Week 25 Results

Draws galore this week so Trusted are the big gainers and close on the leaders. 

Aardvark Abacus 1 v 6 San Dimas High School

FCK2 3 v 3 Cheese Makers

Final Fantasy XI 1 v 1 The Fabulous Artisans

Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 1 v 1 Real Muppets 
Mega Buck Bandits 1 v 1 Athletico Phoenix

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 1 v 2 The Dead Parrots

The Cow-Faced Juniors 2 v 2 Claymore Athletic FC

Trusted By Millions 6 v 0 YTFIB


	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Claymore Athletic FC	25	15	3	7	61	45	16	48
2	Trusted By Millions	25	14	4	7	53	37	16	46
3	Real Muppets	25	13	6	6	52	37	15	45
4	The Cow-Faced Juniors	25	12	4	9	61	43	18	40
5	San Dimas High School	25	11	6	8	51	43	8	39
6	Aardvark Abacus	25	10	7	8	39	44	-5	37
7	Final Fantasy XI	25	10	6	9	38	36	2	36
8	The Fabulous Artisans	25	9	7	9	64	56	8	34
9	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	25	9	6	10	58	55	3	33
10	Cheese Makers	25	9	6	10	46	46	0	33
11	Athletico Phoenix	25	9	5	11	38	56	-18	32
12	FCK2	25	8	7	10	42	46	-4	31
13	Mega Buck Bandits	25	8	6	11	37	45	-8	30
14	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	25	8	3	14	38	51	-13	27
15	The Dead Parrots	25	6	5	14	30	43	-13	23
16	YTFIB	25	6	5	14	25	50	-25	23

Five games to go and the top of the table just got more congested.

Claymore still lead the way but a 2-2 draw against the CFJs means that Trusted have closed in. An unmarked Wayne Rooney nodded in to open the scoring for Clive but Chris's team were straight back on terms through Luis Suarez. Rooney got his second from the penalty spot at the end of the first half but Peter Odemwingie grabbed a second equaliser on the hour after latching on to a stray back-pass. Beef's team are up to second after a 6-0 battering of YTFIB. It took the full first 45 until the deadlock was broken by Jay Rodriguez but the floodgates opened five minutes into the second half when David Stockdale walked into an attempted clearance to score an own goal. trusted ran away from there and are the form team of the title chasers right now.

The Muppets missed another chance to close on Clive when they were held 1-1 by Fred. Younes Kaboul back-heeled into his own net inside two minutes to give Ryan the perfect start but David Silva equalised on 18 minutes and that's where the scoring finished. San Dimas secured their biggest win of the season a week after their biggest defeat. Jordon Mutch and Jon De Guzman traded goals on the half hour but the Dutchman got a second for me eight minutes later and George McCartney left the field with a clean at the break to stretch my lead. There was to be no fightback from Ady and three more cleans left the Aldi Arena crowd drifting away before the end.

Final Fantasy and the Artisans played out a 1-1 draw to stay seventh and eighth, an excellent Adam Johnson goal for Ben cancelled by Damien Delaney's clean. FCK2 and Cheese makers played out a highly entertaining three-all draw. Andy Carroll showed what Kevin's been missing this season with his goal on nine minutes but it was the second half when this one caught fire. John Terry headed into his own goal seven minutes into the second half to the delight of fans everywhere and Juan Mata's first of the season five minutes later had Matthew in front. Steven Caulker's header levelled things up again before Kevin Mirallas fine control and shot from the edge of the box put the Cheesers ahead again. Glen Johnson had the last word with a clean that meant the points were shared.

Much quieter between Mega Bucks and the Phoenix. Phillipe Coutinho scored for Dave ten minutes into the second half, Ben Davies got the equalising clean for Brian. The Parrots are off the bottom! Rickie Lambert and Wayne Routledge had Dean two in front and although Steven Naismith pulled one back from close range with three minutes left but the Parrots held out for the win.

Random table - value for money

I must have been a bit bored as I decided to draw up a table which shows points per £m of squad value.

