Capital 6 Results 30thApril

We were the only losing team in div 6 to score oh and fyi Raiders fans they got walloped 12-1 by western suburbs in div 7

CAPITAL 6:
Brooklyn Northern     0    Lower Hutt Sangham    2
Uni Stallions         1    North Wellington      4
Marist Inter          0    Petone Chicago        3
North Wgtn Villa      3    Uni Accies            0
Wainui Undertakers    3    Miramar Rangers       0

                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA  Pts
Petone Chicago         5  3  1  1  12   5  10
North Wgtn Villa       5  3  1  1  15   9  10
Lower Hutt Sangham     4  3  0  1  13   9   9
Uni Accies             5  3  0  2  13  13   9
Brooklyn Northern      5  3  0  2   7   7   9
Uni Stallions          5  2  1  2  10   8   7
Miramar Rangers        5  1  2  2   8  11   5
North Wellington       5  1  1  3   7  11   4
Marist Inter           4  1  0  3  13  17   3
Wainui Undertakers     5  1  0  4   4  12   3

Fantasy vs Faccies

Looks like the bonus points panned out this way (well deserved all):
Paddy 3
Jamie 2
Nick 1

Paddy catching up a bit of ground after a slowish start, nothing else to report. Lets up these points Saturday, someone do it for the twizle.

Jason	2 (+60), -1 (conceding + 2 goals)	1
Joe	2 (+60), -1 (conceding + 2 goals)	1
Corey	2 (+60), -1 (conceding + 2 goals)	1
Graham	2 (+60)	2
Aaron	2 (+60)	2
Lloyd	2 (+60)	2
Paddy	2 (+60), 3 (1 assist), 3 bps	8
Dan	2 (+60), -1 (conceding + 2 goals)
Nick	2 (+60), 1bp, 3 (assist)	6
Robin	2 (+60)	2
Jamie	2 (+60), 1 (3+ saves), 2bp, -1 (conceding 2 goals)	4

Message from Jules

Hey Rauru,

How are you mate and how are the stallions, still going strong?
The UK was great with a couple of interesting twists and turns thrown in.

What have you been up to?

I am back in NZ but building with the old man in the Wai at the moment but my girlfriend is coming over from the UK in the end of July and we will base ourselves in Welly.

I get down a bit on wkends and would be good to catch up and maybe even try and jump on the footy field later in the season when I am back in Welly.

Hope all is well and say hi to the boys for me.

Jules..

I've also just a look at some of the old posts from when the blog first started. Some funny moments on there. Have a look if you ever get bored (or are on school holidays and have all the time in the world!)

Screw you Accies ...

 ... Spoiling our unbeaten run. And we are still yet to beat them. But looking at the positives, that last period of attack was great, and with a little luck (and a little less shin, sorry)  we could have turned that around. And even though we were under the hammer for that first half, to be only one down was pretty impressive, and then to score so quickly ...

Anyway, no one was in a mood to debrief afterwards, so thughts on the game here, and nominations for Pony/Stallion and Bonus points here (Mike and Panda, get in too).

Typical Stallions shambles pregame - a lot my fault really - instead of doing all those manager things I was down the bank finding a ball for about 10 mins, showed up just before kickoff, screwed up the minutes silence, the strip, positions. At least I charmed the referee into allowing rolling subs.

Trying to think. In terms of bps Nick was a beast wide on the right again (and if there was an assist of the year award that would be a definite contender), Paddy had a big one and was unlucky not to score, Joe did well with a good opponent marauding down the left, Robin and Jamie also had good games. Others did too. Tom was obviously pretty damn handy - great finish.

Pony: Only  a couple come to mind, and both the same person sorry G. Less the open goal miss than the defeaning bellow of the Rhino that followed. That terrible first sub, when Graham whipped off his top and gaily skipped across the field while the game continued and got yelled at by all, and then that terrible, terrible tackle that even made Joe blush.  Don't mean to pick on you G, I'm sure there are other options, my shinning one of them Anyone got anything else?

