Week 36: Spring has sprung and everything still to play for

WEEK 36: Without doubt one of the hardest weeks to predict so far, and the variety of scores to prove it. 92 of you posted a minus score, whereas only 29 scored 100+. One of those who struggled was our leader, Matthew Jenns. He may have only lost a point, but it was enough to allow Nick Scraggs to take over with just 2 weeks remaining. Nick has been in the top group all season and may have timed his ascent to the top perfectly. He now has a 64 point lead to protect as you can see from the Top 10 below (prize money goes down to 8th!). The latest £50 win goes to Mark Burgess, who top scored with 176 thanks partly to the bonus goal, and partly to a few well chosen draws in his selections. In fact, if you had chosen 1-1 for all the games this week, you would have netted a decent total of 91.

PREV	POS	NAME	WEEK	BONUS	TOTAL
2	1	NICK SCRAGGS	63	0	3953
1	2	MATTHEW JENNS	-1	0	3889
3	3	ANDY LECK	50	0	3815
4	4	LAURA HOLMES	47	0	3793
8	5	NICK ROMERO	124	52	3790
5	6	PAUL BARNARD	23	0	3766
7	7	MATT FOOTE	40	52	3717
6	8	ROB PARKER	5	0	3703
9	9	YAD LUTHRA	33	0	3697
10	10	RICHARD TAGGART	21	0	3668

BONUS TEAM: Middlesbrough, 4 mins v Sunderland. A luverly 52 pts at stake here, and a lot of people took advantage, 41 to be exact. Like I said, most of you were always going to go for Arsenal at Derby (114) and you would think one of those 6 goals would have come early, but Derby clearly do not concede early! Just lots of times afterwards! No bonus for long time predictionistr Terry Henderson this week, but I'll take this opp to wish him a very happy birthday instead!

MINILEAGUES: With 2 weeks of the season left, it's time to have another look at who's about to win the bragging rights. A full table of how things stand below. Whilst thee Brooklands, BT, Devonshires, HMV, Links Plus, Reading Council and Scottish Minileagues all look done and dusted, the rest still have all to play for. Jon Cuff's League is the tightest with only 22 pts seperating the top 3, whilst the Soccer 6 league is also going to go to the wire. At this stage, those of you trailing by a hundred or more may as well go for some risky predictions, as you have nothing to lose! Atb, Ciro

MLEAGUE	POS	NAME	TOTAL	GAP TO 1ST
ASCOT	1	KEVIN PHILPOTT	3248
	2	COLIN QUINN	3233	15
	3	KEVIN RAMSKIR	3125	123
BANKERS	1	DANIEL KENTON	3556
	2	BOBBY REEVE	3515	41
	3	JAMIE MUNDY	3424	132
BLUE ARROW	1	JAMES TRICE	3220
	2	DAVE TAYLOR	3088	132
	3	PAUL McMAHON	3011	209
BODGERS	1	NICK BARBER	3498
	2	GARETH ROSSISTER	3406	92
	3	IAN EVANS	3400	98
BROADCASTERS	1	IAN DENNIS	3392
	2	PHIL WYE	3345	47
	3	PETER SCRIVINER	3290	102
BROOKLANDS	1	MATTHEW JENNS	3889
	2	MARK GARDNER	3251	648
	3	ANDY BRIDGE	3094	795
BT	1	JAMES LILLEY	3648
	2	PETER BRANCH	3283	365
	3	PHIL WALSH	3239	409
CURRY CUP	1	MARK BURGESS	3623
	2	STEVE RICHARDS	3433	190
	3	DAVE ATKINSON	3237	386
DANIEL GALVIN	1	RICHARD TAGGART	3668
	2	GIDON KATZ	3622	46
	3	LINO AT DANIEL GALVIN	3469	199
DEVONSHIRES	1	PAUL BARNARD	3766
	2	NICK ROSE	3368	398
	3	FRED ROSE	3164	602
FLEET SUPPORT	1	DANIEL SKIPP	3597
	2	DAVID ROMAIN	3307	290
	3	PHILIP ASHMAN	3287	310
FUJITSU	1	PETER BARRETT	3604
	2	NEIL DOWLING	3551	63
	3	RICHARD NORRIS	3316	288
GREENO'S LEAGUE	1	MARIE STONE	3538
	2	STEVE REDRUP	3296	242
	3	ALAN GREENWOOD	3208	330
HMV	1	LAURA HOLMES	3793
	2	MICHAEL CURBISHLEY	3247	546
	3	SHAUN CARNEY	3196	597
JON CUFF A.STARS	1	MARK ALBOROUGH	3529
	2	IAN SHAW	3514	15
	3	NIK PATEL	3507	22
LINKS PLUS	1	MATT FOOTE	3717
	2	PHILIP MAGOWAN	3303	414
	3	TOBIAS LATHAM	3187	530
MAX'S FRIENDS	1	DAVE COLOSIMO	3501
	2	DAVID McINTOSH	3331	170
	3	CIRO - MAX'S FRIENDS	3081	420
MUSIC INDUSTRY	1	CHRIS HAWKES	3467
	2	TOD COWELL	3313	154
	3	GRAHAM TEECE	3259	208
POLY	1	SIMON TAYLOR	3361
	2	DANNY COLLINGTON	3326	35
	3	MICK DELANEY	3254	107
PR & MARKETING	1	YAD LUTHRA	3697
	2	RICHIE CULLINAN	3505	192
	3	JOHN BROWN	3431	266
READING.GOV	1	NICK ROMERO	3790
	2	DAVID LEE	3225	565
	3	STEVE JONES	3218	572
SCOTTISH	1	ANDY LECK	3815
	2	GORDON DICKSON	3352	463
	3	STEWART WILSON	3321	494
SOCCER SIX	1	LINO CARBOSIERO	3469
	2	ANT McPARTLIN	3421	48
	3	GARY MABBUTT	3392	77
WH SMITH	1	NICK SCRAGGS	3953
	2	ROB PARKER	3703	250
	3	NEIL KEARNEY	3616	337

