Fantasy Football Head-to-Head Results

Week 18 (Premier League game week 27)

AFC Bunter 64 v 27 Leith Athletic
Arsenal City United 16 v 46 Gingers United
Brian Munich 40 v 44 Rian Rovers
Celtic 39 v 57 Darrenjambos
Celtic Gunners 46 v 81 Wee162
Deken Utd 49 v 35 Camerooney
Edinburgh City 74 v 58 Liams Goal Gods
Gerrys Giants 34 v 56 AC Widburn Wanderers
Harroldston United 79 v 63 Inch Utd
KaiserSauzee 46 v 42 Taebash Thistle
Refs Rovers 82 v 60 Sketchyskills
Ross County 56 v 52 Godly XI
The Reds 40 v 30 Real Joppa
The Mcleans 56 v 82 FC MiniBinnie
=}? 46 v 63 HMs 11

Top 10 in Head-to-Head League:

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Refs Rovers	18	15		3	45
Wee 162	18	15		3	45
HMs 11	18	14		4	42
Darren Jambos	18	13		5	39
Edinburgh City	18	13		5	39
deken utd	18	12		6	36
Godly XI	18	12		6	36
FC MiniBinnie	18	10	1	7	31
Rian Rovers	18	10	1	7	31
Ross County	18	10	1	7	31

Fixtures for this week:

Week 19 (Premier League game week 28)
AC Widburn Wanderers v Edinburgh City
Camerooney v =}?
Darrenjambos v The Reds
FC MiniBinnie v AFC Bunter
Gingers United v Celtic
Godly XI v Arsenal City United
HMs 11 v KaiserSauzee
Inch Utd v Brian Munich
Leith Athletic v Ross County
Liams Goal Gods v Deken Utd
Real Joppa v Refs Rovers
Rian Rovers v Gerrys Giants
Sketchyskills v Harroldston United
Taebash Thistle v Celtic Gunners
Wee162 v The Mcleans

Plate Semi Final (Gameweek 28, 27 February, 2010)
HM’s 11 v Celtic Gunners
Liam’s Goal Gods v AC Widburn Wanderers

Brand new Last Line Video

We were fortunate enough to have 2 volunteers who shot some video clips of Last Line's training session on the 19th of February 2010. Below is the result. It's a short video highlighting parts of the session (with a coaching point added too). I do hope you enjoy it. Well done to all the keepers who make an appearance.

Note - Clicking on the video after it begins playing will take you to a larger view on the main YouTube site.

Hibees Guaranteed to win the Cup

With the Lastline cup completing the quarter final matches this week, it became obvious that Hibs, or at least a Hibs fan, will win the cup this year. With the managers of all 4 teams qualifying for the semis supporting the Hibees, we will at last see green and white favors adorning the cup. There is also the possibility of a father and son cup final, with dad (Stevie) AFC Bunter and son (David) Harroldson United still in the competition.

Cup ¼ Final (Game week 26, 9/10 February, 2010)
Wee162 47 v 33 The Mcleans
Ross County 40 v 49 Inch Utd
Harroldston United 37 v 30 Kaiser Sauzee

Godly XI 42 v 70 AFC Bunter


Results for Week 17 Head-to-Head League:

Week 17 (Premier League game week 26)
AC Widburn Wanderers 29 v 49 Brian Munich
Camerooney 22 v 58 Edinburgh City
Darrenjambos 34 v 28 Arsenal City United
FC MiniBinnie 40 v 65 Celtic Gunners
Gingers United 40 v 40 Ross County
Godly XI 42 v 70 AFC Bunter
HMs 11 32 v 50 Deken Utd
Inch Utd 49 v 38 Sketchyskills
Leith Athletic 38 v 33 The Mcleans
Liams Goal Gods 62 v 44 Gerrys Giants
Real Joppa 40 v 33 Celtic
Refs Rovers 47 v 31 The Reds
Rian Rovers 37 v 37 Harroldston United
Taebash Thistle 52 v 38 =}?
Wee162 47 v 30 KaiserSauzee

Head-to-Head League (after 17 matches):