Stallion moment?

Oh yeah, quite a few of you didn't pay up - I'll take a beer at our next session instead.

Results:

CAPITAL 6:
Uni Accies            3    Uni Stallions         2
North Wellington      0    Brooklyn Northern     2
Lower Hutt Sangham   __    Marist Inter         __ POSTPONED;
Petone Chiacago       3    Wainuiomata           0
Miramar Rangers       2    North Wgtn Villa      2

                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA  Pts
Uni Accies             4  3  0  1  13  10   9
Brooklyn Northern      4  3  0  1   7   5   9
Uni Stallions          4  2  1  1   9   4   7
Petone Chiacago        4  2  1  1   9   5   7
North Wgtn Villa       4  2  1  1  12   9   7
Lower Hutt Sangham     3  2  0  1  11   9   6
Miramar Rangers        4  1  2  1   8   8   5
Marist Inter           3  1  0  2  13  14   3
North Wellington       4  0  1  3   3  10   1
Wainuiomata            4  0  0  4   1  12   0

Fantasy Wasteland vs Petone

Dan & Corey stride out in the wasteland

Not much to get too excited about fantasy wise, plenty of 2 pointers.  But we can't win by huge margins every week I guess. The breakdown:

Paul	2 (+60), 1 (3+saves), 1bp	4
Tangihaere	2 (+60)	2
Spencer	2 (+60)	2
Jason
Joe	2 (+60)	2
Corey	2 (+60), 3 (assist), 2bps	7
Graham
Aaron	2 (+60)	2
Lloyd	2 (+60)	2
Paddy	2 (+60), 5 (mf goal)	7
Dan	2 (+60), 3 bps	5
Nick
Robin	2 (+60)	2
Logan	2 (+60)	2
Rauru	2 (+60)	2
Tristin	2 (+60)	2

Leaderboard:
Dan, Aaron, Paul    22
Tangihaere              21

Still top of table

CAPITAL 6:
Uni Accies            3    Lower Hutt Sangham    4
North Wellington      1    Marist Inter          5
Wainuiomata           0    North Wgtn Villa      2
Petone Chiacago       1    Uni Stallions         1
Miramar Rangers       1    Brooklyn Northern     2

                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA  Pts
Uni Stallions          3  2  1  0   7   1   7
North Wgtn Villa       3  2  0  1  10   7   6
Uni Accies             3  2  0  1  10   8   6
Lower Hutt Sangham     3  2  0  1  11   9   6
Brooklyn Northern      3  2  0  1   5   5   6
Petone Chiacago        3  1  1  1   6   5   4
Miramar Rangers        3  1  1  1   6   6   4
Marist Inter           3  1  0  2  13  14   3
North Wellington       3  0  1  2   3   8   1
Wainuiomata            3  0  0  3   1   9   0

Tristin, the match report can go into the comments for this post. 

Paddy's new freekick technique

Fantasy Spoils vs Wainui

Everyone in the points this week:

The officious subbing situation screwed with our system somewhat, so executive decisions had to be made: everybody gets the full participation points (since no one wanted to sit out a half and it was enforced), but those who played in the backs for half a game get half of the clean sheet points (feels a bit rough to give you all 0 as the system strictly demands). Still works out pretty well for all:

Paul	2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet), 1 (3+saves)	9
Tangihaere	2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet)	8
Spencer	2 (+60), 3 (half game cleansheet)	5
Jason	2 (+60), 3 (half game cleansheet)	5
Joe
Corey
Graham	2 (+60), 3 (half game cleansheet), 3 (assist)	8
Aaron	2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet), 5 (mf goal)	9
Lloyd	2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet), 1 bp	5
Paddy
Dan	2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet), 2bps	10
Nick	2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet), 3 bp	7
Robin	2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet), 5 (mf goal)	9
Logan	2 (+60), 3 (half game cleansheet), 3 (assist)	8
Rauru	2 (+60), 8 (2 goals), 3 (assist)	13
Tristin	2 (+60)	2

So the leaderboard after 2 games: Aaron         20 Tangihaere  19 Paul            18 Dan            17 Disclaimer: All points subject to being wrong.

