Drama in the Pundits Playoff, as the #1 seeded team get knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage. But before I launch into the results and fixtures, it is first time to delve into the mind of Tets McGee, manager of team BSC Small Boys (in the park) FC, and winner of the much-coveted Best Manager of the Period award for Period 4.
Tets agreed to be interviewed by our very own Boris Bodega (that’s me…) –
Boris Bodega: How does it feel to be the Best Pundits Playoff Manager for Period 4?
Tets McGee: Thanks, Boris. Obviously, it is a great honour to be voted best manager ever of all time in period 4. I was not expecting it because going into the last game we were a loss away from a 50% record which wouldn’t have been as good. If I can take this opportunity to impart one bit of advice to any budding managers dreaming of hitting the big time like me, it would probably be just keep doing the same thing over and over, even if you are getting bad results and eventually you are bound to get a different result. This is proof of that. I have a saying I live by…“there is no I in team. But there is in Idiot”. I have never really understood that. But everyone says it to me, so to be honest, I have just taken it as my mantra ray. I have lost track of what I was meant to be saying…
BB: You absolutely nailed your H2H selections, not least in your quarter-final match where they proved to be the deciding factor in your win over Brazil Nuts. Are you prepared to reveal the secrets of your selection process for the H2H battles?
TM: The boys are bound to give me a bit of stick for revealing our methods here, but one of the lads, let’s just call him VanDijkstowatchoutfor (because that’s his name) had a great idea. We hold weekly piggyback races. The losing pair get benched, the winning pair and the “piggy” coming in second get captained. It keeps everyone happy except for our lad Ben Mee who has a broken leg at the moment and keeps finding himself on the bench along with his unlucky partner couldaBenMee. But he is due a run out so who knows maybe this is his week. I have considered breaking a couple of the other guy’s legs just to level the playing field a bit, but something doesn’t quite sit right every time I go to do it. I have also noticed that the team I submit, isn’t the one that gets played. My vice-captain Jubilanus puts our team in religiously and he says it’s just one of those things that somehow the team is reverting to the one he suggests we should have played…Apparently it’s one of those computer viruses or something.
BB: So your team are through to the Semi-Finals, which team are you most afraid of? And why?
TM: I would probably have to say the Neville Longbottoms or the Dowie Ducks. Never liked the cut off their Jib.
BB: How have you coped with managing your own personal FPL team through project restart?
TM: I have had to put the team first. Mainly because I have been doing so badly. It’s no coincidence I bottom scored for our team against the Brazil nuts. I very much adopt a do as I say approach definitely do not do as I do. Right, I am off to take a 16 point hit.
Many thanks to Tets for this fascinating insight into his team management (and his brain).
Quarter Finals Results
A quick reminder of the format for the knockout stages, each team of fifteen players has to nominate two players for the bench, whose scores are not counted, and three players for the H2H battles, the winners of which extra bonus points that are added on to their team’s final score – H2H A (30 points), H2H B (20 points) and H2H C (10 points).
Champions League
QF#1 of the Pundits Playoff Champions League (PPCL) quarters, was between The Keane Fifteen (1st seed) and Blame it on Rio (8th seed). The underdogs got off to a great start (lots of Antonios I am guessing), and the winners of the group stages never recovered. Blame it on Rio won all three H2H battles to gain 60 extra points, and won by an overall score of 981 – 835, and progress to the semi-finals. The Keane Fifteen, as second-highest scoring losers, progress down to the Pundits Playoff You’re Ropey League of Shame (PPYRLOS) semi-finals.
QF#2 pitted WhenTheOWENgetsTough (2nd seed) up against Nirvana Scott Talent (7th seed). Despite grabbing 50 of the available bonus points, WhenTheOWENgetsTough couldn’t cope with their high scoring opposition, and Nirvana Scott Talent won by a 40 points margin, 810 – 770, and they go through to the PPCL semis. As the lowest scoring losers, WhenTheOWENgetsTough drop down to the Pundits Playoff Wooden Spoon (PPWS) semi-finals.
QF#3 saw the 3rd seed, “15” Musketeers looking for revenge against Unbelievable Jeff FC (6th seed), who won the Classic League by a mere two points! Revenge is a dish best served cold, but someone clearly left the heating on. The H2H bonus points were split down the middle, but Unbelievable Jeff FC won by a massive 193 point margin, 966 – 773, and they find themselves in the PPCL semi-finals, “15” Musketeers drop down to the PPWS semi-finals.
QF#4 was always going to be a hard-fought match between the 4th and 5th seeds of the competition, Brazil Nuts and BSC Small Boys (in the park) FC respectively. And fireworks is what we got, with both teams scoring two of the highest scores of the week. In fact, Brazil nuts had the highest overall team score with 1104 before subs and H2H bonus, but incredibly BSC Small Boys managed to grab an emphatic win, by winning all 60 bonus points, and benching just 68 points – Brazil Nuts saw 140 languishing on their sidelines. Final score was 1045 – 964 to the BSC Small Boys, who progress to the PPCL semis. As the second-highest scoring losers, Brazil Nuts move to the PPYRLOS semi-finals.
You’re Ropey League of Shame
QF#5 – Holly’s Hamsters (9th seed) took on Slaven’s Ball-itch (12th seed) and the result was the closest of all the quarter-finals. Both teams shared the H2H bonus points, and the Hamsters managed a nine-point win at the final whistle, beating Slaven’s Ball-itch 890 – 881 and progress to the PPYRLOS semi’s. Their defeated opponents will have a semi-final in the PPWS.
QF#6, the last quarter’s match pitted A Whole Lawro B*llocks up against Back to Square Owen. Despite grabbing 40 bonus points from the H2H battles, Back to Square Owen lost by a substantial margin to A Whole Lawro B*llocks, 859 – 779. The B*llocks move onto the PPYRLOS semi’s, Back to Square Owen find themselves fighting it out in the PPWS semis.
Semi-Final match fixtures
In the Champions League, Blame it on Rio will face BSC Small Boys (in the park) FC in SF#1, and Nirvana Scott Talent are up against Unbelievable Jeff FC in SF#2.
In the You’re Ropey League of Shame, SF#3 will pit Holly’s Hamsters against A Whole Lawro B*llocks, and in SF#4 Brazil Nuts will take on The Keane Fifteen.
In the Wooden Spoon matches, Slaven’s Ball-itch will be fighting Back to Square Owen in SF#5 to avoid appearing this final, and the same goes for both “15” Musketeers and WhenTheOWENgetsTough who face each other SF#6.
Link to the lievscores sheet, and the finals results is here.
Deadline for team submission is 3.30pm this Saturday! Good luck all!
3 years, 8 months ago
Cheers Boris, and Tets McGee - All teams need an inspiring and wise manager, truly some words to live by there.
Top 4 seeds all gone! Fancy SF#1 to be a tight one.