GW38+ REVIEW – ALL MY LIFE

WELCOME TO THE GW38+ REVIEW – ALL MY LIFE

Wow. It is finally over, the longest fantasy season on record. How is everyone feeling? Well done to everyone for making it all the way through. We will quickly dissect the final GW action before moving on to the important matter of confirming all prize winners. Strap yourself in this may take some time. Thanks to the Foo Fighters for the theme tune.

If you are one of the lucky prize winners in this review then please send us your PayPal or bank details.

It just so happened to be my 40th Birthday celebrations over the weekend and as you can imagine some of my memories are a little hazy for that reason, I think Pete and I watched the Man Utd game in a Pub in Eastbourne but there was a lot going on with all 10 games kicking off simultaneously in a whirlwind of fantasy action. Looking back I know we had just finished fish and chips on the beach when the deadline / team news pandemonium erupted but everything after that I am less certain of. However I have now had time to recover (it takes longer these days) and double check that everything is all still present and correct. Phew, ok lets do this. One last time this season.

All the talk pre game was over which City assets would go biggest, the answer was of course the main man this season KDB (19) who was the highest scoring player overall. Rather apt that he chose the final GW to get his biggest score of the season (he did also score 19 vs Arsenal back in GW17 if anyone can remember that far back).

Elsewhere in midfield there were a trio of popular picks. Mason Mount (14) has arguably been Chelsea’s best performer this season and has represented a bit of a bargain in fantasy terms, I wonder how the attacking assets of The Blues will be priced up next time round. Next up it was Bruno (11) who has been a revelation since his January transfer and will also see a big price hike next season. Jack Grealish (10) also rounded off an impressive season in what will definitely maybe be his last game in the Villa kit.

At the back it was a case of old vs new as old faves Walker (10) and Alonso (11) reminded us of yesteryear whilst Tierney (11) offered a glimpse of what promises to be an exciting career in North London.

Up front it was Aubameyang (16), Adams (13) and King (12) who all went biggest, but realistically only Auba was a viable fantasy option.

At the other end in the nets DDG (10) punished his sellers and finished off a topsy turvey season by his own high standards. Expect a summer of rumours once again that he “could” be on the move!

OK now lets get to the important matter of seeing who won what in the FFUK league. It’s PRIZE TIME!

If you are one of the lucky prize winners then please send us your PayPal or bank details.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the new FFUK League Champion for 2020…. GRANT LAWRIE!

Congratulations to Grant Lawrie (1st) who wins the league and with it the adulation of the community. Oh and a shiny trophy! Grant timed his run to perfection this season as evidenced by his MOTM for July. There was just no stopping him in the end and he wins £500 for his efforts in the league plus £50 for his MOTM July award. Our Champion finished the season on 2417 points and in 1322 position in the world, which is amazing when you consider there are nearly 8 million players!

Runner up was Paul Baker (2nd), the former champ who lead this league for so long and had built himself a nice little buffer with just a handful of weeks to navigate. But a combination of a couple of minor errors combined with the full force of Grant’s run to the summit meant he just missed out on winning his 2nd championship… I say missed out he still wins £400! It was a heroic effort, though I’m sure the prize money softens that blow. Before we move on I must thank Paul for all his efforts with the cups this season and in particular the effort he went to with the inaugural Champions League, such a shame that the lock-down meant we had to cancel it this season and we will all be looking forward to this one next time.

Next up was another Hall of Famer, two time champion and all round legend. Following up on his victory last week in the CONTS mini league, it’s Jamie Stewart (3rd) who wins £300 for his strong end to the season in the main league. Another impressive season for the veteran.

John Parkinson (4th) had his best ever finish (12k overall) and with that takes home £250 for his FFUK league finish. Cracking effort JP. Who knows what may have been if he didn’t TC Dilva (3) on the last day, it could have been so different but still a very successful season that most of us can only dream of.

Completing the prestigious top 5 is another FFUK legend, Tim McEwan (5th), who takes home £200 for his efforts in the league. ‘The Running Man’ was one of 51 FFUKers to give KDB (19) the armband, an inspired move. Finishing strong is the sign of a top fantasy manager, if only his beloved Toffees were as reliable in real life. Tim will be back next season for another run at the prize money and more importantly to organise a brand new Last Man Standing game in addition to the exclusive H2H for the FFUK team next season!

Justin McCarthy (6th) could be forgiven for wondering what may have been after spending the bulk of the season in the top 3. A slight stutter in the final weeks meant a slip back to 6th, but still that earns him £175 and 6th is still a ffuking good effort in this league. Oh and Liverpool won the Premier League so that softens the blow of missing out on this championship.

Next up we go to my right hand man Pete Cronin (7th) finishing the season strong and making his way into the top 10, with a great run of form in July he was always going to be there or thereabouts with the prizes. Pete can be well chuffed with the £150 for his league finish and if he is lucky he might get another mention in prizes later on. Of course there is always our side bet which he wins from me this season on top of any prizes, obviously its through gritted teeth as I say well done mate, I look forward to our tussle once again next time round!