	Team	Pts	Squad cost (£m)	Pts per £m
1	Final Fantasy XI	35	59	0.593
2	YTFIB	23	39	0.590
3	The Fabulous Artisans	33	58	0.569
4	Mega Buck Bandits	29	59	0.492
5	San Dimas High School	36	75.9	0.474
6	Claymore Athletic FC	47	127.85	0.368
7	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	27	75.5	0.358
8	Athletico Phoenix	31	91.75	0.338
9	Cheese Makers	32	97	0.330
10	FCK2	30	91.5	0.328
11	Real Muppets	44	141	0.312
12	Trusted By Millions	43	142.8	0.301
13	The Cow-Faced Juniors	39	142	0.275
14	Aardvark Abacus	37	136	0.272
15	The Dead Parrots	20	100	0.200
16	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	32	192.5	0.166

Ceri, Julian and Ben getting most for their money at the moment. Clive doing the best of the big-hitters while Fred and Dean not getting their money's worth from their squads.

If I remember/get time/can be bothered I'll do something a bit more scientific about wage expenditure at the end of the season.

Week 24 Results

Goals galore this week but no change to the top four.

Athletico Phoenix 0 v 7 The Cow-Faced Juniors

Cheese Makers 2 v 3 Real Muppets

Claymore Athletic FC 4 v 2 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 
FCK2 0 v 3 Final Fantasy XI 
San Dimas High School 1 v 6 Fred West Landscape Gardening XI

The Dead Parrots 1 v 2 Trusted By Millions

The Fabulous Artisans 6 v 3 Mega Buck Bandits
 
YTFIB 1 v 2 Aardvark Abacus

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Claymore Athletic FC	24	15	2	7	59	43	16	47
2	Real Muppets	24	13	5	6	51	36	15	44
3	Trusted By Millions	24	13	4	7	47	37	10	43
4	The Cow-Faced Juniors	24	12	3	9	59	41	18	39
5	Aardvark Abacus	24	10	7	7	38	38	0	37
6	San Dimas High School	24	10	6	8	45	42	3	36
7	Final Fantasy XI	24	10	5	9	37	35	2	35
8	The Fabulous Artisans	24	9	6	9	63	55	8	33
9	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	24	9	5	10	57	54	3	32
10	Cheese Makers	24	9	5	10	43	43	0	32
11	Athletico Phoenix	24	9	4	11	37	55	-18	31
12	FCK2	24	8	6	10	39	43	-4	30
13	Mega Buck Bandits	24	8	5	11	36	44	-8	29
14	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	24	8	3	13	37	49	-12	27
15	YTFIB	24	6	5	13	25	44	-19	23
16	The Dead Parrots	24	5	5	14	28	42	-14	20

The top four all win, the bottom four all lose and there's all sorts of mayhem in the middle.

Claymore still lead the way after a 4-2 win over Evertonian rivals Nil Satis. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring with a half-volley from near the half-way line and added a second when turning in an attempted clearance. Oscar did score twice for Paul, reducing the deficit to 2-1 and then 3-2 after Ross Barkley's goal but Clive closed it out with a Branislav Ivanovic clean. Ryan kept on Clive's coat-tails after edging out Cheese Makers 3-2. Fraizer Campbell broke the deadlock on 25 minutes but Shane Long had Matthew level at the break. Daniel Sturridge is still chasing the golden boot and his close range finish 15 minutes from time saw Ryan back in front. Martin DeMichelis extended the advantage two minutes from time and it proved the match-winner.

Trusted were two up against the Parrots inside half an hour then held on for the win. Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana with Beef's goals while Mike Williamson grabbed a consolation clean for Dean. The CFJs had lost six out of their last nine but exploded into form against Athletico Phoenix and were in front after five minutes when Samuel Eto'o made space for himself then found the bottom corner. Luis Suarez had gone a bit cold in the past few weeks but the bitey Uruguayan was back to his best with a hat-trick. Suarez completed his scoring in the 90th minute and remarkably Geoff Cameron and Gylfi Sigurdsson also added late, late goals for Chris.

The Aardvarks broke their poor run last week and made it back to back wins with a 2-1 win over YTFIB. Jordon Mutch was Ady's unlikely hero, his second of the game with two minutes left sealed victory after Peter Crouch had equalled his early opener. Fred returned to form after a blip last week and ran riot at San Dimas. The Gardeners were 3-0 up at the break through Andre Schurrle, an Eden Hazard penalty and Wilfried Bony. Romelu Lukaku got my reply but Fernandinho and two cleans completed the rout. 

