Firstly, congratulations to those that finished in the top three positions of our Nouse Fantasy Football competition. Frenchie’s awesome foursome of Ali Prince, Joe Cooper, Mark Johnson and Christy Cormac were the difference as ‘If you’re not first, you’re last’ won with relative ease.Miles McDermott capped a great personal tournament with a respectable second place and Dave Worsley took the third spot.

Well done also to Alcuin, who brushed aside Derwent last week to win their second consecutive College Cup. Their ‘Golden Generation’ have been the dominant force in college football for a number of years now and deserved to win this tournament, winning all of their games and picking up their game impressively in the later rounds. Some on the sidelines and Nouse comments claimed that Alcuin’s win was a victory for football, and there is no doubt that Alcuin played some of the best stuff throughout the competition. Yet this victory was also based on perfection of a simple, direct style and dominance at the set piece. Derwent, like in their first game of the competition, were simply unable to deal with the size of Jake Delaney and the pinpoint deliveries of Miles McDermott and Jack Crane. It’s all very well playing beautifully but, to win this tournament, you might also have to learn how to play ugly.

So with that we’ll leave it. Thank you to all that have read both this blog and Nouse‘s extensive coverage throughout the tournament. It’s been a great term of football and we all wait with excitement for the return on the College League in October. Until then, here are the Nouse College Cup Awards:

Fantasy Football Top Pick: Without a doubt Phil Taylor. The forward was at the centre of a young free-scoring Vanbrugh side that will already be fancied for big success next year. With 8 goals and a staggering 47 points, Taylor was by far this year’s star pick.

Fantasy Football Best Valued Pick: Wentworth had a great tournament and, in my opinion, could have gone even further than the quarter finals. Lachie Murray, the £2.9m defender, was statistically the best valued pick in the game. Playing up-front for most of the tournament, he ranked up an impressive 27 points.

Fantasy Football Worst Pick: Greg Gardner was valued at £9m, the second most expensive player available. Unfortunately for those who picked him, and of course for himself, he pulled out injured just before Derwent’s first game and would not play all tournament.

College Cup Golden Boot: No debate over this one, Phil Taylor’s eight was one better than nearest rival, and team-mate, Ali Prince.

Best game: Halifax were in a few classics – their defeats to Alcuin and Vanbrugh both stunned all those in attendance and few will forget their penalty victory over Goodricke – but this prize goes to a group stage fixture between Wentworth firsts and Alcuin seconds. With three sides eyeing the second qualification spot in Group A, the Astro was packed out to see Wentworth come back from a goal down to save their campaign.

Best goal: Certainly a few contenders, and feel free to debate this on the comments below, but I’m reliably informed by all of my reporters that they saw nothing better all tournament than Mark Johnson’s “Christiano Ronaldo-esque” free kick against Derwent in the quarters.

Best seconds/thirds player: Special mention should go to Nick Dheir, who was excellent throughout the group stages, but this has to go to Dave Worsley who for the first five weeks of the tournament, sat comfortably alongside College football BNOCs Mark Johnson and Phil Taylor at the top of the Nouse Fantasy Football player table.

And finally,

Nouse Player of the Tournament: We thought long and hard about this one. Taylor for his goals? Delaney for his interventions in the box at the key moments? Johnson for his group stage performances? Yet, for his outstanding displays, brilliant leadership and talent with the dead ball, the winner of the 2010 award goes to Miles McDermott. Excellent in last year’s competition, this time Miles led his side to their second consecutive trophy, his deliveries from the set piece being at the centre of their simplistic and direct style. Oh, and he picked up a rather decent 32 Fantasy Football Points as well.

Team of the tournament:

———————————————————-Ed Foster—————————————————————
-Joe Boughtflower——-Chris Grayland——–Jake Delaney———Miles McDermott——–
—-Mark Johnson————Jack Beadle————-Christy Cormac————–Ali Laird————
—————————————-Ali Prince—————–Phil Taylor———————————————-

One term and 46 games of football later, this tournament will finish with a repeat of a fixture played on only it’s third day. In that game Alcuin ran out clear winners, dominating in the air to comfortably put three against a clueless Derwent defence. Few then would have predicted the losing side to be future finalists.

