[Lord Snooty]

2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score   (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Random Badger gives you 2 points

The random badger is used for any random prediction used once in each matchday sequence. For instance, a scorer at a particular match, the number of red cards in the matches or yellow cards or own goals or owt you want really within reason, I do need to be able to check whether it's correct or not. Please don't put stuff like....."Commentator says...."  
The joker   is played for one match in each sequence and if correct you get double points. So if you've predicted 1-0 and it finishes 2-0, you get 4 pts, but if you've predicted 2-0, that's 8 pts. But if you get it wrong, it's minus 2.
Jokers and badgers are optional. You don't have to play one if you don't want.

The prize for winning the league is one rep point.

Cup games: In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. Similarly with the badger, if your random prediction is affected by this, it'll be half the points.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  

End of season Play Offs: The one who finishes top of the league will still be champion, but after the season finishes there will be Play Offs between the top 4, with 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. This will take in stuff like the EFL Play Offs, FA Cup Final, final day of Prima Donna League, European Finals etc. It will be one matchday for the semis and one for the Final. It will be the individual scores for each matchday against the allotted opponent, with some kind of tie breaker for a drawn match.

The prize for winning will be enormous. Another rep point.

---

So we have a new format for this season, which I put forward as an idea at the end of last season. Nobody offered any objections so here it is explained......

Firstly, I thought it was getting a bit boring towards the end with the league format as it was with the champion being so far ahead and everybody else not much to play for apart from the push for a play off spot, which was a bit of an anticlimax anyway. The most exciting bit was the tussle for 8th, 9th and 10th positions with Shep, Ritchie and Amelia. 

So I'm splitting the group up into two groups with the top six from last season in the top group and the bottom six in group 2. At the end of the season, the winner of group 2 and the bottom of group 1 will swap places in what is commonly known as "promotion" and "relegation". It's something that most football fans will be familiar with, unless you're a fan of Liverpool or Arsenal or one of those other fashionable clubs.

The second placed player in group 2 will then have a play off with the player who finishes second from the bottom in group 1 to decide whether they will be going up, down or staying where they are.

We're going to have two seasons in one though, just to try and make it a bit more interesting and not so long drawn out. The first season will end on the Boxing Day fixtures, with the play offs being on the dates of the Twixtmas fixtures and the NYD fixtures.

The second season will start the following week, finishing on the last game of the Championship season. Then another period of relegation/promotion play off games, taking in such fixtures as the EFL play offs, FA Cup Final, UEFA finals and such like.

Each group will have it's own set of fixtures. Both groups will have the Town games, with scorers to predict as before. Then it will be a split of Championship fixtures and bonus matches. And not as many fixtures to go at. Hopefully around ten, eleven or twelve games per Matchday.

The rest of the rules will be the same as before apart from the which will still be in use, but I'm going to get arsey about it. Sometimes in the past, I've been able to just award two points immediately because it was such a nailed on thing to happen. Not accusing anyone of cheating. Far from it. I didn't put any boundaries on it, so anything was alright. So now I'm restricting it to three goal scorers in any of the games in your group. Sorry to all our more adventurous badgerers.

Here's how that will appear at the end of the fixture list. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.......


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Any of those will score two points if correct. No minus points for getting it wrong.

The joker  will still be the same as before, ie doubling your points for a correct prediction or minus 2 for getting it wrong.

Postponed matches will only count if the match is re-played before the next Matchday is under way. Abandoned matches will be awarded half the points for the score at the time of abandonment, so 1 point if you have the correct result, 2 points if you have the correct score.

Substitute :- These will be only be allowed if you change them before the match involved has kicked off.

So we now have a two legged Play Off between Baggiebob(BBB) and neonfoxinthebox. The usual rules apply, but in the case of the match ending in a tie, we will have a tie breaker. That will be to predict the total number of corners in the two Sheffield United matches matches during the two legs. The closest wins. If it's still a tie, the winner will be the one who scored most points over the season, which in that case would be neonfoxinthebox.


Final Division One table for 2024:

1. St Charles Owl = 364 pts
   
2. Lord Snooty = 349 pts
   
3. themaclad = 340 pts
   
4. jjamez = 330 pts
   
5. Baggiebob(BBB) = 302 pts
   
6. ritchiebaby = 291 pts
   

Final Division Two table for 2024:

1. SHEP_HTAFC = 334 pts
   
2. neonfoxinthebox = 323 pts
   
3. Devongone = 319 pts
   
4. theo_luddite = 307 pts
   
5. WakeyTerrier = 253 pts
   
6. Amelia Chaffinch = 235 pts
   

So after the first leg, it's very tight with the score being Baggiebob(BBB) 16-16 neonfoxinthebox. All still to play for then. Good luck, guys.


Championship Play Off semi final 2nd legs:
Thursday 16th May:
Leeds United v Norwich City (agg 0-0)

Friday 17th May:
Southampton v West Bromwich Albion (agg 0-0)

League One Play Off Final:
Saturday 18th May:
Bolton Wanderers v Oxford United (16:15)

Premier League:
Sunday 19th May:
All 16:30 kick offs:
Arsenal v Everton
Brentford v Newcastle United
Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United
Burnley v Nottingham Forest
Chelsea v AFC Bournemouth
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Luton Town v Fulham
Manchester City v West Ham United
Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur

*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***