And so all those millions have paid off though not quite yet as City have only guaranteed a place in the qualifying round, and that won't be easy. Well done to City who will be gunning for Arsenal in 3rd as well as an FA Cup double (though my money is on Stoke!). Ironic that it all came done to Crouchy's big toe, just like it did last season. Not yet certain, but 99% sure, Utd will win their 19th League title within days. I think we all agree that no team has really excelled this season, though when it mattered most, Utd did what they had to do very well, and it looks a big rebuilding job at both Chelsea and Arsenal next season. Alas, the relegation issues are also becoming clearer, and if Wolves win at Sunderland on Saturday (which I think they will), the Hammers will be relegated. I've been expecting it since August, so comes as no surprise to me.
Back in the Predictions League, could this finally be the season a woman takes the big prize? Marie Stone has inched ahead and leads Lee by a nose with 2 fences to jump. If she falls, Julie Wright is well placed to take up the lead, though former leader Stuart Folwell could also be timing a late run to perfection. Could be all over for Declan Shortiss after a disastrous minus score. This week's winner was Steve Coombs, whose score of 215 was brilliant considering how tough a week it was. Hard luck to Paul Mahony and Anne-Marie Dickenson, the only others to score 200+
Finally, I have to say a big well done to 12 year old Nathan Jeffrey who has won this year's Predictions Cup (and £100 to put in his piggy bank). The final was against Declan Donnelly, and the script could have been written by one of his tv colleagues. In a low scoring match (which ended 37 to 32), Dec was comfortably ahead and looking nailed on. With 2 mins left at The Reebok Stadium, Sunderland were 1-0 up and Nathan's 2-1 prediction looked doomed. But an equaliser and a 92 min OG winner by Zat Knight gave Nathan 50 pts, the only amount that could give him the lead. Commenting on the final, Geordie Dec said "arrggh fiddlesticks, those Sunderland rascals, how disappointing" or words to that effect. Atb, Ciro
THIS WEEKS £50 WINNER. Well done to:
Steve Coombs - 215pts - who predicted the following:
| Bonus | Home Team |
|
|
| Away Team | Bonus | Points |
|
| Aston Villa | 1 | v | 1 | Wigan |
| 50 |
|
| Bolton | 1 | v | 2 | Sunderland |
| 50 |
|
| Everton | 1 | v | 1 | Man City |
| -3 |
|
| Newcastle | 2 | v | 1 | Birmingham |
| 40 |
|
| Tottenham | 2 | v | 0 | Blackpool |
| -6 |
|
| West Ham | 1 | v | 1 | Blackburn |
| 50 |
|
| Wolves | 2 | v | 1 | West Brom | 1 | 17 |
|
| Stoke | 0 | v | 1 | Arsenal |
| -9 |
|
| Man Utd | 1 | v | 1 | Chelsea |
| -3 |
|
| Fulham | 0 | v | 2 | Liverpool |
| 15 |
|
| Man City | 2 | v | 1 | Tottenham |
| 14 |
TOP 20 SCORERS
| 1 | STEVE COOMBS | 215 |
| 2 | PAUL MAHONY | 212 |
| 3 | ANNE-MARIE DICKINSON | 209 |
| 4 | GARETH THORNTON | 160 |
| 5 | JOHN SMITH | 159 |
| 6 | JOANNA HILL | 156 |
| 7 | GRAEME BEATTIE | 149 |
| 8 | VISHAL DHALL | 148 |
| 9 | JASON THOMAS | 146 |
| 10 | JARED OYSTON | 145 |
| 11 | ANDREW LAST | 144 |
| 12 | BILL HIETT | 142 |
| 13 | ALEX JOLLIFFE | 140 |
| 14 | BRIAN DIXON | 138 |
| 15 | SEAN KELLY | 136 |
| 16 | DAVID RAKISON | 136 |
| 17 | CHRIS FRANKLIN | 133 |
| 18 | JOEL SILVERMAN | 132 |
| 19 | STEVE WORTHINGTON | 129 |
| 20 | PAT JEFFERSON | 129 |
THE OVERALL TOP 10
| PREV | POS | NAME | WEEK 36 | BONUS | TOTAL |
| 3 | 1 | MARIE STONE | 70 | 0 | 3403 |
| 1 | 2 | LEE HONEYWOOD | 30 | 0 | 3384 |
| 8 | 3 | STUART FOLWELL | 114 | 0 | 3352 |
| 6 | 4 | JULIE WRIGHT | 83 | 0 | 3344 |
| 7 | 5 | KEVIN ELLIS | 73 | 0 | 3333 |
| 4 | 6 | PAUL WORSLEY | 29 | 0 | 3323 |
| 2 | 7 | DECLAN SHORTISS | -26 | 0 | 3312 |
| 11 | 8 | IAN GREENWOOD | 77 | 0 | 3280 |
| 9 | 9 | SIMON TAYLOR | 39 | 0 | 3264 |
| 12 | 10 | MARK WRIGHT | 83 | 0 | 3264 |
BONUS TEAM
Liverpool, 31 seconds v Fulham (NB - Man Utd scored in 36 secs!)
# Pts won: 36
# Players correct: 20
Most Popular Choice: WBA - 85