Week 35: Sir Alex launches Care in the Community scheme!

We've had some tight finishes to the end of the Predictions season in the past, but this could be the closest yet. With just 3 weeks to go, Matthew Jenns and Nick Scraggs both post very good scores, and are now tied for first place! The reason Matt still leads is down to our own version of goal difference, namely the number of SPOT ON predictions so far. Matt has 56 to Nick's 50. But surely it won't come down to that? In a very high scoring week generally, Andy Leck has now slipped further behind and he, Laura and Paul are going to have to post a big score in Week 36 to have a chance now. The place money goes down to 7th for all those in the chasing pack, and that is still a lot of you!

About once a season, someone manages to get a clean sweep of correct predictions, and this is that week! Well done to Marc Farey, who wins the week with a great score of 247, consisting of 10 correct predictions. 7 of those (at Blackburn, Arsenal and Wigan) were spot on. You can always see how the winner won by checking the "Weekly Winner" link to the right. So that's £50 to Marc, though ironically the money would have gone to Ant McPartlin (227) if he had gone with his boys and chosen them for the bonus team! (see below)

BONUS TEAM: In that case it could only be Newcastle, in 4 mins v Sunderland. I'm pretty impressed that a whopping 48 of you went for them and each picked up an extra 28 pts each. It won't surprise you to learn that the most popular choice was West Ham, with 68 of you choosing them to score first v Derby (next week it's Derby v Arsenal so we might get a record number!)

PREDICTIONS CUP: Week 35 saw the Quarter Final stage, and each produced a pretty conclusive victory. So well done to Peter, Philip, Dan and Olly, who will meet in the semi finals in week 37.

ROUND 6 - Week 33	PTS	SEMI FINALS - Week 37	PTS	FINAL - Week 38
PETER BARRETT	222	PETER BARRETT
DOM MILLER	75
PHILIP COX	120	PHILIP COX	V
RICHARD OWEN	46
DAN SKIPP	145	DAN SKIPP
STEVE BAILEY	52
ROB CRUTCHLEY	141	OLIVER HOLLAND	V
OLIVER HOLLAND	203

AND FINALLY: Last week I asked if anyone could tell me how the Premiership would look if it was made up of the 20 biggest clubs in the Country based purely on size of the City or town they were from (with only one allowed from each City). Undeterred by the fact that no-one actually tried to answer, here's who would be in it! A couple of these are very surprising!

The Alternative Premiership!

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Bolton Wanderers

Bradford City

Bristol City

Cardiff City

Coventry City

Doncaster

Hull City

Leeds Utd

Leicester City

Liverpool

Manchester Utd

Newcastle Utd

Nottingham Forest

Sheffield Utd

Stockport County

Sunderland

Walsall

Wigan Athletic

Week 34: Four weeks to go and everything to play for

Phil Walsh is this week's £50 winner. He was one of those that benefited from the maximum bonus pts, but what really won it for him (and made him the only player to score over 200) was his excellent prediction that Chelsea and Wigan would draw 1-1 last night! He's an Ipswich fan, and I really hope his boys make the play offs and return to their rightful place in the top flight! Cardiff fan Ryan Lamb would have won otherwise, but I'm sure he'd prefer a win in a few weeks at Wembley anyway!

Up front, We have another new leader. Matthew Jenns takes over and has a mere 5 pt lead over Nick Scraggs as the pressure tells on Andy Leck. These three could be heading for a 3 horse race as they have opened nearly a 100 pt lead over the chasing pack. But Gidon Katz moves into 6th after an excellent week (142), and a couple more scores like that could see him snatch the title with a late run. Only 4 weeks left now!

BONUS TEAM: What were the odds of this happening? Not only did Fulham score the quickest goal of the week (away from Craven Cottage), but it took 25 minutes! No-one could score quicker than that, though the majority of you (81) backed Villa to do it at Derby, and they scored in 26! The maximum 60 pts were available for Fulham and 18 of you took full advantage - Good call

NEXT SEASON: While I'm on the subject on Bonus Pts, for those of you who decide to play again next season, I've decided to scrap them. They seem to cause some of you more trouble than they're worth! But, I'm also going to try and revise the pts scoring system so that really good spot on predictions (such as a 3-2 or a 4-0) are rewarded with more pts than at present. (thanks to Tim Lovejoy for making me realise it's time for a change) Any other suggestions are welcome!