The majestic Yaya Toure was the difference between Final Fantasy and FCK2. The Ivorian bagged all the goals in this one, two from the spot and a trademark long-range curler. The Artisans put six past Mega Bucks to pick their first win in two months. Christian Benteke and a Leighton Baines penalty had Ben two up in 20 minutes then close-range braces from Christian Eriksen and Martin Skrtel made it 6-0 nine minutes into the second period. Dave finally woke up and replied with three cleans.

Week 23 Results

Claymore not over the finishing-line yet.

Aardvark Abacus 0 v 2 The Dead Parrots

Final Fantasy XI 2 v 0 Cheese Makers

Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 1 v 2 YTFIB

Mega Buck Bandits 0 v 2 FCK2

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum 1 v 2 Athletico Phoenix

Real Muppets 0 v 0 San Dimas High School
The Cow-Faced Juniors 1 v 1 The Fabulous Artisans

Trusted By Millions 5 v 3 Claymore Athletic FC


	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Claymore Athletic FC	23	14	2	7	55	41	14	44
2	Real Muppets	23	12	5	6	48	34	14	41
3	Trusted By Millions	23	12	4	7	45	36	9	40
4	The Cow-Faced Juniors	23	11	3	9	52	41	11	36
5	San Dimas High School	23	10	6	7	44	36	8	36
6	Aardvark Abacus	23	9	7	7	36	37	-1	34
7	Cheese Makers	23	9	5	9	41	40	1	32
8	Final Fantasy XI	23	9	5	9	34	35	-1	32
9	Athletico Phoenix	23	9	4	10	37	48	-11	31
10	The Fabulous Artisans	23	8	6	9	57	52	5	30
11	FCK2	23	8	6	9	39	40	-1	30
12	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	23	8	5	10	51	53	-2	29
13	Mega Buck Bandits	23	8	5	10	33	38	-5	29
14	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	23	8	3	12	35	45	-10	27
15	YTFIB	23	6	5	12	24	42	-18	23
16	The Dead Parrots	23	5	5	13	27	40	-13	20

Trusted have kept their slim title hopes alive with an excellent win over our leaders, Claymore. Morgan Schneiderlin skipped through the Trusted defence to open the scoring for Clive inside five minutes but the next 85 belonged to Beef's team. Steven Gerrard converted penalties either side of half-time (and missed another one), Stephane Sessegnon fired in from long range and Jay Rodriguez and Edin Dzeko were also on target. Clive's clean sheet replies may be useful from a goal difference front. Real Muppets narrowed the gap to three points thanks to a goalless draw against San Dimas which was pretty uneventful to be honest.

Nine points now covers fourth to fourteenth. The CFJs hold that fourth place but are still struggling for victories. Luis Suarez got a late goal for Chris against the Artisans but Ben found a clean from Martin Skrtel to get the draw. The Aardvarks are another team struggling at the moment and Ady's team fell to the bottom-placed Parrots. Dean's goals came in the second half through Rickie Lambert and Robert Snodgrass.

Cheese Makers and Final Fantasy round out the top half after Ceri got the better of their match. Clean sheets from Nathan Baker and Damien Delaney were enough for the Fantasy win which left Matthew cheesed off. Athletico Phoenix are in ninth place following their win at Nil Satis. Gerard Deulofeu's fine run and shot put Brian ahead on the hour but Paul looked to have grabbed a point with Seamus Coleman's spooned shinner as the clock ran down but a Pablo Zabaleta clean was the Phoenix winner.

FCK2's decent form continues. Kevin picked up a comfortable win thanks to Andy Carroll's first of the season and a Glen Johnson clean. Fred's recent hot streak was halted though despite David Silva's long-ranger giving him an early lead. Julian's equaliser came with eight minutes left. Fabian Delph managing to steer home a cross that seemed to be behind him. David Stockdale notched his first 'counter' of the season with a clean to give the points to YTFIB.

Week 22 rearranged fixture result

Honours even at Kingham Park.

Athletico Phoenix 1 v 1 The Fabulous Artisans

A Martin Skrtel clean for Ben cancels Gerald Deulofeu's effort for Brian.

FA Cup semi-final results

Final Fantasy XI	1	v	0	Aardvark Abacus
Delaney [c]		(1)			Att: 75,225
YTFIB	1	v	5	Trusted By Millions
Delph 82		(1)		Gerrard 34p, 46p
				Sessegnon 52
				Rodriguez 72
				Dzeko 90	Att: 43,636

This year's FA Cup Final on the weekend of 19 April will be between Final Fantasy and Trusted By Millions.

