I Know the Score

I don't live in the UK so I'm not close to any of the footy venues of which I normally speak.  But yesterday I could hear a collective gut-wrenching moan from thousands of EPL fans.

The festive season in UK footy is staggering.  While other leagues go on vacay, the EPL trudges on with a stiff upper lip.  While other leagues are sunning themselves on some remote island, the EPLers are trudging through rain/sleet/snow/cold...you get the picture.  And while other leagues take that mid-season breather, United played four games in 9 days.  Whewwwww.
The EPL has been staunch in keeping the tradition of the festive period alive.  Boxing Day matches are sacrosanct and the idea of axing those so players can go on a bender in Bali just doesn't sit well with the league honchos.
I agree.
It's enough to ask us fans to suffer through the arduous international breaks (zzzzz...wake me when it's over), but to add on an almost two week break over Christmas and New Year's would be...well......wrong.

I suppose I take solace in the festive season because it is the time that the men are separated from the boys, so to speak.  The crowded league table usually finds some space during this period, and United are notorious for making it their kick-into-gear battle cry.
While others seem to lose steam, my Reds find the much-needed umph to make their intentions known.

And as loudly as Old Traffordans...Old Traffordians...umm...OTs sang on Tuesday night, Wednesday's match-ending whistles were death knells to some clubs...drowning out the "Fire Woy" and "Sack Carlo" rants.

Wednesday also signalled a foul wind, a la Homer (the poet, not Simpson), in the I Know the Score game on premierleague.com.  I started playing this maddening *pulls out hair* game during last season (seven weeks in) and I must say it tears at my innards when I punch in my scores.
If you haven't heard of this game, you should try it.  You guess the outcomes of the weekly matches in the EPL.  If you guess the correct score you get 30 points.  If you don't get the correct score, but match the correct outcome of the game (winning team), you get 10 points.  A successful prediction of a draw (no matter if it's exact) will get you 20.  If you guess the correct goal differential you will get 15 points, but if you guess the wrong outcome, you lose 10.
To make it interesting, the Machiavellian maestros behind this game also give you a chance to better your score.  You have one banker's chip to put on a match, which could give you 2x the score, or 3x, depending on where the teams playing sit in the league.  If they are in the top four, then you can only get double, but if they are in the final sixteen you can get triple.  So it's possible to get 90 points on one match if you play your cards right.  If you don't choose wisely though, you will lose 20 points (for 2x) and 30 points (for 3x) on one match.  Each week if you use your banker's chip right, then you also get bonus points that increase by 5 until you get to 20.  But if you lose the match, then your bonus points return to zero, and it takes two weeks to get back to 5.
Just to make sure you don't pull out every last strand of hair, the game gives you an insurance chip to put on a match.  If you are successful then you get the points, but if you guess wrong, you don't lose any.

One has to be very careful when selecting the week's matches.  Sure bets aren't always sure bets and midtable teams, who are tied on points or very close, are hard to predict.  Home venues don't always mean success, so it takes a bit of savvy to have a winning score each week.  A few mistakes that some players fall prey to is believing the tripe the journos write before matches, or thinking managers are going to be "open" about the actual status of their team (and selections).  I can't tell you how many times SAF has said that a player is still crocked, only for that player to start the match!  These are some pitfalls that rookie I-Know-the-Score-players are doomed by each week.  But I've learned to circumvent the crap talk and look at the overall picture.
The league table and my predictions cause a schizophrenic moment each time I enter my scores.  I want United to win every match so I always pick 3-0 to United.  But at the beginning of the season C-Club was tearing up the league and I wanted them to lose every match.  The problem was I didn't think they WOULD lose every match, so it took every bit of my finger-punching skill to tap in a winning score for them.  To predict that our rivals would win tore at the very fabric of my footy heart.  Yes, it would mean my score improved, but it also meant that United were not gaining points on them in the league!  Arrrrghhhhh! 

Last night I jumped from 22,000th place to 7,000th place.  I know, you're thinking, "you suck!"  But I need to tell you that 212,000 people are playing...so being in the top 20,000 or so is not bad.
As I said above, the death knell was ringing last night for several clubs.  And it was also ringing on premierleague.com.  My footy crystal ball was in full form and I correctly predicted all matches.  So while Joe Chelscum Fan had serious delusions that his team would find winning form against Wolves, I predicted the exact outcome...Wolves 1-0 Scummers.  And while Joe Gunner Fan was positive that Arsene's boys would be victorious at the Emirates, I predicted a draw (2-2, though the actual score was 0-0).  And to top off my night, I also predicted the exact score of Liverpoo/Blackburn and got the correct goal differential for Everton/Spurs...so in just those four matches, I got 95 points!
I have a feeling that many players lost their shirts (although the game is free) in the midweek melee that was Wednesday.
To be honest, I don't always know the score.  One week in October I missed every single match and lost 110 points. 
But I've been on a roll since and would love to crack the top 1,000, if even for a week.  My true dream would be to end up in 19th place.  Because I'm hoping my beloved Reds make 19 my lucky number this year! 

Come on United, GET IN!!!