 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology Partner 
Community Partners |
A Bunch of Fives So when all is said and done, we analyse where, when and the quantity of times a ball has landed in the back of a net, past and present, or failed to, and somehow deduce why it was destined to be so. That’s the unenviable task of our resident expert Professor Statto, who brings us the benefit of his incisive intellect allied to half a century of football scholarship. And not least, his wry sense of humour.  He leaves the predictions to others, but he’ll provide you with the ammunition to sustain your challenge through your Score Five campaign. He’ll keep you up-to-date with what’s happening in the competition. He’ll lead you along byways exploring weird and wonderful facets of the game past and present, but always in his own inimitable style. Some comedian once suggested that “98% of all statistics are made up”, but the Prof. cordially invites you all to verify any information he presents – if only because he does most of the calculations in his head. Professor Statto and his amazing statistics. ====================================== Visit the Prof's 2008/09 season archives. Previous analysis Parties in Southampton, and at Len’s place So it’s official: Portsmouth FC are in that curious legal condition known as Administration. Under Premier League rules, that means they are penalised nine points, so it will be only a matter of weeks before their relegation is confirmed, assuming that the club’s finances are restored to the extent that it continues to stay in existence. It’s amazing to think that this club’s owners and directors have been paying Chief Executive Peter Storrie a million pounds a year to get them into this mess. I’m sure that any of us could have done it, and at a rather more economical cost. In fact, I know a ScoreFive Supremo who would have been happy to sink Pompey years ago and not ask a penny for doing it…. While I’m sympathetic to Portsmouth’s fans, I hope Storrie and the owners learn a financially painful lesson for their years of recklessness and stupidity. If you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the faint sound of cheering, coming from Burnley, Bolton, Hull, Wolves, and Southampton. If you’re wondering about that last name, the Saints are Pompey’s local rivals, and it couldn’t be called a friendly rivalry. The parties have probably started already…. The fixture labyrinth The Prem fixture list for the next few weeks has numerous changes from the original plans, folks. Round 28: eight games only due to the League Cup Final on Sunday. Round 29: this clashes with FA Cup Round 6. Only five of the original fixtures remain, but there are also three rearranged games in the following midweek. Round 30: currently a full programme plus one midweek fixture, but that could change with more rearranged games being added. If Aston Villa draw their 6th round Cup game, their midweek game would be postponed. Round 31: at present a full programme plus three midweek games, but f anything, it’s going to get bigger with more rearranged games in midweek. When fixtures change at short notice, it throws the plans of the ScoreFive boffins into disarray. In Round 27, last Tuesday’s Man Utd v West Ham game was added after more than 50 early birds had already made their predictions. Those players were given a 0-0 score. Naturally, you could change that, but I suspect few players realised it was there. If you’re an early predictor, the moral of this tale is check the fixtures before the deadline in case of additions. Deleted games are not a problem. Weekly highlights Pt. 1: League After seven weeks of low scores, we finally had a weekend of net-bulging action – 33 goals from 11 games. This was the first time since Round 20 (Dec. 28) that we’ve had more than 23. The stats reveal the average basic score to be 22.03 pts, and 26.81 with Banker, which is the third best of the season. Correct results averaged 62.5% (also among the season’s best) and Bankers 96% (likewise). With five teams scoring three and another one netting five, the Perfecto count was never going to match the other components, but it was still an above-average 12.9%. There were six winners (Arsenal, Villa, West Ham (first game), Spurs, Chelsea and Man Utd (second game) that had overwhelming backing, ranging from 74% to 97% of you. Blackburn and Fulham were also profitable, but the games at Man. City and Portsmouth less so. The trap that snared 93% of players was, of course, Everton’s 3-1 win over United on Saturday. With the Toffees having defeated Chelsea so recently, I’m surprised that only 7% of you trusted them to win again. Our sole 3-1 tipper was Danidani. There were three other notable predictors of 3-0 scorelines – Wrightboy for Blackburn, and ROCP / Sebastian for West Ham. Among the Banker forecasts, we had a few who preferred to go up the down escalator, yet somehow made it. Trotters (who makes something of a habit of these things) and Trish both trusted in Man. City and Liverpool to draw. Jonathan97 preferred Fulham at home to Chelsea versus a struggler, while GameTipper reckoned Blackburn were more secure than Arsenal at home against 11-games-winless Sunderland. Everyone knew the Villa would punish Burnley, but Spurs fan Johnnymc13 and Baim-isa decided to back Defoe & Co. at Wigan. Well done all, it adds to the entertainment! Top players of Round 27 We needed a tie-breaker to separate three players on 38 pts this week, and as a result Letjcl becomes our first winner from Mauritius – merveilleux, vous avez de la chance cette semaine, mon brave! As he follows Leeds and Scotland, I doubt he has many who share his enthusiasm nearby. The two runners-up, Filiposworku and GuoBe shouldn’t be too disappointed, as they’ll soon be on the Wall Of Fame as our newest Tenners, as will 240574. Well done, all!