Formation review ♯3: 4-2-3-1

Despite the overwhelming interest in the last few posts we must regretfully wrap this series up with looking at the 4-2-3-1. What's with 4 bands? See here

How does a team play 4-2-3-1? It is similar to 4-3-3 though the winger play slightly deeper and 2 of the midfielders are more defensive minded instead of 1. There are numerous examples but here is one that illustrates how it is done.

Why might the Stallions play this formation? It creates depth. With the "2" playing more like DCM's they provide support to the defence while allowing more freedom for the wide players and the ACM to attack.

It might seem that it leaves fewer people to get in the box but at times that is a good thing - after a while adding more people into the box just means more chance of getting in each others way. The DCM's are still available for a shot from outside the box or to move the ball somewhere there is more space.

Why might it not be a good idea for the Stallions to play 4-2-3-1? Do we have someone who can play the ACM role - someone who instead of being alongside the striker plays a little deeper, collecting the ball at their feet?

Also like in 4-3-3 the DCM's have to be positionally strong - maintaining a central position, good communication between each other to ensure they don't both go for the same person or make the same run to receive the ball.

And the winner formation is...
Well none (all) of them. They all have strengths and weaknesses which is why they are all still legitimate formations. The point is that do we have the tactical nouse to make changes if things aren't working? Different formations have different positional requirements and if we know how to play those different patterns we'll keep getting results, regardless of the opposition.

My view is that there will be times when we should drop another player into centre midfield to improve our control on the game, and most likely it will be a striker that is replaced. In that situation how do the roles change so that we don't reduce our attacking ability? That is where knowing how to play a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 will come in handy.

Formation Review #2: 4-3-3

Didn't mean to write an essay but too late now.

We come now to the challengers, starting with 4-3-3. The obvious difference is an additional player up front and all midfielders playing a central role. This has the advantage of boosting the engine room (central midfield), and having more attacking presence. It does leave room on the flanks in the midfield and good communication is required to maintain formation. Against opposition 4-4-2's this will definitely not be about beating your opposite number as there won't be so many individual battles. Instead zonal play and being aware of one's position on the pitch is crucial.

For a breakdown of how those paid to play do it see here

Defence
The image hopefully illustrates the defensive zones for individual positions. The points to note here is the overlap between wide defenders (LB & RB's) and the wingers in regards to dealing with wide midfielders. Wingers are responsible until about halfway when they hand over to the fullbacks. Fullbacks need to be comfortable with 2v1 situations where they may be against a CM and wide midfielder. In those instances the fullbacks need to position themselves between ball and goal - regardless of where the wide midfielder is. The last defensive point is the DCM role. Note their defensive zone (see diagram). They have no direct player to mark and should remain central. Their role is to intercept midfield passes, and provide cover when needed.

Attack
On attack the various roles are: Striker - target man. Looks for ball to feet. Their runs will be lateral and looking to drag the CB's out of position to create space for the wingers or ACM to exploit.
Wingers - positioned wide and forward. Runs looking to catch the fullbacks off guard. If the striker is successful at dragging the CB's away the most devasting run will be inside the fullback looking to get the ball on the corner of the penalty box.
ACM - Sits just behind the striker also looking for ball to feet. Support person for the striker to pass to. When in possession short penetrative passes or shot.
CM - roaming role. Similar to the role of a CM in a 4-4-2
DCM - Always looking to receive pass to feet. Most passes to them will be very short (5-10 metres). Accuracy of distribution is very important in this position. Will rarely get in the opposition's penalty box.

