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Golden Boot Game Web Log

Week #23 - In Which 'Forest Forever' Post Week's Best Score

Published: 22 February 2024


INTRODUCTION

From the earliest beginnings of the Golden Boot Game, when there were very few prizes to be won, the Controllers have always been keen to ensure that the winners of those prizes should receive them. On the rare occasions when we were unable to supply the advertised prize, we have always tried to replace it with an equivalent. We have gone out of our way to extend deadlines, provide alternatives for players from outside the UK, and provide replacements when prizes have not been delivered or not been up to standard. We did this because we believe that when you are promised a prize, you should receive it. However, we have found that offering more prizes does nothing to increase our player numbers, so maybe we overrate the prize element.

It must be said that none of the Controllers are people who don’t know where the next bottle of single malt is coming from. When our backers pulled out after the pandemic, we were quite happy to fund the Golden Boot Game for three seasons to see if we could make it successful. In the end, the rise in interest rates means we will have a surplus on our budget. There are already plans to get the past and present Controllers together to mark our 21 seasons running the game. As always, it is difficult to get everyone together at the same place and time but we are working on it.

REVIEW OF WEEK #23

Overall more than half of the Golden Boot Game selections in Week #23 scored. No team had more than six scorers but every team had at least two. As usual Haaland had most selections (25) and with 22 8-point picks he provided most points. Saka’s double had sixteen selections, as many as Watkins and Hojland combined and worth a lot more points. Gakpo’s two-in two return helped just two teams. Nunez, with seventeen selections, provided the third best points haul ahead of Salah who appeared a dozen times.Of the other eleven single scorers, Toney had eleven selections and the other ten were all in single figures.

Forest Forever were one of three teams with six scorers, one of two with eight goals but the only team with 43 points. The Magic Magpies NCFC were the only team with three double scorers, getting 38 points from just four scorers and no Haaland. Silly Rockets also bagged 38 points without Haaland but needed five scorers, while Pain in the Arsenal were a point behind despite eight Haaland points.

None of the top seven teams in the standings posted an above average score in Week #23 and none of them changed their position in the standings. Upforthecup and fdringo had equal scores and remain separated by a single point. Magic Eight Balls slipped a couple of points further back in third, allowing fourth placed Sofy to close in slightly. Both Magic Eight Balls and Upforthecup hit the hundred goals mark with the league leaders reducing the difference to just two goals. I expect the other three teams in the top five will be joining them next Week.

THE BANG AVERAGE GAME

It was something of a topsy-turvy Week in the Bang Average Game. Most of the above average scores went to teams who had previously been below average, while most of the leaders posted below average scores. The top three teams all matched each other’s scores leaving Sofy with a 79 point lead over fdringo going into the final Week while Upforthecup in third place are a further 46 points back. Only Pain in the Arsenal of the above average scorers made a significant impression on the leaders but, despite moving up to fourth place, they are still over 150 points behind. The maths says this kind of gap can be closed but it is statistically unlikely. Only eight Premier League matches next Week actually helps the chasers, making lower scoring and bigger percentage gaps more likely. In any event, it is going to take a Red Rum finish to prevent Sofy taking the prize (Google it if you are under sixty.).

THE GOLDEN BOOT CUP – ROUND 3 DRAW

The draw for the Quarter Finals of this season’s Golden Boot Cup was made on Monday 19th February. The teams were drawn in the following order:
- Weakenders versus fdringo;
- Bury Wanderer versus Sofy;
- Magic Eight Balls versus Tels boot boys;
- Alabangers versus Molineux Marauders.
These ties will be played in Week #25 which begins on 2nd of March. If any replays are needed, they will take place in Week #26. We will preview these Quarter Final ties in next Week’s weblog.

COMING UP IN WEEK #24

Week #24 has only eight Premier League matches scheduled. Four clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Luton and Spurs, do not have a match. The other sixteen Premier League clubs each play one match, as usual. The first matches in Week #24 kick off at 15:00 on Saturday afternoon. This means that the selection deadline for Week #24 of the Golden Boot Game is at 14:00 (2 pm) on Saturday 24th February.

There are six matches in total on Saturday, followed by just one on Sunday. The last match of Week #24 sees West Ham play Brentford on Monday evening. We will update our website shortly after the final whistle at the London Stadium. We should also be able to let you know the winners of the Bang Average Game on Monday night.

Our next weblog will be published late on Wednesday 28th February 2024. As well as looking back at how the Bang Average Game was won, we will be looking ahead to the Quarter Finals of the Golden Boot Cup. We will also preview our penultimate Hot Spot Game, the Total Goals Game and there will be the usual round up of the scoring in the Golden Boot Game.


Recent Web Logs Available

  • 22/02/2024 - Week #23 - In Which 'Forest Forever' Post Week's Best Score
  • 28/02/2024 - Week #24 - In Which 'Sofy' Win The Bang Average Game Prize
  • 06/03/2024 - Week #25 - 'Magic Eight Balls' Lead & Go Through In Cup
  • 14/03/2024 - Week #26 - Bournemouth Goals Give 'M1' Week's Best Score
  • 21/03/2024 - Week #27 - Most Teams Draw Blank As 'Bury Wanderer' Win Week

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