Following the second West Midlands local derby earlier this week, the editor (a Villa supporter), has begrudgingly dragged himself in front of the keyboard to draw up the very latest Braggers' League table. I realise we are just hours away from the next big derby between the Baggies and the Noses, but if I am going to compete for punters with the BBC, Talk Sport and Sky, the least I can do is crawl out of bed on a Saturday morning and make a pretence at enthusiasm.
One of my mental blocks during the past two weeks was the concept of our Braggers' points, which are awarded on the basis of additional factors, over and above the scores in the pitch. Obviously many of these extra points will be dependant on a degree of discretion and interpretation from my part and as a keen footbal supporter it is only natural that I am going to be biased towards Villa. I make no apologies for this as, like all true soccer fans, it is my natural disposition to genuinely and tangibly hate the rest of you and will pull every trick in the book to make sure that Villa finish top. This being the reality of the situation, it is unlikely to attract fans of the other 4 sides to the website knowing that it's ultimately going to be stitched up so Villa win the League on the basis of every abitrary bonus point I can lay my hands on.
On reflection therefore, I think that whilst the award of discretionary Braggers' points is potenially a lot of fun, the positions of the five teams in the League table should reflect the points gained from the actual matches. I am therefore keeping a column for bonus points awarded on the basis of our original list of silly regulations, but these will not count in the positions of the teams in the League which will be based on the standard points system employed by people like the Stourbridge and District, Warwickshire Leagues etc, the FA, UEFA and those other ones who run the World Cup.
It is with very mixed feelings therefore that I publish the latest League Table with Wolves remaining on top, Stoke in second place on goal difference, Villa at the bottom (for flip's sake!) and the Noses and Baggies poised to battle it out for the latest points.
The bonus points shown on the table were awarded jointly to Stoke and Villa for the highest incoming transfer fee of £8 million for Kenwyne Jones and Stephen Ireland and to Villa for players appearing in recent internationals (Ashley Young for England and Stiliyan Petrov for Bulgaria).
No comments:
Post a Comment