Pro's
With essentially 4 players being designated as attack minded (Str, 2 wingers, ACM) the 4-3-3 is a much more aggressive formation. Additionally 3 central midfielders also strengthens the all important engine room. Finally with a more zonal approach there is less requirement for all players to get behind the ball when defending. In a 4-3-3 the only box-to-box player is the CM and theoretically with a DCM passes to the opposition strikers should be intercepted resulting in possession being regained higher up the field.
Con's
More complicated and requires good positional play from a number of players. The DCM role is potentially very difficult as they must always maintain a central position. If things go wrong there is less cover, especially for the defence. As all defenders will likely have responsibility for an opposition player they must continually make a decision whether to mark their man or cover a zone. A wrong decision will leave a gaping hole in the centre.

Personnel
DCM must have good situational awareness, knowing their place on the field. Good distributor and good control on the ball, always being available for the pass.
The 3 front players need to be active - looking to create space fby losing their marker. The amount of trouble those 3 players make will determine whether there are any opposition midfielders available to break forward if they do win the ball.
The defence, especially fullbacks, need to be comfortable with zonal marking. Position is all important - close enough to pressure their man should they get the ball but also with an eye on what is going on with the other defenders to provide support if needed.

Formation review ♯1: 4-4-2

With murmerings that the changes to formation may be coming to the end and Corey having to resign himself to playing an Alves type role, just what is the best formation for the Stallions? Like anything in life it won't work if you haven't got the personnel, however different formations do have different strengths and weaknesses.

This is the start of a series of three where different formations will be analysed. In the series the Stallions traditional 4-4-2 will be put up against the more attacking 4-3-3 and the more defensively secure 4-2-3-1. Each will get a brief overview of how it's played on attack and defence (according to what i think based on how realistically we could implement what top flight teams can do) and pro's, con's, and personnel to make it work.

Hang on you might say why not put up a 4-1-3-2? The reason is I can't be stuffed and looking at articles from the font of all tactical wisdom (i.e. zonal marking) there is no way we could realistically play this which tends to have a narrow midfield and full-backs overlapping on the outside to provide width (whatever Corey). First up - the 4-4-2

4-4-2
The Stallions bread and butter formation. We know how to play it (sort of), the roles are relatively obvious and we got promoted last year using it - but what is it?

Attack
Width is provided by the wide midfielders who, when we've got the ball, will be close to the touchline. For the most part they are looking for balls down the wing to run onto. With only 2 central midfielders there is a lot of space in the centre of the park and passes directly from defenders to strikers should be relatively common. Strikers then have the option to lay off to wide midfielders taking off down the flank or back to central midfielders to switch the play. When the ball does go through the centre midfield it doesn't stay long with the majority of ball passing quickly towards the strikers or distributed to the wide midfielders where the space should be
Defence
When playing against other 4-4-2's the opposition strikers tend to be marked by one centre-back and the wide back which is closest to the side with the ball. The other centre back is cover and the wide back on the opposite side keeps an eye on the wide midfielder. This of course may change with the most obvious being the wide back on the opposite side of the field to the ball being the free defender, with the centre backs taken up with the strikers. Central midfielders mark central midfielders and, theoretically, this leaves one wide midfielder free to either support the central midfield or remain a presence further forward. To bolster the centre midfield a striker can also, fitness permitting, help out making the formation more like a 4-4-1-1 or 4-5-1 in defence.

Pro's
It is a relatively simple formation to play - because it is so common. Defenders defend, midfielders run box to box, and strikers make themselves available and score goals. With most other teams also playing 4-4-2's it is fairly obvious who your opposite player is and this turns the game into a series of 1-on-1's. Also if we assume each team wants 1 more defender than striker then the spare man, based on a man marking strategy, will be a defender, who is less likely to cause trouble on attack.
Con's
There is a lot of space in the centre midfield and whoever owns the ball can make the opposition do a lot of running and hence tire them out. It is no exagerration that the centre midfield is the engine room of the team. This formation puts a lot of emphasis on the centre midfield winning their individual battles with their opposite number. Win the battle and everything is sweet, lose and we'll be running around like tired headless chickens chasing our own tails.
The next issue is not really a con but it does raise a question - how do we address the central midfielder that sits just behind the strikers? Last season the games when we were under serious tactical pressure (as opposed to just being off our game) there was often an opposition player that would operate centrally between the midfield and defence. Where the player came from differed, it may have been a striker dropping off, it might have been a team playing an extra central midfielder instead of a wide player, or it might have been a wide midfielder making central runs, or a central midfielder that didn't track back and defend. Whatever the reason this player would often cause problems , not get picked up and have enough time to make simple short passes either to the corners or direct to strikers. How does the 4-4-2 deal with this when a central midfielder may not be present to pick this player up?

