2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score   (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Badger gives you 2 points

The prize for winning the league is one rep point.

Cup games: In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. However, if you do predict a draw and it's a match that won't be going to a replay, you can get a possible extra point by stating which of the two teams you think will eventually win.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  


At the end of the season, the winner of group 2 and the bottom of group 1 will swap places in what is commonly known as "promotion" and "relegation". It's something that most football fans will be familiar with, unless you're a fan of Liverpool or Arsenal or one of those other fashionable clubs.

The second placed player in group 2 will then have a play off with the player who finishes second from the bottom in group 1 to decide whether they will be going up, down or staying where they are.

We're going to have two seasons in one though, just to try and make it a bit more interesting and not so long drawn out. The first season will end on the Boxing Day fixtures, with the play offs being on the dates of the Twixtmas fixtures and the NYD fixtures.

The second season will start the following week, which is usually the FA Cup 3rd round, finishing on the last game of the League One season. Then another period of relegation/promotion play off games, taking in such fixtures as the EFL play offs, FA Cup Final, UEFA finals and such like.

Each group will have it's own set of fixtures. Both groups will have the Town games, with scorers to predict as before. Then it will be a split of League One fixtures and bonus matches, hopefully around ten, eleven or twelve games per Matchday.

The random badger is restricted to three goal scorers in any of the fixtures in your group.

Here's how that will appear at the end of the fixture list. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.......


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Any of those will score two points if correct. No minus points for getting it wrong.

Postponed matches will only count if the match is re-played before the next Matchday is under way. Abandoned matches will be awarded half the points for the score at the time of abandonment, so 1 point if you have the correct result, 2 points if you have the correct score.

Substitute or scorer in one of the Town games:- These will be only be allowed if you change them before the match involved has kicked off.

Prediction League Archive: https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=12830



Division One table after Matchday 11:

1. themaclad = 197 pts
   
2. Baggiebob(BBB) = 195 pts
   
3. St Charles Owl = 194 pts
   
4. jjamez = 187 pts
   
5. Lord Snooty = 164 pts
   
6. SHEP_HTAFC = 163 pts
   

Saturday October 26th:
Town v Exeter
Town scorers:
Exeter scorers:

Mansfield Town v Birmingham City (12:30)
Bolton Wanderers v Peterborough United
Cambridge United v Burton Albion
Charlton Athletic v Wrexham
Rotherham United v Stevenage

Tuesday October 29th:
Lincoln City v Northampton Town
Stockport County v Reading

Bonus matches:
Saturday:
Championship:
West Bromwich Albion v Cardiff City

Tuesday:
EFL Cup (last 16):
Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday

Wednesday:
Manchester United v Leicester City
Preston North End v Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

1. neonfoxinthebox = 217 pts
   
2. Devongone = 211 pts
   
3. theo_luddite = 206 pts
   
4. ritchiebaby = 193 pts
   
5. WakeyTerrier = 169 pts
   
6. Amelia Chaffinch = 154 pts
   

Saturday October 26th:
Town v Exeter
Town scorers:
Exeter scorers:

Reading v Bristol Rovers (12:30)
Lincoln City v Stockport County
Northampton Town v Crawley Town
Shrewsbury Town v Barnsley
Wycombe Wanderers v Leyton Orient

Monday October 28th:
Blackpool v Wigan Athletic

Tuesday October 29th:
Stevenage v Bolton Wanderers

Bonus matches:
Saturday:
League Two:
Morecambe v Chesterfield (12:30)

Sunday:
Premier League:
Arsenal v Liverpool (16:30)

Wednesday:
Scottish Premiership:
Ross County v Hibernian

EFL Cup (last 16):
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Newcastle United v Chelsea

*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Town injury news:- As far as I know, Koroma is out for the next few weeks, as are Helik and Hodge. And now Sorensen is out for 8 weeks.

Ward, Healy and Kane are back in action.

As for Exeter, their star signing from us, Pat Jones, is also a long term injury.

Tuesday 22nd October

Barrow 2-3 Notts County
Cheltenham 0-2 Bradford City
Chesterfield 2-1 Colchester
Doncaster 3-0 Bromley
Fleetwood 2-2 Crewe
Gillingham 1-0 Newport
Harrogate 0-2 Port Vale
MK Dons 1-1 Accrington
Salford City 2-1 Swindon
Tranmere 2-1 Grimsby
Walsall 5-0 Carlisle
Wimbledon 2-0 Morecambe

League Table After Match day 12

Dancing - 232
Devon - 228
Maclad - 213
Spireitematt - 213
Amelia - 208
Lord Snoots - 200
St Charles - 188
SaltergateBorn - 186

Words fail me.

Tooley's Take on our website is the kindest take possible on a dire evening in Newport. We won 0-3 but it was an exercise in survival for those watching. The beautiful game this wasn't. The idiot goal stolen by Markanday after 40 seconds comforted us as we groaned that at least we were winning.

First, a confession, as I slowly decline towards dementia, I might occasionally refer to our Kenny-Everett-handed young keeper as Marshall. He's called Thompson I know, but my first crush was on Marshall Thompson, the lead in Daktari. Luckily he was more interested in Clarence the cross-eyed lion. But all these years on I can't stop accidentally calling our keeper Marshall. Quite soon my affections transferred to Patrick Macnee, Steed from The Avengers. I obviously went for the more mature man! Hopefully we can avoid signing any players whose names trigger "my befuddled brain" (a quote from Procul Harum) to rename them Macnee or Steed.

Bizarrely having watched us struggle last week against a man of only 6'5" Newport left 6'9" Kyle Hudlin sprawled on the bench. He finally shambled apologetically onto the pitch with the game two-thirds over, his body language shrinking him by several inches. He had chosen to curate his hair into two ill-formed non-matching antlers flopping unevenly against their elastic bands. His Auntie-Aleysha's shortie bedsocks were clearly designed to emphasise the abnormally long and spindly legs emerging unwillingly from aero-dynamically-unsustainably voluminous shorts.