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Refs Rovers	17	14		3	42
Wee 162	17	14		3	42
HMs 11	17	13		4	39
Darren Jambos	17	12		5	36
Edinburgh City	17	12		5	36
Godly XI	17	12		5	36
deken utd	17	11		6	33
Brian Munich	17	10		7	30
FC MiniBinnie	17	9	1	7	28
Rian Rovers	17	9	1	7	28
Ross County	17	9	1	7	28
Gerrys Giants	17	9		8	27
Sketchyskills	17	9		8	27
Taebash Thistle	17	9		8	27
Inch Utd	17	8	1	8	25
Liams Goal Gods	17	8	1	8	25
afc bunter	17	8		9	24
Celtic Gunners	17	8		9	24
Real Joppa	17	8		9	24
Gingers United	17	7	1	9	22
Harroldston United	17	7	1	9	22
Arsenal city united	17	7		10	21
the McLeans	17	7		10	21
AC Widburn Wanderers	17	6		11	18
Kaiser Sauzee	17	6		11	18
LM =}?	17	5	1	11	16
Celtic	17	5		12	15
Leith Athletic	17	5		12	15
Camerooney	17	3		14	9
The Reds	17		2	15	2

Head-to-Head Fixtures for this Week:

Week 18 (Premier League game week 27)
AFC Bunter v Leith Athletic
Arsenal City United v Gingers United
Brian Munich v Rian Rovers
Celtic v Darrenjambos
Celtic Gunners v Wee162
Deken Utd v Camerooney
Edinburgh City v Liams Goal Gods
Gerrys Giants v AC Widburn Wanderers
Harroldston United v Inch Utd
KaiserSauzee v Taebash Thistle
Refs Rovers v Sketchyskills
Ross County v Godly XI
The Reds v Real Joppa
The Mcleans v FC MiniBinnie
=}? v HMs 11

Saving a Penalty in top 10 hardest of all sporting feats

Picture the scene, your job is to stop a ball 9 inches in diameter travelling up to 60mph hitting a goal that is 192 square feet...oh, and you have to do it in under 0.26 seconds.

Studies have been conducted to show this is the level of difficulty top goalkeepers face in penalty situations. No wonder USA Today's coverage of the Top 10 most difficult sporting feats included 'saving a penalty' at number 9.

So how to you actually save a penalty?

Ask 10 keepers that question and you may get 10 different answers. So rather than giving a definitive answer (as there really isn't any), here are some pointers to consider -

• Younger players strike the ball with less pace and less accuracy. Therefore a younger keeper may benefit by waiting until the ball has been struck and reacting to the ball's flight
• Spotting common patterns in the penalty taker's run up may give clues as to the side he is aiming for
• Many professional keepers track the penalty taker's history, identifying patterns to use to their advantage (Ben Foster had these recorded onto his iPod during the 08/09 season)

It's important to note, having luck on your side goes a long way, as demonstrated in the video below. Goalkeeper gives away a penalty & receives a red card, only for his outfield team mate to save it!!

Head-to-Head Week 16 results and Week 17 fuxtures

Sorry for the late post as we have already started the next set of games. This round of fixtures also include the quarter finals for the cup with some interesting ties.
Good luck to all.

Here are the results from the weekend:

Week 16 (Premier League game week 25)
AFC Bunter 31 v 56 Gingers United
Arsenal City United 41 v 37 Real Joppa
Brian Munich 37 v 45 Liams Goal Gods
Celtic 41 v 59 Refs Rovers
Celtic Gunners 32 v 37 Leith Athletic
Deken Utd 44 v 38 Taebash Thistle
Edinburgh City 65 v 66 HMs 11
Gerrys Giants 53 v 19 Camerooney
Harroldston United 41 v 50 AC Widburn Wanderers
Inch Utd 47 v 26 Rian Rovers
KaiserSauzee 46 v 55 FC MiniBinnie
Ross County 44 v 63 Darrenjambos
Sketchyskills 50 v 41 The Reds
The Mcleans 55 v 64 Godly XI
=}? 46 v 62 Wee162

Fixtures for Head-to-Head gameweek 17:

Week 17 (Premier League game week 26)
AC Widburn Wanderers v Brian Munich
Camerooney v Edinburgh City
Darrenjambos v Arsenal City United
FC MiniBinnie v Celtic Gunners
Gingers United v Ross County
Godly XI v AFC Bunter
HMs 11 v Deken Utd
Inch Utd v Sketchyskills
Leith Athletic v The Mcleans
Liams Goal Gods v Gerrys Giants
Real Joppa v Celtic
Refs Rovers v The Reds
Rian Rovers v Harroldston United
Taebash Thistle v =}?
Wee162 v KaiserSauzee

Cup ¼ Final (Game week 26, 9/10 February, 2010)
Wee162 v The Mcleans
Ross County v Inch Utd
Harroldston United v Kaiser Sauzee
Godly XI v AFC Bunter

Inside the mind of Brad Friedel

"Thinking Outside the Box" by Brad Friedel is an excellent read for any aspiring goalkeeper. It gives great insights from Brad's personal experience, looking at events that shaped his goalkeeping career, as well as giving great nuggets of Gking tips, all from a man who's succeeded at the highest level.

