Thursday, May 18, 2006
Champions League Season Finale
You Will Never Walk Alone 2005
Heartbreak for Arsenal fans, and an "expected" triumph for the Barca faithful. Despite Arsenal being a man down, it took Barca 76 minutes, and an offsides play to score. That was quickly followed-up by another in the 81st minute. Barcelona win the trophy for only the second time in their history. The prediction for the final was incorrect, yielding a CLPI of 93 correct and 83 incorrect predictions since February 22, 2005.
Tune-in before the start of the 2006/2007 season for more updates and predictions.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Champions League Final
You Will Never Walk Alone 2005
It is here. It is the time to annouce the Champion of Europe, and arguably the world! Will it be the defiant Gunners for the first time? Or will it be the Ronaldinho inspired Barca for the second time? The two teams met once in a two-legged match in Group B (1st stage) of the 1999/2000 Champions League. The first game in Spain ended with a 1-1 tie with goals from Luis Enrique and Kanu. The second game at Hughbury ended with a 4-2 Barcelona win thanks to Luis Enrique,Rivaldo, Figo, and Cocu. Bergkamp and Overmars scored the two Arsenal goals. Other facts and figures inlude:
Arsenal
- 10 appearances in the Champions League. Played 90 games, winning 41, drawing 24, and losing 25 with a winning percentage of 45 %.
- In all Champions League appearances, Arsenal scored 132 goals and conceded 93.
- In this year's Champions League tournament, Arsenal is undefeated, winning 8 matches, and drawing 4.
- In this year's Champions League tournament, Arsenal scored 14 goals and conceded only 2.
- This is Arsenal's best finish ever. They have never reached the final before.
- 16 appearances in the Chmpions League. Played 160 games, winning 89, drawing 36, and losing 35 with a winning percentage of 55 %.
- In their Champions League appearances, Barcelona scored 303 goals and conceded 171.
- In this year's Champions League tournament, Barcelona won 8 matches and drew 4, with no losses yet.
ARSENAL 2 BARCELONA 1
Monday, May 08, 2006
English Premier League- Season Finale
You Will Never Walk Alone 2005
The final week DID have some drama after all, with Tottenham losing 4th place to Arsenal thanks to Henry's hatrick in the last game ever at Highbury. The final week of the 2005/2006 season yielded an 8-2 record, including 2 scores on-target, taking the EPLPI to 193 correct and 248 incorrect predictions since March 19, 2005.
Following are some PLAYBALL!!! statistics for the 2005/2006 season related to predictions:
- 340 score predictions for the 2005/2006 EPL season were made. 154 were correct & 186 were incorrect.
- 45 % of the predictions were correct.
- 50 predictions were exact correct scores for a 32.5 % accuray rate in correct predictions, and a 14.7 % accuracy rate overall.
- February recorded the highest number of correct scores, with 8 on-target scores. August was the lowest with only one on-target score.
English Premier League Predictions- Week 38
You Will Never Walk Alone 2005
Another season has come to a close with Chelsea bagging its second title in a row. We will miss Sunderland, West Brom and Birmingham, but it was good while it lasted. What will next season hold for us? It should be an interesting summer in the transfer market. Following are the predictions for this week. Week 37 yielded a 9-6 record, including 3 scores on-target, taking the EPLPI to 185 correct and 246 incorrect predictions since March 19, 2005.
From a fantasy perspective, GOODLUCK!
| | Predicted | Actual |
| Arsenal v Wigan Athletic | | |
| Aston Villa v Sunderland | | |
| Blackburn v Man City | | |
| Bolton v Birmingham | | |
| Everton v West Brom | | |
| Fulham v Middlesbrough | | |
| Man Utd v Charlton | | |
| Newcastle v Chelsea | | |
| Portsmouth v Liverpool | | |
| West Ham v Tottenham | | |
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
English Premier League Predictions- Week 37
You Will Never Walk Alone 2005
This is the week where the scheduling mess is sorted out. Middlesbrough will play 3 matches in 5 days to get back on track. After qualifying for the UEFA Cup final in smashing fashion, they will not mind playing 3 games in 3 days. Chelsea needs one point to seal the second successive EPL title. How ironic would that be if they seal it against 2nd place Man Utd. The most intersting matches of this week are the ones involving teams at the bottom. Portsmouth and Birmingham continue to battle for the last survival spot, while West Bromwich is outside looking in. Portsmouth will need all three points this week to almost stay alive in the EPL, as it will host the Reds in the final week. Birmingham need to win both games against Newcastle and away to Bolton, and pray that Pompey slip up in the final week. West Brom can still survive if Portsmouth loses both games, Birmingham's loses two points, and West Brom win-out. Interesting stuff!!! Due to the wrapping up of matches, and the title, the preview will be restricted to the big game of the week.
Man Utd at Chelsea: After exiting the FA Cup, Chelsea will look to stamp their authority on the EPL, and make the celebrations official. In their 76 meetings at Stamford Bridge, Man Utd won 33, tied 21, and lost 22 matches. Other than pride, there is nothing on the line here.
Fantasy Tip: Stay away from this match, except for the usual Rooney. It is unlikely to be one of those classic encounters, with both sides losing interest once Chelsea scores, or a stalemate is carried into the second half. Save your money and buy elsewhere.
The rest: As mentioned earlier, look for the Birmingham, Portsmouth and West Bromwich matches to be highly competitive and interesting. I highly recommend stocking up on players from these teams, as they are the ones who are playing for survival. I would buy Portsmouth, Birmingham, and if I have to West Brom. My picks would be Lua Lua, Heskey, Pennant, G. O'Neil, and M. Taylor. Kanu, Jarosik, and Gera are good options too. Mainly, at this this stage of the season, stay away from the big names in the big teams. Everything has been settled at the top. Look for players who have something to play for. Owen is expected to return, but I don't expect him to do much. You know what that means now that i've said that! Goodluck!
| | Predicted | Actual |
| Birmingham v Newcastle | | |
| Charlton v Blackburn | | |
| Chelsea v Man Utd | | |
| Liverpool v Aston Villa | | |
| Man City v Fulham | | |
| Middlesbrough v Everton | | |
| Wigan Athletic v Portsmouth | | |
| | | |
| Tottenham v Bolton | | |
| | | |
| Man Utd v Middlesbrough | | |
| West Brom v West Ham | | |
| Sunderland v Arsenal | | |
| | | |
| Blackburn v Chelsea | | |
| | | |
| Bolton v Middlesbrough | | |
| | | |
| Man City v Arsenal | | |
| Sunderland v Fulham | | |