Personnel
The crucial aspects for this formation to be successful is fitness and speed - at least more so than the opposition. The wide midfielders are box to box players - fit and fast(ish). Getting to the box to make a cross or looking to be at the back door to receive the cross when on attack, then getting back and marking the wide man when defending. The central midfield have to be as fit, not as fast, but also strong on the ball. With more space in the midfield chances for interceptions are reduced and winning the centre midfield will be about winning tackles against the opposite number and stopping them from doing the same to you.

Check out this zonal marking link regarding the 4-4-2 formation http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/01/13/teams-of-the-decade-20-sevilla-2005-07/

Heard on the sidelines #1273

Tristin, after the ref tells us that in Div 6 there will be no rolling subs: 'We shouldn't have got promoted then'.

Saturday 16th draw

CAPITAL 6:
Uni Accies	__	Lower Hutt Sangham	__	Kelburn (12.30);
North Wellington	__	Marist Inter	__	Newlands (12.30);
Wainuiomata	__	North Wgtn Villa	__	Prouse 1 (12.30);
Petone Chiacago	__	Uni Stallions	__	Petone 2 (2.30);

Miramar and Brooklyn are playing at Te Whaea on Friday night.

Petone are coming off a 4-2 loss and a 3-0 win so it looks like they can score goals. Gonna be a big game out in Petone. CAn anyone confirm if this is Petone Rec or Petone Memorial? Probably Memorial right? Rec is a rugby ground isnt it?

So far only Jason and Graham are out. Let me know if anyone else cant make it.

5 Reasons why Stallions top the table

There has been a bit of talk about how well we've started the season, formations, clean sheets, etc. So I thought I'd chuck a few things out there as to why we've started so well (other than scoring more goals than the opposition). Here are my top 5 Stallion attributes for why we're on top of the world.

Communication
For 2 games in a row, our communication has been good. Players seem to know what everyone is doing around them. Passes are being made because the person on the ball knows who is on. The opposition are being tracked when we're defending, even those pesky late runners who come in the back door or on the edge of the box. All of that is down to communication - each person letting the rest of us know what he's up to, in defence and attack.

Patience
The last game epitomised this but it was present against Nth Wellington as well. In attack it is using the easy option instead of looking for the miracle ball. Passing backwards and take our time working the ball instead of looking to turn and beat the man everytime.

Off the ball more people are making themselves available for the pass back instead of rushing past the player and leaving them with no option. It is notable that of our 6 goals to date 50% of the assists have been away from goal (Aaron's 2 and Rob's). I could also include the penalty because Gus was running away from goal when he got chopped, and at a stretch the 2 oggies were at least supposed to be parallel to the goal line.

I'd be fascinated to know the number of consecutive passes we've had because I'd think it would be far higher this season than last.

Accuracy
Firstly, and most obviously, the shooting - at least by some in the team. Chance's are being created and they're being taken - as long as it's Aaron doing the taking.

However another example of accuracy is our passing and defence. Some good runs are being rewarded by some excellent passing. Some of this has to do with the above point, our passes are easier and people are making themselves available so they are reaching the target more often. But this notwithstanding there are some very nice direct balls being sent to feet and finding the right player.

Accuracy in defence is not about tackling but in keeping our feet and not allowing them to play. In the defensive 3rd we are swarming the man on the ball. The opposition is not given time and when we inevitably get the chance to clear it we do. So far no lame passes, no miss kicks. At the moment when we get the chance to clear it's gone.

