (LIV) went 12th, Jens Lehmann (ARS) 13th and Tim Howard (EVE) 17th, interspersed by John Arne-Riise (LIV), and strikers Andy Johnson (EVE) and Fernando Torres (LIV).

The final pick of the 2nd round belonged to AFC Richmond's Rovers who selected centre-back John Terry (CHE) at 18 before starting the 3rd round by pairing him with club team mate Ricardo Carvalho (CHE).

As the evening progressed, finger nails were bitten, pens chewed, players overlooked and crisps eaten until we reached the 16th round and the 144th selection by Pete Turner with the selection of Wigan full-back Mario Melchiot.

Over the next few days I'm going to take a look at each team and make my own comments against the selections in the cold light of day and include some predictions, so look out for those on this blog.

Do you think the order of selection and talent in the first two rounds was good, or were you surprised that players fell further or appeared earlier than you had expected? I'd be interested in your views - post your comments against this blog.

David

Welcome!

Welcome to a network of Fantasy Football Leagues brought together under the working title of "The Monday Morning Meisterschaft".

This is a group of fantasy leagues I set up in 2007 on fantasyleague.com for friends and colleagues using the Online Auction rules with the aim and intent of establishing leagues that last for several seasons with managers competing for the right to earn the Meisterschaft title or Meister Cup, competitions which span the network of leagues.

This blog will aim to support the leagues in the network with information about the leaders in each league, topical football posts and also notification of upcoming cup competitions and the overall Meisterschaft leaders.

First of all, a quick note about the leagues in 2007-08.

The Venezuelan Beaver Cheese League (VBCL)

Originally set up by a group of friends in and around Bedford using a Traditional Auction, this league has recently been resurrected with past members using the Online Auction format. With famous cup tournaments such as the Cheddar Cup and Stilton Trophy, under skilled chairmanship this league became a template for the elements of all MMM leagues - fun, competitive and with plenty of season-long interest even for the struggling teams.

Unfortunately due to time constraints and a preference for the traditional auction, some of the original cast and crew dropped out, but we have recruited some additional members and should have a thriving league for 2007-08.

Key Facts : 2 Cup Competitions (Stilton Trophy & Cheddar Cup), Online Auction format, aiming for 8+ teams

Confirmed Teams : Basingstoke Beavers (Jon Small), AC Tricey (David Trice), Gusset Rovers (Matt Small), You Gotta Have A System (Jon Ryder-Oliver), We Were Leeds (Suresh Mistry), Golden Eagles (Glyn Wilmshurst), AFC Cornwall (Stuart Guard-Ward), Golden Eagles (Glyn Wilmshurst)

Pending : Scott Arnold

URL : http://auction.fantasyleague.com/AuctionLobby/Lobby.aspx?lobbyId=18163


The Czechoslovakian Sheep's Milk Cheese League (CSMCL)

In the same (blue?) vein as the VBCL, the CSMCL is a league of local friends in and around Fleet using the Online Auction format, but we shall be selecting our teams using a selection draft, picking players in order around the table like picking teams in a playground. This league is in it's first season, and will include cup competitions and a prize for last place.

The Dairylea Triangular Tournament begins later this month culminating in a cup competition before Christmas and a further Cup, name to be announced, will begin in the New Year.

Key Facts : 2 Cups (Dairylea Triangular Tournmanet and TBA), Online Auction game with selection draft, 9 teams.

Confirmed Teams : Venezuela Beavers (David Trice), Oi Oi Saveloy (Andy Holmes), Prancing Show Ponies (Ben Renshaw), Rennet Rovers (Andy Jewitt), The Who (Anthony Trice), Hoad Harriers (Paul Hoad), Cabernet United (Shiraz Cassim), AFC Richmond's Rovers (Pete Turner), Farcelona (Gavin Short)

URL : http://auction.fantasyleague.com/AuctionLobby/Lobby.aspx?divisionId=25269

Monday Morning Magnificos

Thankfully no more cheese or Monty Python related league names sprang to mind when I set this one up. Instead, it is just a straightforward 10 team Online Auction game with friends and former colleagues from PwC Consulting and IBM (hence 'Monday') and fellow football fans. Again, look out for the League and FA Cup equivalents - expect this league to see the sharper footballing minds blunted by partisan loyalties as managers find it hard to sign Chelsea players and pick Reading players who used to be in their club's youth system.

Key Facts : 2 Cups (The Maestros Cup & The Magnum Trophy), Online Auction format, 8+ teams

Confirmed Teams : Finntastic FC (David Mason), Berbie Goes Bananas (Leon Hayes), Done Like A Kipper 2.0 (Ken Yau), The Piemen (Chris Lamy), Bobby Robson's Old Boys (Marc Bradbrook), Castores Venezolanos (David Trice), Forthy's Tractor Boys (Peter Forth), Snaiks 11 (Shalin Naik)

Pending : Gavin Jardine, The Mikey Reds (Mike Evans)

URL : http://auction.fantasyleague.com/AuctionLobby/Lobby.aspx?lobbyId=18125

I'll post more as the leagues begin to fill up and form up better and when the first deadlines approach.