Below is a quote from the book on Brad's look at training -

One day he [Brad's gker coach Tim Harris] gave me something written on a scrap of paper. I still have that scrap of paper today. It introduced me to the concept of goal setting. He said, 'if you want to be a great goalkeeper, you need QUALITY.' I looked down onto the piece of paper and in large black letters Time had written the work 'quality'.

It turned out to be an acronym for all the characteristics that a great goalkeeper should aspire to have. It helped me to break down the art and science for being a goalkeeper, and to set myself demanding targets against each attribute. It went like this
Quickness
Upstanding [timing, not diving too early]
Agility
Loudness
Instinct
Technique
Yell to organise

So we began to work with tremendous focus on all of these things, arranging drills and training regimes to improve on a periodic basis...

Brad goes on to explain the importance of goals. If you don't have a way of measuring your performance, how can you truly know how good you are? Sure people can pay you lip service and say you are a fantastic goalkeeper, but, except for the ego boost, it doesn't fully assist in making you better.

One more thing I'd like to add regarding the attitude of Friedel which I think any young goalkeeper can take away with them right now is his approach to mistakes. During a game, if Brad makes a mistake, he does not dwell on it and gets on with the rest of the match...
HOWEVER
Post match, Brad is analysing what went wrong, and states in his book he will repeat the same incident during training up to 50 times, ensuring he makes the correct decision so it is permanently marked in his psyche. He no longer has to consciously think about it.

50 times sounds a heck of a lot doesn't it? That is why he plays (and get paid!) a heck of a lot. There is no half-hearted approach from Mr Friedel. He makes an excellent role for any player young and old.

To finish, here is a clip of a great double save by the man himself.

Nailbiting End to Manager of the Month

With 3 teams vying for the prestigious award, January's MOM was decided on the last game of the month. Indeed it was not until the bonus points from that game were awarded, we eventually saw a winner. Stevie Harrolds AFC Bunter (244 points) were victorious pipping Johns Refs Rovers (243 points) and Jills Wee162 (241 points). Stevies decision to make Damien Duff his captain proved to be decisive as he gained the bonus to take him to the top this month. Well done Stevie.

In the Head-to-Head league, 3 teams, HMs11, Refs Rovers and Wee162 remain on top having won 12 out of their 15 games. This weeks results are below:

Week 15 (Premier League game week 24)
The Reds 27 v 46 Celtic
AC Widburn Wanderers 52 v 46 Inch Utd
Refs Rovers 61 v 50 Arsenal City United
Liams Goal Gods 72 v 59 Harroldston United
Real Joppa 42 v 72 Ross County
Camerooney 22 v 37 Brian Munich
Darrenjambos 62 v 69 AFC Bunter
HMs 11 67 v 57 Gerrys Giants
Gingers United 67 v 71 The Mcleans
Taebash Thistle 66 v 55 Edinburgh City
Godly XI 59 v 53 Celtic Gunners
Wee162 73 v 50 Deken Utd
Leith Athletic 44 v 66 KaiserSauzee
FC MiniBinnie 69 v 63 =}?
Rian Rovers 42 v 57 Sketchyskills

This weekends fixtures are:
Week 16 (Premier League game week 25)
AFC Bunter v Gingers United
Arsenal City United v Real Joppa
Brian Munich v Liams Goal Gods
Celtic v Refs Rovers
Celtic Gunners v Leith Athletic
Deken Utd v Taebash Thistle
Edinburgh City v HMs 11
Gerrys Giants v Camerooney
Harroldston United v AC Widburn Wanderers
Inch Utd v Rian Rovers
KaiserSauzee v FC MiniBinnie
Ross County v Darrenjambos
Sketchyskills v The Reds
The Mcleans v Godly XI
=}? v Wee162