That win will give Alcuin a huge psychological advantage going into tomorrow’s final; Derwent will know that if they are to even have a chance of taking the College Cup trophy they must cope with Alcuin aerial threat far more competently than they did on that day. Halifax were not able to to do it – they thought they had reclaimed the favourites tag after their impressive display against Goodricke in the quarter finals, only to be sent crashing back down to earth with a 5-1 humbling from Alcuin last Wednesday.

Last year Derwent also saw their campaign terminated at the hands of Alcuin, in a game that many even now refer to as that tournament’s real final. On that day, Dan Hyde, Ed Murrills and forgotten-man Parris Williams ran rings around the best defence in the competition, stylishly easing into a final where they would beat Vanbrugh to secure the compeitition. It really is the greatest rivalry in the College Cup; as Derwent scored the only goal in last Friday’s semi-final one Alcuin player on the sidelines could be heard to moan frustratedly “Do we really have to play Derwent again?”

If last year Alcuin vs. Derwent was the tournament’s footballing pinnacle, this year it will be a match-up between the competition’s two route-one masters. Some commenters on my Derwent vs. Vanbrugh match-report entered into a debate on the styles of each of the last four, and in my opinion some of the views expressed were rather outdated. Alcuin in particular have ditched their attractive style this year to become the masters of direct set-piece-dominated football, and it has worked wonders for them. Halifax’s Mark Lund must be ruing the day he decided to move into the net – that gamble finally backfiring as his defence were left disorganised and unable to deal with Alcuin’s height. In contrast, Vanbrugh, for so long the purists’ nightmare, actually played some fantastic stuff this term but, with their star-man Ali Prince clearly injured, seemed to run out of ideas on Friday against a Derwent side that looked sharper from the start.

So as much as I hate to say it, this final might not be pretty. It might come down to corners, set pieces and the long throw. Crane, Delaney and Cox could be the key men for Alcuin but Derwent will also be wary of Ali Laird who was absolutely outstanding against Halifax and, if he is fit to play, goalscoring midfield lynchpin Christy Cormac.

Some say that if you deal with Hallam and Barnett then you deal with Derwent. Vanbrugh certainly did not and subsequently paid for it with an early cup exit. Striker Matt O’Connor gave a Man-of-the-Match performance in the semi-final and his nippy partner Ben Smith will look to put the Reiss brothers under some early pressure. Joe Boughtflower will also be key; he played like a man possessed on Friday, defending excellently and frequently launching attacks down the wings. Rumours are circulating that Greg Gardner might make a return to the side for the final and, considering Matt Hallam blamed his absence for Derwent’s poor showing against Alcuin in the group stages, his return could be more than crucial.

I’m not going to call this one. Firstly because I wouldn’t want to jinx anyone (every call I’ve made so far has been vastly off the mark) and secondly because it is likely to be decided not on each side’s current form but more how they perform in the key areas on the day. Alcuin will be confident due to their earlier victory, but I expect that this Derwent team – one that has improved vastly since that game – will have learnt from their mistakes. Like I said, this might not be pretty and it might not be high-scoring but it will be tactically fascinating. It might be a classic.

“Do we really have to play Derwent again?” I’m afraid so, and it doesn’t get much bigger than this.

The College Cup final will be played at 11am this Tuesday.

On the Fantasy Football front, the star of the group stages was undoubtedly Phil Taylor. The Vanbrugh midfielder and part-time darts champion has scored a whopping eight goals so far, storming to the top of ther table with 43 points. Goalscoring defender Chris Grayland has climbed up to third, his side yet to concede a goal in the competition while Christy Cormac and Lachie Murray both added to their totals with good performances this week (catapulting my long suffering team up the league in the process).Nick Dheir and Dave Worsley both established themselves as the best valued choices for the group-stages with 27 and 25 points respectively.

At the close of the first round, it is also Worsley who leads the Fantasy Football league table, with Worsley’s Wonderers having scored an outstanding 192 points. For the rest of us, there’s now an opportunity to save our disastrous teams with the transfer window. Here’s how it works:

1. Before Monday midday you are able to make four changes to your team. Once you take a player out and bring another in you cannot reverse your decision, so be sure to check how each change affects the overall value of your side before confirming your choices.

