Golden Boot Game Web Log

INTRODUCTION

The Golden Boot Game continues its metaphorical journey into the sunset with its final double fix Week. In the days before everyone had 24 hour computing power literally at their fingertips, it was necessary to treat weeks with two full sets of Premier League fixtures, one at the weekend and one midweek, as a single game Week. Even before the 2019 – 2020 season was affected by the pandemic, though, we had proved that the Golden Boot Game could cope with game Weeks lasting any number of days from one upwards.

I have to say that the main driver in the decision to keep double fix Weeks in the post-pandemic seasons was laziness. We did not want to have to rewrite the Golden Boot Game rules and adjust our web pages to remove double fix Weeks. I’m not sure double fix Weeks actually make that much difference. The squad rotation practised by the top clubs would still happen if they were separate Weeks while lesser clubs would still play their in-form strikers in both matches. In the end, all the points are added together anyway, so double fix Weeks are just another of those things that made the Golden Boot Game a bit different or, some would say, quirky.

REVIEW OF WEEK #28

There were sixteen strikers scoring 26 goals for the Golden Boot Game in Week #28. Palmer’s five goal haul provided 200 points for his nine teams. The next best points contributors were Salah and Son who, despite scoring just once each, both provided points for 21 teams. Isak’s three goals and Foden’s hattrick helped eleven and five teams respectively, while two goal men, Barnes and Wood had just one selection each. The other single goal scorers appearing in more than ten teams were Solanke with sixteen and Nunez with thirteen. With so many strikers producing points, it is hardly surprising that every team had at least two scorers this Week.

Top scorers in Week #28 were PJ Auxerre who got 51 points from Foden and Palmer in their 67 point total. Coincidentally, 51 points was the next best total, Weakenders also getting thirty Palmer points. Bury Wanderer had seven scorers (and Richarlison) for their fifty points with Palmer and Isak providing 27 of their points. Noboots and Molineux Marauders both had thirty Palmer points in their scores of 48 and 41 points respectively while Team Of The Weak had points from their top four picks in a 47 points total that included 25 from Palmer.

Most teams moved up or down the rankings this Week but the top two stayed the same. Magic Eight Balls now lead Upforthecup by five points. Team Of The Weak have moved up to third some fourteen points behind second spot with fdringo dropping to fourth, two points further back. There is a twelve-point gap between the top four and a closer group of four led by Bury Wanderer in fifth place. Sofy, in sixth, and Weakenders in seventh are two points off fifth spot, level on points. Two points behind this pair, M1 round out the top eight, twenty points shy of a prize place and 26 ahead of the chasing pack.

THE TOTAL GOALS GAME

The thirteen goals scored by Bury Wanderer and PJ Auxerre this Week equalled the total scored by last Week’s leaders Lancashire Rover and M1 over the first three Weeks of the contest. Having outscored every other team in Week #28 by at least three goals Bury Wanderer and PJ Auxerre now head the standings with the former on 25 goals having a three-goal lead. M1 did at least add eight goals to their leading mark to take third place on 21 goals. These three teams lead a group of five teams on nineteen goals, six behind the leaders.

With just two normal Weeks to go until the end of the contest, the three goal lead for Bury Wanderer is significant but not decisive. This Week showed that a team can outscore everyone by three goals in a Week. With two Weeks to go, it is perfectly possible that Bury Wanderer could relinquish their advantage. It will probably take two good Weeks for another team to take top spot, though. Leaving it until the final Week could be a mistake.

THE GOLDEN BOOT CUP – SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW

Once again we reach the Cup Semi-Finals without any previous finalists left in the running. We will have a new name on the Cup again in its final season, so its short life will end without any team winning it twice. The draw has kept the two best placed teams apart. Outsiders Alabangers have at least avoided the league leaders but, even against Sofy, a victory would be a major upset. Sofy are, after all, the top scorers in this season’s Cup totting up over a hundred points in the previous three rounds. Weakenders are just six places and 37 points behind Magic Eight Balls. Even so, Magic Eight Balls have outscored their Semi-Final opponents in all three previous Cup rounds. Victory for Weakenders would still be a minor surprise, though not on the same scale as an Alabangers win. Can they stop Magic Eight Balls doing the double in our final season?

COMING UP IN WEEK #29

Week #29 is what we used to call a normal Week for the Golden Boot Game. There are ten Premier League fixtures scheduled with each club playing one match. The first match in Week #29 is a Saturday lunchtime kick-off between Crystal Palace and Man City. This means the selection deadline for the Golden Boot Game is at 11:00 am on Saturday 6th April.

There are seven matches in total on Saturday, followed by three more on Sunday. The last match on Sunday is between Spurs and Forest. We will update our website shortly after the final whistle in that match.

We will publish our next weblog at the normal time, late on Wednesday 10th April. It will have a review of the Golden Boot Cup Semi-Finals as well as the usual news from the Golden Boot Game and a look at the prospects for the final Week of the Total Goals Game.