Commitment
People are working hard, getting back in defence, tracking people, making tackles. Nough said

Power
The 2 oggies epitomise this point. Both crosses but hit with power that a deflection results in a goal. There have been some solid crosses going on that was only looking for a touch at the end of it and more goals would have been scored. The strikers are holding the ball up extremely well waiting for support and pushing off all comers. In the attacking 3rd that is what needs to keep happening - playing with intent.
In defence the same has been happening. Jason getting up and dominating the tall guy to a header against Nth Welly, Nick's hassling play and Lloyd getting back up after being decked are all examples

That is my top 5. Interested to hear what others think

Fiennes Sessions!

Even though the Stallions are only on the football field for 90 minutes a week, we somehow manage to extract many more hours of "game-time" off the park. The awarding of the coveted Stallion and the despised Pony, the dishing out of MPV points, the blog entries and polls, the formation discussions and most recently the allocation of fantasy points all bring their whims and fancies. I'm sure we get more off-the-game enjoyment out of football than any other team in Wellington!

One Stallions tradition that seems to be falling out of favour is the fine session at the end of each game. First birthday parties, Pumpkin Patch sales and strict bed-times all seem to be competing with Stallions' precious fine-time, and fine money is being redirected towards nappies and fluffies. As a result, we are losing valuable opportunities to give each other feedback on our play, reprimand un-Stallion-like behaviour, relive magic moments and humiliate each other for giving it 100% and messing up.

One thing that has been working is going for a quick drink straight after the game, at a venue close to where the game has been held. Rather than requiring a separate Father Release Agreement [FRA], these little diversions can go down in the books as unforeseen travel incursions on the way home from football. Conceivably, a knot in ones bootlaces, a tangled net and an important discussion with our game's official referee could take about the same amount of time as a quick round-up after the game. Do we understand each other?

I reckon that our strong start to the season makes this the perfect time to reinvigorate our fine system, and that shorter sessions straight after the game are the best option. For those who will struggle to pay their fines each week, I suggest playing better. But if you're committed to playing crap, there are other options: paying off your fines by doing the laundry each week, thereby earning a Stallions credit. We could also have a system whereby Stallion of the week gets to nominate a worthy charity (within the team only), and that charity case gets their fines for the week wiped. We could also give family men a fines cap and 50 cents off per child. My point is that the fine session is good for the team, and there are ways of working with its challenges without throwing the baby out with the bathwater (which would be a huge fine - we are a family-friendly team).

I look forward to hearing other people's thoughts.

Passing grade

A definite pass mark today for the Stallions – a very enjoyable game and great all around effort to beat Wainui 4-0 at Nairnville. Another clean sheet, another Lister special from 25 yards and another ‘is it a goal or an oggie’ deflection see us top of the table.

A ref under assessment meant no rolling subs which, if anything, helped us settle into good shape and patterns. Nick and Robin brought a lot of wide running and were rewarded with a more passing-oriented game than Stallions fan(s) might have come to expect. 

Paul kicked well up the left, and the passing game paid off for Rauru as his sharp ball for Lloyd at the far post was deflected in. Gus was soon brought down in a clumsy challenge as he turned to shoot in the box, and Rauru made it 2-0 from the spot.

Ten minutes of good defence saw us to the break, where a week of carefully thought out online strategising culminated in Jason’s paper losing to Tangi’s scissors. Dan tucked in for Jase, Gus dropped back right to make room for Tristan upfront, and Graham stood down for Spencer at left back.

Fed by a steady stream of passes from our back four and theirs, our midfield grew in confidence. Aaron to Nick to Rauru to Lloyd to Aaron to goal o’clock from 25 yards.

After a series of threatening corners, a fourth finally came from broken play. A retreating Rob picked up an intercept wide on the right, eased forward, glanced up, and rip-stitched it top locker far post from 35 yards. Mint!

