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???