THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

You can find the FFUK Champions League Google sheet here with the very latest & read below the most recent Cupdate from Bakes

5th April 2021: Qualifying Update

Since my last update the first and second qualifying rounds of the FFUK Champions League have been completed. The following were the results of the first qualifying round:

Club	Manager	Points		Points	Club	Manager	Winning Manager
Celtic (SCO)	Grant Lawrie	53	vs	66	KR Reykjavik (ISL)	Jordan Davison	Jordan Davison
Legia (POL)	Fabian Mascoll	39	vs	40	Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart	Jamie Stewart
Ferencváros (HUN)	Luay Alfaham	46	vs	50	Djurgården (SWE)	Harvey Smith	Harvey Smith
Crvena zvezda (SRB)	justin Mc Carthy	49	vs	58	Europa (GIB)	Ameet Shah	Ameet Shah
Sheriff (MDA)	John Stevens	46	vs	60	Fola (LUX)	Joseph Mulhern	Joseph Mulhern
Connah’s Quay (WAL)	Chris Smith	54	vs	47	Sarajevo (BIH)	Steven Almond	Chris Smith
Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)	Nick Maston	69	vs	45	Ludogorets (BUL)	Duncan Galloway	Nick Maston
Floriana (MLT)	David Harrison	56	vs	60	CFR Cluj (ROU)	John Harper	John Harper
Ararat-Armenia (ARM)	Andrew Fogaty	56	vs	38	Omonia (CYP)	Tom Ryan	Andrew Fogaty
Dinamo Brest (BLR)	Tom Henshall	50	vs	46	Astana (KAZ)	Dan Hepworth	Tom Henshall
Qarabağ (AZE)	Joseph Colliass	59	vs	54	Sileks (MKD)	Jamie Stephens	Joseph Colliass
M. Tel-Aviv (ISR)	Steve Smith	35	vs	60	Riga (LVA)	Danny Burgess	Danny Burgess
Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)	Kaine Sinclair	38	vs	45	Tirana (ALB)	Dean Cummings	Dean Cummings
Molde (NOR)	Lewis Bell	46	vs	45	KuPS (FIN)	Paul Taylor	Lewis Bell
Celje (SVN)	Samuel Breen	45	vs	44	Dundalk (IRL)	Chris Webb	Samuel Breen
KÍ (FRO)	Damien O’Neill	51	vs	43	Slovan Bratislava (SVK)	Josh Paxman	Damien O’Neill
Flora (EST)	Sean Colohan	52	vs	57	Sūduva (LTU)	Rob Harding	Rob Harding

… and the second qualifying round played out as follows:

KR Reykjavik (ISL)	Jordan Davison	41	vs	48	Djurgården (SWE)	Harvey Smith	Harvey Smith
CFR Cluj (ROU)	John Harper	53	vs	62	Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)	Nick Johns	Nick Johns
Young Boys (SUI)	Craig Smith	53	vs	42	KÍ (FRO)	Damien O’Neill	Craig Smith
Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart	66	vs	47	Ararat-Armenia (ARM)	Andrew Fogaty	Jamie Stewart
Sūduva (LTU)	Rob Harding	40	vs	37	Riga (LVA)	Danny Burgess	Rob Harding
Celje (SVN)	Samuel Breen	18	vs	68	Molde (NOR)	Lewis Bell	Lewis Bell
Dinamo Brest (BLR)	Tom Henshall	35	vs	45	Connah’s Quay (WAL)	Chris Smith	Chris Smith
Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)	Nick Maston	28	vs	40	Midtjylland (DEN)	Tom Page-Chatton	Tom Page-Chatton
Tirana (ALB)	Dean Cummings	35	vs	47	Europa (GIB)	Ameet Shah	Ameet Shah
Qarabağ (AZE)	Joseph Colliass	39	vs	54	Fola (LUX)	Joseph Mulhern	Joseph Mulhern
AZ Alkmaar (NED)	Matt Baldwin	29	vs	43	Plzeň (CZE)	James Downie	James Downie
PAOK (GRE)	Mark Leathem	50	vs	50	Beşiktaş (TUR)	Richard Green	Mark Leathem
Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO)	Peter Hayes	37	vs	37	Rapid Wien (AUT)	John Parkinson	John Parkinson

The second qualifying round saw two draws, in the bottom two matches, which were decided by overall rank. The competition rolls on to the third qualifying round taking place in Gameweek 30.