Wainui were a good bunch who played fair and worked hard. They kept looking to attack and were very unlucky to not score in the last minute.

Great to start the season with a couple of enjoyable wins, a bit of time on the ball, and a hint of a pretty settled formation.

Pony: Tristan - whose first touch of the season was to literally stand on the ball when put through on goal.

Stallion: Nick - for a series of strong challenges (and notwithstanding the sideline Piaffe)

Top of the table

Question - which Div 6 team has only kicked off twice in two games? Accies, eat our dust.

Great - effort - yo pony, you owe us a match report

CAPITAL 6:
North Wellington      1    Uni Accies            2
Lower Hutt Sangham    3    Miramar Rangers       4
Brooklyn Northern     0    Petone Chiacago       3
Uni Stallions         4    Wainuiomata           0
Marist Inter          5    North Wgtn Villa      8

                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA  Pts
Uni Stallions          2  2  0  0   6   0   6
Uni Accies             2  2  0  0   7   4   6
Miramar Rangers        2  1  1  0   5   4   4
North Wgtn Villa       2  1  0  1   8   7   3
Petone Chiacago        2  1  0  1   5   4   3
Lower Hutt Sangham     2  1  0  1   7   6   3
Brooklyn Northern      2  1  0  1   3   4   3
North Wellington       2  0  1  1   2   3   1
Marist Inter           2  0  0  2   8  13   0
Wainuiomata            2  0  0  2   1   7   0

Rauru responds to Tangihaere's bossing

All Hail, fantasy points vs Nth Wgtn

Imagine if the season ended now - you would all be celebrating me as golden boot, stallion of the year and fantasy champion! Remember that come August!

First fantasy points of the season, based on a couple of things - the second goal was officially an oggie (interesting honesty call there Gus, very un Gisborne-like). Also using Rauru's proposed system (see earlier post), but I agree with the Anonymous that there should be no points for defence if we concede 2.

So these points are a world apart from last season. It would be great to think that we will get more clean sheets through the season, but since we only got 1 all of last season, these types of point may be hard to come by - just judging by last year's points. Long live big defensive returns, but bring on the forwards joining the party on Saturday! OK, points vs Nth Wellington villa as follows:

Paul 2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet), 1 (3+saves) 9
Tangihaere 2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet), 3 bps 11
Jason 2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet), 1 bps 9
Joe 2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet) 8
Corey 2 (+60), 6 (cleansheet) 8
Graham 2 (+60 - hmmm?), 2 (mf cleansheet) 4
Aaron 2 (+60), 2 ( mf cleansheet), 5 (mf goal), 2 bps 11
Lloyd 2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet) 4
Paddy 2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet) 4
Dan 2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet), 3 (assist) 7
Nick 2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet) 4
Robin 2 (+60), 2 (mf cleansheet) 4
Logan 2 (+60), 3 (assist) 5
Rauru 2 (+60) 2

Nick G

Egg

So anyone keen to watch Nick's season debut at Te Whaea tomorrow night-7.45? Could be good value, a couple of sneaky drinks, watch Nick get yelled at, slip in duck crap. I'm pretty sure that any viewing would be weather dependent, but I'd be up for it if others were ...

Bonus points for anyone who can identify the Stallions unlucky enough to be flanking Nick in this photograph.

Guess who?

Awards vs Nth Wellington

Blogs 4th post of the day - the Stallions are excitable!

Awards from this weekend's game:
Stallion: Aaron (enough said, see Logan's drawing)
Pony -  3 candidates:
Rauru - Some classic misses, notably that 'chip' of the keeper - and especially after using that Beckham video to represent his successful pre-season chipped goal. Apparently the ground was too hard, the ball too small, Rauru was too busy organising the team to do any pre-game shots, Panda was looking at him funny etc etc.
Joe: 'That will be my last rash challenge of the season', umm at least this lasted into the second half of the first game! Bad tackle - but could be worth the assist since they were all complaining and Logan scored.
Dan: First game as a permanent stallion, brings the team into disrepute by falling on his arse during a throw in right in front of their supporters who pointed and laughed. Most impressively, Dan managed to hold onto the ball through all of this.
And the winner is ... Dan, for your second game you will be wearing pink and writing the match report. Nice start!