AND FINALLY... A BRAINTEASER: I was wondering (as you do when you've got no work on!), which teams would make up the Premier League if it were to only include the teams from the top 20 cities in England and Wales? This is based on population and would feature only 1 team per city (the one with the biggest average gates). How many can you name? (without resorting to t'internet like I did!)..and do you really give a sh*t? I'll put the answers up next week. Atb, Ciro

Week 33: Crabbers and Arsenal go to the dogs

Well done to weekly winner Jonny Wilkes. He came 2nd last week and clearly wasn't happy with that, so went one better this time with an excellent score of 233. With 5 weeks left of the season, it's closer up front than it has been in ages, with only 132 pts separating the top 6 (see below). Andy Leck posts the lowest score of any of the leaders but hangs onto his lead, whilst Nick Scraggs scores 191 to go 3rd. Rob Parker emulates that score and moves into 7th, but he'll have to continue that form to stand any chance.

By the way, the guy in the photo is player 148, Simon Crabtree, aka Crabbers, who those of you in the North East will know as the legendary football commentator on Metro FM (now at Radio City in Liverpool). I did say I would publish photos of you lot..and this is him on the pull on a stag do. He doesn't actually know about this but I'm sure he's a good sport!

POS	NAME	WEEK	BONUS	TOTAL
1	ANDY LECK	72	0	3664
2	MATTHEW JENNS	92	0	3629
3	NICK SCRAGGS	191	0	3611
4	PAUL BARNARD	108	0	3555
5	LAURA HOLMES	108	0	3542
6	MATT FOOTE	125	0	3532

BONUS TEAM: Chelsea, 6 mins v Man City. For the 3rd time in 4 weeks, its Chelsea! (1 minute quicker than Spurs) and 22 of you picked up the 28 available pts. Newcastle were the most popular choice - 64 of you had them to score first v Reading

PREDICTIONS CUP: Whilst Pompey and Cardiff progress to Wembley, we've reached the quarter final stage. Here are the results of the Last 16 matches that were played in Week 33. Well done to the 8 winners (who now meet in Week 35).. Whilst Oliver Holland's win over Cheryl Huston has ensured the cup will go to the boys again, the tie of the round saw Dom Miller and Championship leader Andy Leck draw with 72 pts each. The only way to separate them was on countback, and it transpired that though both got 5 results correct, Dom got more pts for his than Andy....Couldn't have been closer, but there will be no double this year! Hard Luck to Andy and all the other losers.

ROUND 6 - Week 33	PTS	Q.FINALS - Week 35	PTS
DAVE TAYLOR	49	PETER BARRETT
PETER BARRETT	115
ANDY LECK	72	DOM MILLER *	V
DOM MILLER	72
PHILIP COX	94	PHILIP COX
BARRY ALDRIDGE	51
PHIL MAGOWAN	23	RICHARD OWEN	V
RICHARD OWEN	49
DAVID BEATTIE	57	DAN SKIPP
DAN SKIPP	125
RICHARD KIRSCHKE	62	STEVE BAILEY	V
STEVE BAILEY	135
ROB CRUTCHLEY	73	ROB CRUTCHLEY
DARREN GERSHINSON	42
OLIVER HOLLAND	39	OLIVER HOLLAND	V
CHERYL HUSTON	27

AND FINALLY...... For those of you who never saw the email that was doing the rounds last week, have you ever wondered who are the best paid footballers in the World? Here is a list (allegedly) of the World's Top 20 earners. I'm sure you'll agree, they earn every penny! If I was a player, I'd want the same agent as Iker Casillas - or perhaps Darren "£1 million per goal" Bent. No wonder Berbatov wants a transfer! ATB, Ciro

	Name	Team	Annual	Week
1	Ricardo Kaka	AC Milan	£7,458,750	143,436
2	Ronaldinho	Barcelona	£7,060,950	135,788
3	John Terry	Chelsea	£6,762,600	130,050
3	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	£6,762,600	130,050
5	Fernando Torres	Liverpool	£6,563,700	126,225
6	Andriy Shevchenko	Chelsea	£6,464,250	124,313
6	Michael Ballack	Chelsea	£6,464,250	124,313
8	Cristiano Ronaldo	Man Utd	£6,364,800	122,400
8	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	£6,364,800	122,400
8	Thierry Henry	Barcelona	£6,364,800	122,400
11	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	£6,116,175	117,619
12	Wayne Rooney	Man Utd	£6,066,450	116,663
13	Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	£5,967,000	114,750
14	Michael Owen	Newcastle	£5,569,200	107,000
15	Sol Campbell	Portsmouth	£5,469,750	105,188
16	Raul	Real Madrid	£5,320,575	102,319
16	Ruud Van Nistelrooy	Real Madrid	£5,320,575	102,319
18	Rio Ferdinand	Man Utd	£5,022,225	96,581
19	Darren Bent	Spurs	£4,922,775	94,669
20	Carlos Tevez	Man Utd	£4,873,050	93,713