2. Remember, the team you select will be your team for the rest of the competition. It’s all very well cramming in the Halifax firsts players, but they have a very difficult quarter-final against Goodricke firsts coming up next week. If they lose that then none of their players will bring you any more points this year. Players from Alcuin and Vanbrugh, who play Langwith and Wentworth respectively in the next round, are arguably safer bets.

3. It may be tempting to instantly remove your Huw Harrows and Andy Coopers, but are they really going to give you that extra big money to play around with? It might be a wiser move to take a risk and remove some big name players that, based on the tournament so far, aren’t likely to pick up many more points. Mark McLeod is suspended for two games after yesterday’s red card, so James would have to get to the final for him to score any more points. Greg Gardner, Josh Baines, Angus O’Brien, Rob Shanley and Tom Chrimes are all first team players that, for one reason or another, are not getting games and might be worth selling.

4. We say this time and time again, but it needs to be drilled home. College Plate games do not count towards Fantasy Football. Sorry Dan.

Good luck with your transfers, it really is still all to play for and there will be some very snazzy prizes for the winners at the end. To finish with, as promised, here are the five worst Fantasy Football picks from the group stages. Apologies to all involved.

Greg Gardner 0 Points: Like most on this list, we can’t hold it against Greg that he’s been injured and unable to play in any of Derwent’s games. But I bet those that put the £9m defender in their team are feeling pretty stupid now.

Jez Hann 2 Points: The Langwith midfield-maestro has only played in one of Langwith’s fixtures, earning two points.

Ian McKellow 7 Points: Not the worst total by a long way, but I’m sure the University firsts striker expected a few more points on the board by now.

John Cook -1 Point: The long suffering Goodricke thirds keeper has conceded 21 goals and is the only player in the competition to finish the group stages on minus points.

Parris Williams 4 Points: This one is our fault. Last year Parris set the tournament alight, scoring for fun and deservedly being picked as Nouse‘s Player of the Tournament. As a result, we all tipped him for big things this time, but he’s struggled to get a full game in an Alcuin team with bags of attacking talent. Don’t give up on him too soon however, I have a feeling that Alcuin will go the distance in this competition and Williams might just pick up a few more points on the way.

For those of you that haven’t already read Jake’s report, Vanbrugh firsts beat Halifax firsts 3-0 yesterday afternoon. It ranks up there alongside the USA’s famous victory over England in 1950, Rossi-inspired Italy beating the great Brazil side of ’82 and West Germany’s win over the Dutch ‘Total Football’ side in the 1974 World Cup final as one of those historic moments when a team at the top of their game, and in the form of their lives, has been brutally brought back down to earth.

Except it really doesn’t. This isn’t a huge ‘cupset’ at all, but merely a message to those that were far too quick to write off a Vanbrugh team known for their resilience and never-say-die attitude. Us Nousers did it as well, foolishly giving them odds of 15/1 to win in our edition last week (although I must add that I predicted a shock result in yesterday’s game during the aforementioned podcast). In their opening two performances they have shown pretty comprehensively that they are contenders, perhaps even one of the favourites, and are able to play some devastatingly slick football. Two games, ten goals, none conceded and a comfortable victory against a team that some were worrying would walk the tournament. Not a bad start really.

Today’s star was Phil Taylor, but notable mentions should also go to Ali Prince (who has been outstanding in both of their games) Dan Hewitt and, well, the whole team. Vanbrugh might not contain the biggest set of campus-football BNOCs, but their goal-fest against Goodricke thirds showed that, like Halifax, James and Alcuin, this team have scoring potential in every position. Last year they were written off early after losing to lowly Goodricke seconds but beat tournament favourites Derwent to qualify for the knock-out stages and, despite continued criticism from part-time Nouse correspondent Dreamz Murphy , made it all the way to the final with a cup-run built on scrappy determination and a back-to-basics long-ball game. This year, early indications show that they might just play the most attractive football in the cup.

As for Halifax, well they’ve been labelled as flat-track bullies all year and yesterday they didn’t really go any way to proving their doubters wrong. They will hope that they are not this year’s Derwent firsts (although that might again be Derwent firsts) and haven’t peaked a wee bit early. There’s still a long way to go, and Mark Lund will be happy that this has happened now rather than in the semis, but the message is clear – Halifax firsts are very beatable.