Bakes

12th March 2021

*** NEWSFLASH ***

A change to the rules for the Champions League: Hits WILL NOW BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT when calculating weekly scores. The new export to excel function from LiveFPL makes this very easy to do, and it’s felt that the integrity of the competition is better maintained by taking hits off total scores. This change would not have affected the preliminary round results. It will be effective from the first qualifying round.

Bakes

12th March 2021

Club	Manager	Points		Points	Club	Manager	Winning Club	Winning Manager
Tre Fiori (SMR)	Steven Coffen	74	vs	110	Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart	Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart
Drita (KOS)	Ben Wright	89	vs	92	Inter Club De Escalades (AND)	John Gleeson	Inter Club De Escalades (AND)	John Gleeson
Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart	66	vs	66	Inter Club De Escalades (AND)	John Gleeson	Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart

FFUK Champions League Preliminary Round was contested over the course of GWs 26 and 27. The semi-finals saw victories for Jamie Stewart (comfortably) and John Gleeson (marginally). There were ABSOLUTE SCENES in the final with the tie ending in a 66-point draw. The terms of the competition dictate that the winner be decided on the basis of overall rank which Jamie shaded 1819 v 1785. Hard luck John! Jamie Stewart, and his Linfied minnows, progresses to face Fabian Mascoll in the first qualifying round:

Celtic (SCO)	Grant Lawrie		vs		KR Reykjavik (ISL)	Jordan Davison
Legia (POL)	Fabian Mascoll		vs		Linfield (NIR)	Jamie Stewart
Ferencváros (HUN)	Luay Alfaham		vs		Djurgården (SWE)	Harvey Smith
Crvena zvezda (SRB)	justin Mc Carthy		vs		Europa (GIB)	Ameet Shah
Sheriff (MDA)	John Stevens		vs		Fola (LUX)	Joseph Mulhern
Connah’s Quay (WAL)	Chris Smith		vs		Sarajevo (BIH)	Steven Almond
Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)	Nick Maston		vs		Ludogorets (BUL)	Duncan Galloway
Floriana (MLT)	David Harrison		vs		CFR Cluj (ROU)	John Harper
Ararat-Armenia (ARM)	Andrew Fogaty		vs		Omonia (CYP)	Tom Ryan
Dinamo Brest (BLR)	Tom Henshall		vs		Astana (KAZ)	Dan Hepworth
Qarabağ (AZE)	Joseph Colliass		vs		Sileks (MKD)	Jamie Stephens
M. Tel-Aviv (ISR)	Steve Smith		vs		Riga (LVA)	Danny Burgess
Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)	Kaine Sinclair		vs		Tirana (ALB)	Dean Cummings
Molde (NOR)	Lewis Bell		vs		KuPS (FIN)	Paul Taylor
Celje (SVN)	Samuel Breen		vs		Dundalk (IRL)	Chris Webb
KÍ (FRO)	Damien O’Neill		vs		Slovan Bratislava (SVK)	Josh Paxman
Flora (EST)	Sean Colohan		vs		Sūduva (LTU)	Rob Harding

Good luck to the 34 teams contesting the ties.