Ceri will get a shot at her first WSFFL silverware courtesy of a Damien Delaney clean sheet which decided a cagey game against the Aardvarks.

The other semi-final was more one-sided. Trusted have already trousered the Charity Shield and are still chasing the league title so Beef will go into that game as favourite after seeing off YTFIB 5-1. Steven Gerrard scored penalties either side of half-time while Stephane Sessegnon and Jay Rodriguez doubled that advantage before Julian's team replied through a late Fabian Delph goal. Edin Dzeko's last-minute strike rubbed it in.

Week 22 Results

Clive misses the chance to take a real stranglehold on the title race.

Athletico Phoenix P v P The Fabulous Artisans 
Cheese Makers 1 v 1 Aardvark Abacus

Claymore Athletic FC 0 v 0 FCK2

Fred West Landscape Gardening XI 3 v 2 Trusted By Millions

Real Muppets 1 v 2 Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

San Dimas High School 4 v 1 The Cow-Faced Juniors

The Dead Parrots 1 v 3 Final Fantasy XI

YTFIB 1 v 2 Mega Buck Bandits


	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Claymore Athletic FC	22	14	2	6	52	36	16	44
2	Real Muppets	22	12	4	6	48	34	14	40
3	Trusted By Millions	22	11	4	7	40	33	7	37
4	The Cow-Faced Juniors	22	11	2	9	51	40	11	35
5	San Dimas High School	22	10	5	7	44	36	8	35
6	Aardvark Abacus	22	9	7	6	36	35	1	34
7	Cheese Makers	22	9	5	8	41	38	3	32
8	Fred West Landscape Gardening XI	22	8	5	9	50	51	-1	29
9	Mega Buck Bandits	22	8	5	9	33	36	-3	29
10	Final Fantasy XI	22	8	5	9	32	35	-3	29
11	The Fabulous Artisans	21	8	4	9	55	50	5	28
12	FCK2	22	7	6	9	37	40	-3	27
13	Nil Satis Nisi Optimum	22	8	3	11	34	43	-9	27
14	Athletico Phoenix	21	8	3	10	34	46	-12	27
15	YTFIB	22	5	5	12	22	41	-19	20
16	The Dead Parrots	22	4	5	13	25	40	-15	17

One of those weeks where the top several don't win but Clive has still managed to extend his lead.

Claymore were held in a cagey goalless draw against FCK2 but when they got back to the changing room and turned on their transistor radio they would have been surprised to be a further point clear at full time. The Muppets fell to a home defeat to Nil Satis in one of their purple patches. Raheem Sterling slotted in juste before the hour to give Ryan the lead but John Stones and Seamus Coleman (a candidate for defender of the season) got the cleans to give Paul victory.

A defeat at Fred West has Schurrle ended Trusted's hopes of a league title*. After a dull first half Fred's team burst into life after the break and Andre Schurrle completed a 19-minute hat-trick. Beef's team only woke up in injury time when Steven Gerrard scored from the spot and Michael Dawson notched a clean. The CFJs hopes of a repeat are hanging by a thread too after defeat at San Dimas. Luis Suarez found the bottom corner on 16 minutes to put Chris in front but I was level inside 10 minutes through Jonathan de Guzman's first of the season. The second half went my way when Jon Walters also got his first of the campaign and Romelu Lukaku scored on his return from injury. Sylvain Distin picked up a clean too.

Cheese Makers and Aardvarks played out a 1-1 draw at Stade de Fromage. Brede Hangeland bagged an early clean for Matthew but Ady levelled it eight minutes from time with a Glenn Murray spot-kick. mega Bucks got back to winning ways after a setback last week. Curtis Davies opened the scoring for Dave straight after half-time but ten minutes later a brilliant Samir Nasri strike brought Julian level. Dave's winner came from a Guy Demel clean. 

Final Fantasy also got back to winning ways seeing off the Parrots 3-1. Momo Sissoko got two for Ceri but it was Yaya Toure (of course) who lit the game up with a sensational curling, looping long-range effort. Jesus Navas got Dean's consolation right at the end. The Phoenix Artisans game was called off after some very localised unseasonable weather or something.

*This was Beef's joke. Blame him!