Golden Boot Game Web Log

INTRODUCTION

Week #11 was certainly one of the lowest scoring Weeks we have seen in over twenty seasons of the Golden Boot Game. We normally have one or two Weeks each season when we don’t manage to pick the strikers who score. It may be that the increase in squad rotation and more substitutes in recent seasons has changed the number of strikers we need in a team. When we started the Golden Boot Game we only had six in a team but we soon discovered that eight gave us a much better game. It may be, given the way the game is evolving, that ten striker teams would bring more diversity and a better spread of scoring but it’s too late to change now. We will just have to hope we can get back to normal by next Week.

REVIEW OF WEEK #11

There were six strikers scoring Golden Boot Game points this Week. Three of them had just one selection each, while Fernandes had two. Foden appeared in four teams for whom he contributed eighteen points. Bowen, on the other hand, had five selections resulting in just ten points. Just twelve of our teams scored any points this Week leaving eighteen teams pointless. Don’t worry if your team failed to score this Week, they were in good company.

The top scorers this Week were Alabangers with Foden’s goal in the 7-point position providing their points. Ming’s dynasty were the only team with Jackson’s hattrick which brought them six points, the same score that Eight Wizards got from Foden. Imperial Boozeboys were one of two teams who had two scorers but still only managed five points. Three teams reached four points M1 with Foden, Weakenders with Bowen and Annoyed Grandpa’s Eight with Gordon and Foden.

As none of the top five teams scored points their positions remain exactly the same as last Week. This means All New Goal Monkeys Deluxe remain on top for another Week, three points ahead of Merrall’s Marauders and five clear of fdringo. Team Of The Weak in sixth place scored two points this Week taking them level with Magic Eight Balls and Bury Wanderer on 227 points. Their forty goals was not enough to displace this season’s two top goal scorers but they are now just a single 8-point goal (remember those) behind the leaders.

THE QUANTUM ACCELERATOR GAME

One thing that helps if your team is trying to close a gap to the leaders, is that those leaders fail to add to their score. Unfortunately, most teams could only match Magic Eight Balls in Week #11 leaving just one remaining Week to close the gap. There were, however, twelve teams that did score and second placed BF Giants were one of these, their single goal closing the gap at the top to eight points. Imperial Boozeboys also made a significant move, their ten points this Week putting them just eleven points behind the leaders. Crucially, both these teams are within two goals of the leaders going into the final Week of the contest. Though these two are the only teams who can snatch the lead by scoring just two goals more than the leaders, that is two more teams than last Week.

While those teams within twelve points of the leaders can be said to have a real chance of victory, those between twelve and eighteen points behind are going to need a big slice of luck. Of course, one team, Ming’s Dynasty, did outscore the leaders (and most other teams) by three goals this Week. Unfortunately, this still leaves them nineteen points behind going into the final Week. Weakenders, though, were nineteen points behind at the start of Week #11 and their goal has closed that gap to fourteen. They may just be in the running if the teams above slip up. Both fdringo and Lancashire Rover failed to add to their points this Week and remain exactly eighteen points behind the leaders. For either of them to win they will probably need to do it on a tie-break. They would need at least seven goals to have any chance. Both teams have had seven goals more than once over the past three Weeks but they will need a Week more like Week #10 than Week #11. It is worth noting (no it isn’t!) that the bottom team is only eight 6-point goals behind the leaders. That is an unlikely gap to bridge but not impossible. To put that another way, every team is still in with some sort of a chance but for some teams that chance is slim or even fat.

COMING UP IN WEEK #12

Week #12 is one of those game Weeks that lasts for two calendar weeks as the Premier League schedule takes yet another break for international matches. As usual in these Weeks, there are ten Premier League matches with each club playing once. We start on Saturday lunchtime when Wolves play Spurs. This means the Week #12 selection deadline for the Golden Boot Game is at 11:00 am on Saturday 11th November.

There are five matches being played on Saturday, with the other five being played on Sunday afternoon. The final match before the international break sees Chelsea host Man City. We will update our website shortly after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge. We should be able to let you know the winners of the Quantum Accelerator Game on Sunday. As usual we will publish the result on Facebook and our own website. Our next weblog will be published on Wednesday 15th November. We will have a review of how the Quantum Accelerator Game was won and a preview of our third Hot Spot Game of the season, the ever popular Medals Table Game. We will also have our usual quick round up of the Week #12 scoring in the Golden Boot Game, assuming there is any.