Bakes

19th February 2021

Gameweek 24 is now complete and with Gameweek 25 just minutes away as I write, I thought it was worth updating on the final qualifiers for the FFUK Champions League. Note this doesn’t start until Gameweek 26, so we have some breathing space to get the draw done and for everyone to get the Champions League game faces on! The first 62 qualifiers are listed below and they haven’t changed so I’ll just add here the final 17 managers who have qualified via Gameweek 24. This was the final opportunity to qualify and went to the top 17 managers in Gameweek24, who had not already qualified via other means. Due to eight teams having already qualified, the 25th highest scoring manager Fabian Mascoll made it through with 105 points, edging out three managers with 104 who hadn’t qualified. Fortunately it didn’t need to go to a tie-breaker. The full list of Gameweek 24 qualifiers is as follows:

63	Kaine Sinclair	GW24
64	Tom Page-Chatton	GW24
65	tom newman	GW24
66	Dan Humby	GW24
67	Lewis Bell	GW24
68	Mark Tarbox	GW24
69	Luay Alfaham	GW24
70	Brian Cullen	GW24
71	John Stevens	GW24
72	Liam Green	GW24
73	Craig Smith	GW24
74	danny Fielden	GW24
75	Harvey Smith	GW24
76	Steve Smith	GW24
77	Duncan Galloway	GW24
78	Paul Taylor	GW24
79	Fabian Mascoll	GW24

Look out for the draw over the coming days, and check out all the details on the FFUK Champions League google sheet.

Bakes

12th February 2021

I write on the eve of Gameweek 24, the final week of qualifying for the FFUK Champions League. Most of the 79 places available have already been secured – just 17 places remain to be filled. With the automatic slots now taken, it’s just the final last ditch mad scramble. Those 17 places will go to the top 17 teams in FFUK in GW24 (among those who have not already qualified) and get this ….. hits don’t count. This is no-holds-barred, let me in and I don’t care what I have to do to get there time!

So let’s have a look at who has qualified and how they made it:

1	Grant Lawrie	Top 20 from 2019/20
2	Paul Baker	Top 20 from 2019/20
3	Jamie Stewart	Top 20 from 2019/20
4	John Parkinson	Top 20 from 2019/20
5	Tim McEwan	Top 20 from 2019/20
6	Justin Mc Carthy	Top 20 from 2019/20
7	Pete Cronin	Top 20 from 2019/20
8	Damien O’Neill	Top 20 from 2019/20
9	Jamie Stephens	Top 20 from 2019/20
10	Nick Johns	Top 20 from 2019/20
11	Ben Carter	Top 20 from 2019/20
12	Jordan Davison	Top 20 from 2019/20
13	Samuel Breen	Top 20 from 2019/20
14	Chris Webb	Top 20 from 2019/20
15	Steve Coffen	Top 20 from 2019/20
16	Dean Cummings	Top 20 from 2019/20
17	Richard Green	Top 20 from 2019/20
18	David Harrison	Top 20 from 2019/20
19	Peter Hayes	Top 20 from 2019/20
20	Stan Packham	Top 20 from 2019/20
21	John Willson	FFUK Cup winner 2019/20
22	James Downie	Milk Plate Winner 2019/20
23	Theo Allen	Junior Champion 2019/20
24	Nick Maston	MOM September
26	Tom Ryan	MOM November
27	Steven Almond	MOM November
28	James Amar	MOM December
29	Neill Goodwin	MOM January
30	Mark Storrar	MOTW
31	Matthew Shaw	MOTW
32	Brian Collins	MOTW
33	Jon Bryant	MOTW
34	Sam Parker	MOTW
35	Rob Latuske	MOTW
36	Rob Harding	MOTW
37	Chris Galloway	MOTW
38	Michael Moors	MOTW
39	Tom Henshall	MOTW
40	Richard Harrison	MOTW
41	Joseph Mulhern	MOTW
42	James Simpson	MOTW
43	Malek Mansour	MOTW
44	Roni Friel	MOTW
45	Ameet Shah	MOTW
46	Neil Stewart	MOTW
47	Joseph Colliass	MOTW
48	Ben Wright	MOTW
49	Clayton Deakin	MOTW
50	Sean Colohan	MOTW
51	Daron Russell	FPL Cup 6th Round
52	Dan Hepworth	FPL Cup 6th Round
53	Josh Paxman	FPL Cup 6th Round
54	Danny Burgess	FPL Cup 6th Round
55	John Harper	FPL Cup 6th Round
56	Andrew Downie	FPL Cup 6th Round
57	Mark Leathem	FPL Cup 6th Round
58	Marc Phillips	FPL Cup 6th Round
59	Jonty Cooke	FPL Cup 6th Round
60	Chris Smith	Top 5 New Managers
61	John Gleeson	Top 5 New Managers
62	Matt Baldwin	Top 5 New Managers

