26 Feb 2014

Gameweek 27 - Home Truths

Not too long ago, an ailing conscience was all the motivation needed to churn out these pieces. Then, one didn’t have to journey out into hitherto unknown nooks and crannies in search of failure - it was right there, perched unashamedly, perpetually ensconced within our midst. Red arrows were not only the norm, they were expected outcomes. Successful gameweeks were met with gnawing fear and trepidation as they only served to lull gaffers into faux comfort. Fast forward to the present and my unprecedented success of the past few gameweeks (engineered no less by my eschewal of erstwhile ways) has me mired in flux. It’s the perfect catch-22 – do I leave the comfort of my present situation and dip back into the old ways? Or do I carry on with the carefree nonchalance of the casual player and allow fate to continue delivering green arrows straight to my doorstep?

IMPLICATIONS

Switching gears to the LoF, the big story from the weekend has to be Still Thinking’s Andrew Orina’s ascension to the rarefied airs of the top ten courtesy of a 58 point haul. Having been stuck to the lower reaches of the log for the most part, this has indeed marked a significant about-turn fortune-wise for the defending champion in what has been a stuttering campaign.

Up top, Victoria Concordia gaffer Reuben managed to secure himself a bit of breathing space. His 69 point haul saw him open up a small gap on arch-nemesis Onesmus in 2nd place. Vamperoh’s 62 points saw him rise into 4th place at the expense of Excelsia FC, who trickled down into 5th. There was no love lost between Bang Average and Football Love who fought it out all weekend for 7th place; a duel ultimately won by Bang Average under the aegis of Daniel Sturridge. Further afield, Bazinga FC and Superwoman took advantage of the wilting form of other managers to ascend into 10th and 11th repsectively. Superwoman doing so with a barnstorming 91 points, easily the best result of the weekend. In 15th, Die Mannschaft continues to elicit concern over his sudden turn of form. With the business end of the season fast approaching, it remains to be seen whether our resident Teuton can arrest this poor fettle in time to muster a meaningful challenge higher up the log.

A few (VERY) important bits:

• There are confirmed blanks for West Brom, Sunderland, Man City and Man Utd for GW 28.
• Arsenal and Man City’s cup commitments will see them miss out on GW 29. The same applies to the teams they were scheduled to face (Swansea City and Aston Villa).
• Double GW 31 has been confirmed for Liverpool (car, SUN), Sunderland (nor, liv), Hull (WBA, whm) and West Ham (MUN, HUL).

Get those wildcards ready, it’s squeaky bum-time.

- denniskig at 10:10