Damien O’Neill (8th) also has multiple reasons to rejoice as his Leeds have finally made it back to the PL, however I am sure that pales into insignificance when he thinks about the £125 he will take home for his fantasy performance this season. We are both looking forward to Chelsea Vs Leeds next season, lets hope we can get to that one! Probably also worth pointing out at this point that the top 8 are all in the FFUK WhatsApp proving just what a valuable resource it is.

Jamie Stephens (9th) was another who had a great season and all to play for in the last few weeks with a cup final to navigate in addition to his lofty league position. He takes home £100 for his league performance. Find out how his cup match went in Paul’s final cupdate of the season.

Completing the Top 10 is former champion Nick Johns (10th). Yes it isn’t quite the dizzy heights of winning the thing but a Top 10 finish is where any hardcore player aims to finish so to squeeze in when it matters most and take home £75 certainly makes it a successful season by anyone’s standards.

This season we were also able to reward those from 11th – 20th, congratulations to all of you and its good to see a sprinkling of previous prize winners but lots of new names in here too:

• 11th Ben Carter £65
• 12th Jordan Davison £50
• 13th Samuel Breen £45
• 14th Chris Webb £40
• 15th Steve Coffen £35
• 16th Dean Cummings £30
• 17th Richard Green £25
• 18th David Harrison £20
• 19th Peter Hayes £15
• 20th Stan Packham £10

But it isnt ALL about the league, there are loads of other prizes that are up for grabs throughout the FFUK season so lets get to some of these now.

MANAGER OF THE MONTH (MOTM)

New for this season we had a £50 MOTM prize each and every month so see below for the winners of these:

• AUGUST Steven Mountford 283 points £50
• SEPTEMBER David Sullivan 215 points £50
• OCTOBER Duncan Galloway 184 points £50
• NOVEMBER Peter Hayes300 points £50
• DECEMBER Neill Goodwin 414 points £50
• JANUARY Steve Coffen 311 points £50
• FEBRUARY Wayne Pearson  277 points £50
• MARCH n/a*
• APRIL n/a*
• MAY n/a*
• JUNE Tim McEwan 304 points £50
• JULY Grant Lawrie 468 points £50

BEST GW SCORES

These are currently the 4 best GW scores but as you may or may not know these are not confirmed until after the FA Cup Final so if you have a score that beats one of these then let us know ASAP so we can verify it. More info here. As it stands right now:

1. Sean Colohan & Joseph Colliass both scored 130 points in GW30+ = they share the £100 prize
2. Steve Fielden scored 115 points in GW34+ = £50 prize
3. Neill Goodwin scored 113 points in GW17 = £30 prize
4. Steven Mountford scored 112 points in GW24 = £20 prize

THE CUPS

As mentioned briefly earlier you should check out Paul’s final CUPDATE which goes into more detail on the two finals but see below for the winners and losers and what they win:

• FFUK CUP WINNER = John Willson £150 PRIZE
• FFUK CUP RUNNER UP = Jamie Stephens £50 PRIZE
• FFUK CUP SEMI = Paul Baker £25 PRIZE
• FFUK CUP SEMI = Justin McCarthy £25 PRIZE

• MILK PLATE WINNER = James Downie £100 PRIZE
• MILK PLATE RUNNER UP = Pete Cronin £50 PRIZE

PROJECT RESTART WEEKLY PRIZE

As detailed in our Project Restart update we were able to offer an extra weekly prize of for the top score in each of the post restart GWs. See here for all the info and please find below the winners of £15 each:

• GW29 Danny Burgess £15
• GW30+ Joseph Colliass £15
• GW31+ Chris Galloway (Wooo) £15
• GW32+ Tim McEwan £15
• GW33+ Jamie Davis £15
• GW34+ Steve Fielden £15
• GW35+ Pete Cronin £15
• GW36+ Peter Hayes £15
• GW37+ Grant Lawrie £15
• GW38+ Ashley Read £15

JUNIOR FFUK CHAMPION

Last but by no means least we also promised a 2nd trophy this season for the best Junior FFUK Fantasy Manager. Anyone in the league who is under 16 is eligible as long as they join the Junior mini league. We will be running this again next season and its already popular with those Mum’s and Dads in the league who want to get their little ones involved. See below for the final league table and it looks like Theo Allen saved his best for last and won the trophy on the final day. Congratulations Theo! Unlucky Tommy. And well played to Dexter, Oliver, Matt and Danny too. Hopefully next season we will have a few more competing for this one. The trophy will be sent out next week.

OK I think that is it. For a complete list of who won what with totals click HERE.

Finally, big thanks to everyone for taking part and special thanks to those that have helped run this league and turn it into something pretty special.

After the strangest of seasons I don’t expect we will have to wait long for the next season’s game to re-open and we will most definitely go again, always with the aim of making this the best fantasy mini league around – tell your friends!

For one last time this season, look after yourself and each FFUKer,

Cheers

Chris

P.S If you are one of the lucky prize winners then please send us your PayPal or bank details.