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted a couple of things that look a bit odd. Why wasn’t there a Manager of the Month for October? Well, there was. It was James Downie. But he had already qualified for the Champions League as winner of the FFUK Milk Plate in 2019/20, and you can’t qualify twice! The rules of the competition dictate that the place does not pass to the next in line (to whoever finished second in October in this case, sorry Chris Ward), so there was no qualifier that month. And you will notice that November has two qualifiers. In cases where there is a tie for a qualification place all those teams qualify – there is no form of tie-breaker.

Any top-scorer in a Gameweek has qualified, which has brought in a total of 21 entrants. Five Managers of the Week had already qualified via other methods, and a special mention to Chris Galloway, James Simpson and Malek Mansour who have all been Manager of the Week TWICE this season! James even managed to do it two weeks running!

Given this is a cup, we give places to teams who do well in the lottery that is the FPL Cup – in this case any team making it to Round 6 qualifies. We had twelve teams in total make it through to that stage of the competition, of which three had already qualified – so nine new names for the hat. We also give five places to new entrants to FFUK – teams that couldn’t qualify via routes finalised the previous season. That group is led by Chris Smith (7). Dan Hepworth (FPL Cup) and Ameet Shah (MOTW – GW16) had already qualified so Chris was joined by the 4th and 5th placed new entrants, John Gleeson (15=) and Matt Baldwin (15=) both of whom had 1,461 points at the end of GW23. It is with great sadness that I have to report that 6th placed new entrant Mark Harrison missed out by just two points!

We also take the top Junior FFUKer at the end of GW23. However this was the same lad who won the thing last year, Theo Allen, so that doesn’t change anything, which leaves us with the 17 places up for grabs in GW24.

So that’s qualification. Perhaps it’s worth recapping how this competition is going to work.

Well the premise is that we follow as closely as possible the way the real-life Champions League works. It’s pretty complicated, but as I always say – don’t blame me, blame UEFA! Each week from GW26 through to the final week of the season, GW38, a separate round of the Champions League will be played. The exception is the Group Stage which will be run over three weeks from GW32-34 and for which there are 26 automatic qualifiers.

The other way into the Group Stage is through qualification which runs from GW26-31 inclusive. During this period at total of 53 teams will be reduced to six. It really is a tough school, in real-life as well as in the FFUK version! There are a total six qualifying rounds:

1. The Preliminary stage semi-finals: four teams compete for two available places
2. The Preliminary stage final: those two teams play for the one qualification place
3. The First Qualifying Round: the preliminary stage winner is joined by 33 more teams. The 17 winners enter …
4. The Second Qualifying Round: where they are joined by a further nine teams to make 26
5. The Third Qualifying Round: the 13 winners from the second qualifying round are joined by a further three teams for a 16-team shoot out to reach ….
6. The Play-Off Round: here the eight winners are joined by a further four teams, and those twelve play-off for the six remaining places available in the Champions League Group Stage

Phew!

Sometime prior to GW26 we’ll do a live draw to pair each Champions League qualifying manager with one of the 79 teams that qualified in real-life. Managers will follow, precisely, the path that their team would need to follow in order to win – entering the competition when their team did in the actual competition. If you draw one of the four teams who started in the preliminary phase – sorry, but that’s where you start in the FFUK Champions League!

Managers retain their team throughout the competition, following that team’s path through the various draws made by UEFA. If your team lost the reciprocal tie in real life, you follow the path the victor took. So for example, if you draw FC Cluj you enter at the First Qualifying Round and play the manager who drew Floriana (the Maltese giants). If you win (as Cluj did) you go on to face the manager of Dinamo Zagreb who joins the competition in the second qualifying round. If the manager of Floriana wins THEY progress of course, but retain the same path, taking over Cluj’s place and themselves playing Dinamo Zagreb. This way you can take lowly Linfield all the way to Champions League glory! Although to do that you would have to make it through 6 rounds of qualifying, a 3 week Group stage and then the four knockout rounds …. so not impossible ….