Vanbrugh, not fancied by many to do well this tournament after an average year so far, announced themselves as real contenders yesterday with a 3-0 win over tournament favourites Halifax. Photograph by George Lowther.

It all basically means that we don’t have a bloody clue who will win this tournament. I reckon there are at least six teams who will fancy their chances after this week’s games, and you could perhaps even make a case for seven. Langwith attract a lot of laughter for their dip in recent years, but they certainly had the last chuckle against Goodricke seconds on Thursday, positioning themselves nicely to qualify for the next round. Despite not enjoying that much possession, the partnership of Starkey and Sloan (the new SAS) will quickly punish defensive lapses – Goodricke took their foot off the gas for only ten minutes at the beginning of the second half and conceded two goals as a result. OK, so they probably won’t win the whole thing, but any other firsts team that underestimates them in the quarters might find that, come the end of the sixty, they are leaving the JLD sheepishly for the last time.

And a quick word on fantasy football. The lack of a clear favourite in this tournament is going to make the transfer window – where you get one chance to pick a team designed to get you points for the whole knock-out stages – very interesting indeed. The users currently at the top might find that they drop like a stone if their sneaky guesses for likely finalists are proved wrong. One player I bet you all wished you picked for this round is Dave Worsley (or is it White?) who unfortunately is likely to not be around in the knock-out stages but has undoubtedly been the tournament’s best value buy so far – he’s scored four goals and only Mark Johnson has a better points haul. Special credit to Max Walter as well, whose 13 points are a very good total for a thirds player valued at only £2.6 million.

Tune in next week, where we’ll be looking at those poor-valued players who have failed to rack up the points. Play well guys, you wouldn’t want your name to be there, would you?

At the time of writing, top spot is shared between Conor Brennan’s ‘MK DOM PETSCZKAK’ and Ben Smith’s ‘Cambridge University Netball Team’. with ‘renegades’, ‘I Need to Recuperate FC’ and ‘Goodricke WAG’s FC’, in hot pursuit. The latter’s position is particularly impressive, being one of the few teams in the top half of the league that does not contain Mark Johnson.

To say that Johnson has been a wise pick is a bit of an understatement. With four goals and two consecutive Man-of-the-Match performances, Johnson is arguably the star performer of the tournament so far and a definite Start ‘em. Expect a mad rush to sign him in the upcoming transfer window.

Yes, the transfer window. The opportunity of redemption for your current disaster. Nearly three weeks away, there’s still some time to go until the reshuffle but it would be useful to start to consider which teams are likely to go furthest in the Cup’s knock-out stages.

Halifax certainly look a pretty safe bet to still be standing in the final weeks. They had their doubters before the tournament but these critics have been comprehensively silenced with 14 goals in two games without conceding. Quite the start then.

Unsurprisingly ‘Fax firsts players dominate the ‘Top Players’ charts with both Brennans, Ash Daly, Mark Lund, Alex Tringham and Tom Ragan all in the top twelve positions. Tringham is a definite Start ‘em, scoring two goals from defence already and Ragan is my cheeky tip for the Golden Boot – he’s already bagged four and, with Conor Brennan playing out wide, is Halifax’s principle goal threat.

The best keeper picks are James’s Dom McMahon and Goodricke’s Ed Foster, who are both yet to concede. Both teams have relatively easy groups so expect all of their players to continue racking up points for the remainder of the group stages.

There are also the cheaper Start ‘ems, those golden picks that only the sharpest scouts were perceptive enough to notice. You would have been forgiven for not rushing towards the Wentworth seconds players when originally picking, yet a hat-trick for Dave Worsley in his side’s 3-1 victory over Vanbrugh thirds has catapulted him to top of the table. Goodricke seconds lynchpin Nick Dheir is also racking up the points and might be able to guide his side towards that second Group D spot.

And the Sit ‘ems? There was a mad rush to sign last year’s player of the tournament Parris Williams, but after two games many might be regretting their choice. Williams is yet to score and is struggling even to get a full game in an Alcuin team where there is strong competition for the striker position.