Weekly highlights, Pt 2: Champions League If the results from Round 13 last week were a disappointment, Round 14 didn’t give much cause for cheer either. There were 50 pts (including two Bankers) up for grabs, but the highest score in either Round was 18 and the averages were respectively 8.91 and 6.32 pts. Mind you, when none of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea or Arsenal can be relied on for a win, there’s bound to be some fallout. Bayern Munich and Man. Utd. enabled the Banker percentage last week to creep over the 50% mark, but this week’s was a season low in all three ScoreFive competitions: 11.4%. Nevertheless, amongst all the gloom there were a few bright spots: LovelyMonil daringly Banked on Lyon to beat Real, and she was right! Mani thought Porto would see off Arsenal, and he was on the mark too, with the right score as well. Successful Banking on draws is rare, but Anjucapp and Jimdel went that route with the CSKA – Sevilla match and prospered. Three players – NigelReid, Danidani and Tjrealus put their ’fiver on Inter to overcome Chelsea, and they (somehow) got their wish despite Chelsea dominating the match. Of the eight ties, only one winner – Bayern Munich at home – was backed by over 50% of you, and that match also had the best Perfecto count, at 28%. There were a number of predictions that deserve a mention: TonyQuinn, Colui72 and Minna all backed Lyon to topple Madrid 1-0, and Tjrealus was the only player to tip the 2-3 scoreline in the AC Milan-Man. Utd game. That makes two Top Tips in the week for him! Top Players of Champions League Rounds 13-14 Only Castaway1, with 27 pts, exceeded half marks over the eight ties. Spieretti and Ktganesha moved into the Champs League Top 10 on the back of their Round 14 scores. Lano23 is still in first place but there are 13 players within 20 pts of him. Champions League Rounds 13
Champions League Rounds 14
Quality, not quantity While perusing the Wall Of Fame at the weekend, it struck me that there must be a group of players who looked at BobbyN’s new record points score and said “Ah, but he had 12 games….I got my top score in a normal 10-game week” So, I decided to evaluate the best 20 scores since the start of ScoreFive, and rank them based on average points per game. If there’s a better measure of quality, I don’t know it. There’s a snag of course: we didn’t have Bankers last season, so how do we equalise performances then and now? Well, with all the top scores having 8-9-10 correct results, the chances of a failed Banker would have been minimal, so, I’ve simply added five points to all the top scores of 08-09.
* 08-09 score with 5 pts added for Banker. There’s a 10-10 balance between the two seasons but 08-09 owns six of the top 10 places, including four from that remarkable opening round. If you don’t know the story, it’s worth hearing. Go to the Prof’s Archives above, and click on Week 2 to read about Katona777 and the three million-to-one chance. My prediction made at that time still holds – no one has scored 40 pts (45 with Banker) in a weekend since then. Note that our two biggest scorers only just sneak in at the foot of the top 20. In a 12-game round, even 50 pts (average 4.17) would only be enough to get you fifth pace on the table. We haven’t had a seven-Perfecto Round this season, but we had three last time. One of them was The Gaffer, that’s him at No. 4. If I remember correctly, it was the only time he entered! It can’t be long before someone gets two top 20 entries. Numba 1, in 14th place, deserves a special mention as the only double-Tenner so far, though his second effort (37 pts in the 11-game Round 20 this season) doesn’t quite make the list. What will it take to surpass Simoscy’s achievement? Well, you’ll need a minimum of six Perfectos, three three-pointers and a two, plus your Banker just to equal him. With seven Perfectos, your Banker and seven points from the other three matches, you’d have the magic 47 pts. Maybe we should call the Gaffer, and see what he can do for an encore! The Archers – special birthday edition. There are over 2,000 registered Scorefivers. At present, only about 70 of you still have your Five Lives fully intact, and eight are in the Archer League. In fact, those eight are the whole Archer League! Between them, they haven’t missed a single prediction this season, and they went all the way through last season in the same way. It’s a feat that no other league comes close to. This consistency has ensured that they have some well-placed players, with three over the 600-mark and three more close to it. In fact, their average score of 580 gives them an average position of #117 on the Global Ladder. I’ve checked around the other keenly competitive leagues – Crossmark, AMNAS, Dublin Jack, and Opticore to name but a few – and only the Meywin Posse have a better average. 240574 must be a good luck charm – he’s a member of both these leagues! This weekend, it’s the birthday of the senior Archer, Len who is currently #98 on the Prem Global Ladder. It’s a significant anniversary, and it may just make him our senior ScoreFiver too, so Len, I hope you have a great day, and that Millwall win on Saturday for you! I’m sure that Enid, Stuart, Andeebuboy, Happy Hammer, Philps, HelloArthur2000 and 240574 will be dropping in for a slice of cake. Best wishes on behalf of all your competitors and the ScoreFive team! Until next week, pals, look after yourselves. Prof. Statto. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About |
Advertise |
FAQ |
Rules |
Help |
Terms |
Privacy
© 2008-2009 Score Five |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RSS Feed
Calendar