The Group Stage takes place over three weeks with the two teams with the best aggregate score over those three weeks taking the winners and runners up places, and playing their Round of 16 matches as determined by the real-life Champions League draw. If the Winner of Group A in real-life gets drawn against the Runner Up of Group B, that logic will apply to the FFUK Champions League draw. We follow the same process of following the real-life draws to determine our own draws through to the final in GW38.

A couple of additional things to note. In the event of a tie the winner will be determined by overall rank, and hits don’t count. Ever. It’s just too complicated to take them into account.

I will keep the google sheet for the competition updated which you can access here. I can’t promise to keep this page updated as often, so go to the google sheet for the latest and stay tuned for news of the draw which will be coming soon.

Finally, good luck to everyone looking to qualify in GW24 – see you for the FFUK Champions League starting in GW26!

Cheers,

Bakes

UPDATE 23rd December

Time for an FFUK Champions League update

I’ve already described in a previous post how the competition works (although I’ll run through this again as we get closer to it’s start point in Gameweek 26) which you can find here, together with details of how to qualify. There are a total of 79 places up for grabs and 40 of these have already been taken:

	Qualifiers	How
1	Grant Lawrie	Top 20
2	Paul Baker	Top 20
3	Jamie Stewart	Top 20
4	John Parkinson	Top 20
5	Tim McEwan	Top 20
6	Justin Mc Carthy	Top 20
7	Pete Cronin	Top 20
8	Damien O’Neill	Top 20
9	Jamie Stephens	Top 20
10	Nick Johns	Top 20
11	Ben Carter	Top 20
12	Jordan Davison	Top 20
13	Samuel Breen	Top 20
14	Chris Webb	Top 20
15	Steve Coffen	Top 20
16	Dean Cummings	Top 20
17	Richard Green	Top 20
18	David Harrison	Top 20
19	Peter Hayes	Top 20
20	Stan Packham	Top 20
21	John Willson	Cup winner
22	James Downie	Cup winner
23	Theo Allen	Junior Champion
24	Nick Maston	MOTM
26	Tom Ryan	MOTM
27	Steven Almond	MOTM
28	Mark Storrar	MOTW
29	Matthew Shaw	MOTW
30	Brian Collins	MOTW
31	Jon Bryant	MOTW
32	Sam Parker	MOTW
33	Rob Latuske	MOTW
34	Rob Harding	MOTW
35	Chris Galloway	MOTW
36	Michael Moors	MOTW
37	Tom Henshall	MOTW
38	Richard Harrison	MOTW
39	Joseph Mulhern	MOTW
40	James Simpson	MOTW

Note that both Joseph Mulhern and James Simpson qualified with their joint league-high score of 105 points in Gameweek 14. Managers who tie for each qualification place (e.g. highest Gameweek score or Manager of the Month) all qualify – there’s no tie-breaker. It’s also worth re-iterating that you can only qualify once. If you qualify via an additional and subsequent route (as three managers have done so far: Grant Lawrie, James Downie and Tom Ryan, that place DOES NOT pass to the next highest-scoring manager. You must qualify by right not by being the next cab off the rank!

The exception to this rule is Gameweek 24. This week represents a last opportunity to qualify for the FFUK Champions League before it kicks off in Gameweek 26 (giving us a bit of breathing space to do the draw). There will likely be 15-20 places left in the competition by this week and those places will go to the managers with the highest scores in that Gameweek – so mark your diaries, and if you’re not in by then get those chips at the ready!

Other ways to qualify include being the highest scorer in a Gameweek or a Gamemonth or getting to round 6 of the FPL Cup (this kicks off in Gameweek 16).

Stay tuned for more updates.

Bakes