Kyle won a couple of headers and hit a post with a cross desperately clawed away by our goalkeeper Daktari. Soon Grimes leapt into him to challenge for a header, leaving Hudlin grounded like a disassembled spider on the turf. That prompted Will Grigg to demonstrate that centre forwards need not leap high to score goals, cleverly adding two from an apparently somnolent position in the the six-yard box.

Newport's best player was undoubtedly Kamwa, whose focus was spot-on throughout, producing the odd snapshot and enlivening a rather passive attack with an entire album of tricks. The permanently argumentative Wildig eventually had to be substituted. Apparently he is to be confined to a telephone box to see whether he can manage to start an argument there.

Our best player was undoubtedly Ty Williams who chummed up with Araujo to handle everything half-heartedly thrown at them. Dobra performed as if choreographed by Dancing (willdoit) and was soon voted off by the audience.

It was a bad bad game and Newport will be well-advised to employ a dresser for Kyle Hudlin in future. Berry, glued to the bench, and Drummond and Hobson on loan must have wondered, but it is hard to argue with a 0-3. We did deserve to win and Newport certainly deserved to lose.

Last night I watched Exeter playing at Shrewsbury, the only EFL game happening in England. One of the Assistant Refs was a woman. She unfortunately made her presence obvious by missing a fairly glaring offside on Exeter's second goal and this set me wondering .........

Why was she on the line when every other Assistant in England would have been available? Why, to be judged any good, and probably to satisfy herself of her own capabilities, must be she measured in the male game?

Whilst all football is desperate for competent officials why, when there aren't anywhere near enough women within the women's game in management, coaching, and officiating roles is the standard for women that they are as good as men. And are men that good anyway?

I suppose I will be accused of being very Joey Barton if I suggest women should be populating and dominating their game and proving their worth in that sphere before being, or even wanting to be, judged against men. I imagine there are Shrewsbury fans muttering about women running the line, when in fact errors of judgement are common to all those thrust into that unenviable position. If human judgement were immaculate, would we spending our time watching VAR and ruling idiot lines on digital pitches?

Of course a woman can officiate in a men's game, but why should she need to prove it? What we've got at the moment is just another form of tokenism. I hope women don't fall for it. All it can do is hand women a second-class status as soon as they make a mistake. And "you're not fit to referee" is already one of the chants most commonly heard ........

I know we put the women's game back over half a century by banning them, but we can't make reparation by urging them to become us. The most we can do is assist them in any way they wish to develop their game. Even a gay man like me has noticed women are different. Celebrate it! Women are wonderful.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqz0xvyp82o

The Duke of Edinburgh has formally dedicated a bridge to a Barnsley, Manchester United and England footballer who died in the Munich air disaster.

Barnsley-born Tommy Taylor, who played during the 1950s and died aged 26, was widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his time.

Barnsley Council invited residents to submit name suggestions for the pedestrian bridge, which links Oakwell football ground with the town centre.

At a ceremony on Thursday, Prince Edward revealed a plaque at the Tommy Taylor Memorial Bridge's steps.

Mr Taylor was born in Smithies and worked at Wharncliffe Colliery as a teenager, playing for Smithies United, Barnsley and then Manchester United.

In March 1953, Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby famously paid £1 to Barnsley’s tea lady Lily Wilby to avoid Taylor becoming the first £30,000 player.

At a ceremony on Thursday, Prince Edward was joined by about 100 people in Glass Works Square who watched the plaque unveiling.

Audrey Taylor, the footballer's sister-in-law, said: "It's important isn't it, that his name is going to live on now.

It was a short life he had, but now this will help him live on."

Former cricket umpire Dickie Bird OBE, who played football with Taylor while children, remembered the player's death leaving people "shocked and stunned".

"He was such a good player," he said.

"What would those Manchester United players have done in time if they’d have lived?

"They’d have broken all the records going."

The air crash, on 6 February 1958, happened on Manchester United's return from a European Cup tie in Belgrade.

Eight players, three club staff, eight journalists, two crew members and two passengers were killed.

Wombwell-born defender Mark Jones, who was among the 23 victims, was also remembered during Thursday’s unveiling.

Saddened to hear of the untimely death of Albion fan and one direction singer Liam Payne.
His music wasn’t bad but his choice of football club was impeccable.
Heart felt condolences and best wishes go out to his family and friends.

RIP Liam, go and entertain Jeff, Cryille and Laurie. Once a baggie always a baggie.

Hartlepool United have relieved manager Darren Sarll of his duties after just 15 games in charge.

The former Stevenage, Yeovil Town and Woking boss was appointed in April after the club decided not to extend Kevin Phillips' contract.

Sarll's final game saw Pools suffer a 3-1 FA Cup fourth qualifying-round replay defeat at National League North Brackley on Tuesday night, having drawn 1-1 at Victoria Park on Saturday.

Former Middlesbrough boss Lennie Lawrence will take over as interim manager with Pools sitting 16th in the National League, and the club's board promising a further update 'in due course', external.

Sarll left Yeovil to take over at Woking in March 2022 but despite leading the Cards to a fourth-placed finish in the National League in 2022-23, was sacked last November after a run of eight defeats in 10 games.

The 41-year-old made a positive start to this season, guiding Pools to seven points from their opening three games, all without conceding a goal.

However a run of six scoreless outings in a seven game stretch which earned just five points saw pressure mount, despite a dramatic come-from-behind win in his last league game in charge against Sutton.

Former Pools boss Phillips was unveiled as AFC Fylde manager last week.