Fantasians
At times our Englishness is a complicated and embarrassing notion – mispronouncing ‘scones’, not returning the Elgin marbles, Nadine Dorries – but we are normally self-deprecating and stoical enough to get through the day without screaming into a pillow. Thankfully, there are also a few things that we are still world leaders in. We’ve got the best plugs on the planet, seamlessly combining functionality, safety, and design into three perfect prongs. Never forget we gave the world Isaac Newton, John Lennon, Sir David Attenborough, Jonny Marr. And then there’s Fantasy League.
How was it for you? Michael and Mr Wright sit top of the pile on 958 points, with Nick (944), James S (910) and Conor (905) in pursuit. Top Dog in the week was Nikita (75 points) with 43 from Son and Salah, ahead of Conor (69) and Ethan (60). Early leaders of MotM for December are Conor, Michael, and Mr Wright on 174, 165 and 161 points respectively – but it’s close.
This week’s photo is a celebratory card from Stockport County fan Arlo Trimbel, son of Pete from this parish. Arlo has adopted Burnley as his second team after feeling sorry for me and all Clarets with our inauspicious start this season, so the 5-0 hammering of Sheffield United recently was a cause for celebration all round and his artistry created this truly magnificent memento which is now part of my Clarets memorabilia collection.
And it’s live A new Premier League TV rights announcement, and this time, just like every other time since 1992, Sky took the majority of games, with TNT hoovering up the scraps. For £6.7bn, they will bring The Best League in the World™ to its domestic audience. Left on the shelf are Amazon. Signing up for free delivery of books, bleach, coffee, bedsheets and whatever flotsam and jetsam drops through the door in oversized cardboard will this week give them the right to watch a full programme of ten Premier League matches. Now, please rate the packaging.
Once next season is done, another round of speculation can begin over when the likes of Apple or even X will start broadcasting Wolves v Bournemouth into viewers’ eyes. Until then, the ancient regime rules. The streaming revolution is not yet here, let’s for the moment, ignore that cloud on the horizon. For what those in the trade call ‘linear TV’, the Premier League is a vital commodity for companies whose bottom line depends on subscriptions. Gary and Jamie need a job too to get them out of the house.
The deal hands just a 4% rise in revenue for the clubs but does include a 70% rise in coverage for Sky, from 128 matches to a whopping 215. TNT stick with their same haul of 52. How that breaks down is that every game that’s not a Saturday 3pm kick-off will be and it’s live! That sacred time continues to be shrouded in the blackout that protects the pyramid below the big boys. Some games are drab though, as forgettable as a temporary passcode, and I can’t watch many games as a neutral so Super Sunday just passes me by. So, there is nothing else on television except all the football, all the time, except Saturday at 3pm. But there will be so much more flippin’ football next season as Sky have a deal to show 1,000 (!) Football League matches per season from 2024/25.
Cymru Premier Pontypridd United could face a 141-point deduction and have had six points immediately docked for player contract breaches. Take note Pep. The Football Association of Wales set up an independent investigation into the allegations and found Pontypridd guilty on 18 charges, losing six points sends them to the bottom of the table. A further 135 points will be deducted if they do anything else naughty. City’s QC was said to be anxiously following the case and Pep was looking into travel arrangements for the away derbies with Wythenshawe Town and Didsbury Rovers should a relegation be enforced.
I keep reading that teams are ‘two points (or even one point) clear’ at the top of the table. In my mind, you have to be at least three points ahead to be clear, but four points would be definitively clear. I have no idea where I got this agitation from. Is there an unwritten rule of a three-point tolerance for being clear or have I imagined it? It’s nonsense. If you’re clear, you can lose and not be caught. Similarly, I read that City were four points ‘adrift’ of Arsenal. Adrift? In fourth place? Please football pedants define ‘clear’ and ‘adrift’ before it goes too far.
I would go further and ask that lexicographical authorities impose the harshest allowable penalties for any usage of a phrase which is clear some way ‘clear’ and ‘adrift’ of acceptable English: I refer of course to the utter horror of being one or more goals ‘to the good’. Just thought I’d get this off my chest before going to a Christmas gathering later, after which I will presumably be several pints ‘to the smashed’.
The WW1 truce In the midst of a brutal war, there is the poignant story of the Boxing Day football match in no-man’s land. How did this momentary peace come about, what impact did it have in the course of the First World War and why did it never happen again? Here’s a link to a great piece on the Imperial War Museum’s Web Site The Christmas truce 1914 The Christmas truce varied in different parts of the front line. Ceasefires were hastily arranged, sometimes to enable the collection and burial of bodies or to allow the trenches to be repaired, in other cases the soldiers simply enjoyed fraternising with the other side.
Ernie Williams: We shared fags and goodies with the Germans, and then from somewhere, somehow this football appeared. It was a proper football. But we didn’t form a team, it wasn’t a team game in any sense of the word. You know it was a kickabout. Everybody was having a go. It came from their side; it wasn’t from our side where the ball came. There’d be at least a couple of hundred involved.
The Christmas truce would come to be remembered as something of a blip in the regular conduct of the war. It conflicted with the patriotic aggression required by both sides. It also served to highlight the great contrast between war and religion: how can you fight a war of aggression while also celebrating Christmas, the traditional time for peace and goodwill? For those reasons the Christmas truce was increasingly seen as awkward to fit into the standard narrative of the First World War. The event was unique and nothing like it happened again to that scale. It made little difference to the course of the War but is remembered as a crucial moment in history. The truce has featured in films, inspired songs, and even featured in adverts. It’s become part of the symbolism used when discussing the First World War, as synonymous with that conflict as poppies, mud, and war poets.
Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee for a Premier League fixture when she officiates Fulham’s match against Burnley on 23 December. She began refereeing in 2010, and in January became the first woman to referee a men’s Championship game. Sam Allison will also take charge of a top-flight match in December, making him the Premier League’s first black referee for 15 years at Sheffield United v Luton on 26 December. Uriah Rennie – the league’s last black referee – retired from officiating in 2009. These are pivotal moments for football. No black or Asian referee has taken charge of a Premier League game since Rennie’s final match in 2008.
Rebecca was the first woman to take charge of an FA Cup third-round tie in 2022 and made history in November when she became the first woman to be involved in the Premier League in a refereeing capacity, taking up the role of fourth official when Manchester United beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
For the weekend Here are some useful links to the Fantasy Football web site. What to do with Haaland? Ones to watch. Everything you need ahead of Friday’s 630pm deadline. Latest Premier League player injuries – club by club news
Best replacement for Haaland? With the City star unlikely to play in Gameweek 17, who could replace him? Details FPL experts discuss the best forwards to own Details
See the best Fantasy line-up for Gameweek 17 Details
Who to captain? The top candidates, including analysis of their opponents’ defences Details whilst FPL experts reveal their plans for the armband Details
Frustrated with the lack of points in your backline? Here are some defenders who are outscoring popular picks Details
Ones to watch: five players for success in Gameweek 17 Details
Well, that’s all until the new year from me. There are games on 15, 16 & 17 December for Gameweek 17, Gameweek 18 is December 21 to 24, Gameweek 19 happens across 26, 27 & 28 December, and Gameweek 20 is December 20 to January 2.
Good luck and wishing you a very Merry Christmas unless you’re ab Everton, Fulham, Liverpool or Villa fan when I hope we ruin your Christmas with Burnley victories!
Ron Manager.