MVPs: The defense dominant, no doubt. There was a lot of discussion about this, with so many options from a great team effort. But it panned out this way:
3 - Tangihaere
2 - Aaron
1 - Jason

Long may this continue. Fantasy points to come later in the week.

Another Lunchtime kickoff capital draw for April 9-15

CAPITAL 6: North Wellington __ Uni Accies __ Alex Moore 1 (2.30); Lower Hutt Sangham __ Miramar Rangers __ Te Whiti 1 (12.30); Brooklyn Northern __ Petone Chacago __ Happy Valley 1 (12.30); Uni Stallions __ Wainuiomata __ Nairnville 1 (12.30); Marist Inter __ North Wgtn Villa __ Te Whaea (3pm);

Aaron's Goal

This is how I remember it... I'm sure there were a lot more Stallions around, and more passing prior to the goal.

Add your memory of the events in comments, or make you own picture in MSPaint and post!

Oggie or not oggie?

Hopefully this will clear up any confusion about who can claim ownership and assist rights to this goal.

What was it the ref said Aaron? A goal to the attacking team?

Div 6 Results 2nd April 2011 Great game guys

CAPITAL 6:
Uni Accies            5    Marist Inter          3
North Wgtn Villa      0    Uni Stallions         2
Wainuiomata           1    Brooklyn Northern     3
Petone Chiacago       2    Lower Hutt Sangham    4
Miramar Rangers       1    North Wellington      1

                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA  Pts
Uni Accies             1  1  0  0   5   3   3
Lower Hutt Sangham     1  1  0  0   4   2   3
Brooklyn Northern      1  1  0  0   3   1   3
Uni Stallions          1  1  0  0   2   0   3
North Wellington       1  0  1  0   1   1   1
Miramar Rangers        1  0  1  0   1   1   1
North Wgtn Villa       1  0  0  1   0   2   0
Wainuiomata            1  0  0  1   1   3   0
Petone Chiacago        1  0  0  1   2   4   0
Marist Inter           1  0  0  1   3   5   0



I thought we could all do the match report. post
something or things you remember happening in the game

Welcome to Fantasy Island

Damn, thought I would have given more thought to this, but alas ...

Think fantasy was fun last season, but we needed to tweak the points system to even out the different roles.  The basic points allocation is here (about half way down the page).

But how to make sure defenders get the recollection they deserve? I reckon Spencer's idea of doubling the defender's output will go to far in the opposite direction, but think Rauru is onto something with the idea that we go:

Defenders get: 6 points for a clean sheet, 4 points if we concede 2 goals or less but still win, and 2 points if we concede 1 goal and draw. Damn, throw in a goal and the inevitable mvp points and defenders could score big - fair enough too.

That should balance it out nicely and stop the strikers from getting all the glory (midfielders would get half of these points - because last season with the exception of Paddy (on all free kicks, corners etc) midfielders also struggled to score points in relation to strikers - especially the workers who don't get into the box too much - Nick White for example was the one player who jumped out to me last season for fantasy points no where near matching on field performance).

I also wonder if forwards as a collective should lose points for the team not scoring? Seems a bit unfair that defenders lose points for conceding 2 goals or more, but there is no penalty for the team not scoring. (midfielders would lose half of these points for not assisting, just like they lose half points when the defenders lose their points for conceding 2 goals).

There are other things we can do as well - like make sure when bonus points are awarded we don't just look to those who have scored goals etc.

We could perhaps thrown in a couple of non specific points allocation not related to position - a point each for best tackle and pass in a game?

So if we are playing 4-3-3 the wide players will need to be classified as forwards.

A work in progress, throw any ideas this way.