Dom Henney, former Derwent captain and college football stalwart, currently sits on -1 points after scoring an own goal in his side’s only game so far.

Like many of us, he will take solace in the fact that there is still a long way to go and ample opportunity to save face.

Well, not that much really. Halifax look good (no surprise there), James also look very good (a little bit of surprise there) and Goodricke play a lot of good football but have trouble converting their chances (again, no surprise).

Turning our eyes towards the seconds teams, Halifax and Goodricke look as if they’ll push Langwith firsts all the way for that second position in Group D (expect James to take the top spot comfortably), Vanbrugh’s second team looks worse than their third and there’s a feeling that Derwent twos might have been a little over-hyped.

The fixture of the round was always going to be the ‘Big Three’ clash between Derwent and Alcuin. And here we had perhaps the week’s biggest shock, as slight-favourites Derwent were defeated 3-1.

Alcuin go into this competition as the holders and it was a tad surprising how little hype there was surrounding them pre-tournament. Last year they won stylishly, playing excellent football in the opening stages (I once heard them being compared to Barcelona, honest), but adapting their game well in the latter rounds to scrap past the bigger sides.

Despite being raised as a James-er, I couldn’t help but develop a a soft spot for Alcuin last year. Despite not having as many university regulars as others, they gelled together at the right moment and were undoubtedly the deserved winners at the end.

Yet they looked to have changed their style again. On Thursday they played clinically and simply – Derwent looked settled and in control for large periods but could not get past the outstanding partnership of Jake Delaney and Paul Reiss at the back. Last year Delaney was injured for most of the tournament, but he looks like he’ll be a hugely influential player this time around.

Taking off the skilful Parris Williams for the much more direct campus-cult-figure Udy Onwudike at half time perhaps summed up Alcuin’s style. And it worked – Derwent might have been missing the influential Greg Gardner, and there is a long way to go in this compeition, but Alcuin have sent an early warning to those that doubted them.

Jake Delaney’s strong presence in defence helped Alcuin firsts to a 3-1 victory over the much-fancied Derwent firsts. Photograph by Maggie Aslet.

They weren’t the only ones to do so however. Halifax’s 8-0 win might have been against Goodricke thirds, but it suggests that they are fired up to win this tournament. A team so good that they have to move the university first’s top striker out of position in order to accommodate all their talent, they have quality all over the pitch and deserve to be called favourites.

Elsewhere, James made a case for the ‘Big Three’ to become known as the ‘Big Four’ with an impressive first performance against Halifax seconds. Like ‘fax firsts, they undoubtedly have the players – Mark Johnson, Mark McLeod, James Offord and the whole defence looked brilliant on Friday – but will need to make sure that they all fit together if they’re going to have a chance of winning the whole competition.

In terms of Fantasy Football, it was all looking a bit quiet until Friday, when two players suddenly fired themselves to the top of the leader board. Mark Johnson was simply outstanding for James, while Nick Dheir, valued at £5m, looks a very shrewd buy indeed (although how he managed to claim that second goal, I do not know.)

There’s also a sense that some of the big buys might not be so profitable. Highest valued player Conor Brennan will not score as many goals as intially thought if he continues to play on the left and most-picked forward Parris Williams looks set to face strong competition for his spot in an Alcuin team containing Dan Cox, Joe Cooper and Udy Onwudike. Meanwhile Sam Mellor’s position on the highest points table – joint third despite being in a losing James seconds team – shows how this year’s new rules might throw up some very strange results.

Ah well, we’ve all made our beds now, we’ll just have to see how it pans out. My team is embarrassingly low down in the table (not one of my strikers played a full 60) so I wouldn’t listen to any of my advice anyway. Feel free to suggest below any players you think will rack up the points next week.

And so too is Start ‘em Sit ‘em. Newly improved, (well I’m sure you’ll agree my face is far more pleasing on the eye than Dan Hyde’s) this blog will not only keep you up to date with all the action in Nouse Fantasy Football but will bring you all the views, analysis and sideline gossip from the university’s biggest and best loved (sorry netball) college competition.

So where to start? With the tournament beginning tomorrow and most of you having already picked your teams, it might be a bit late in the day to point you in the direction of that fantasy football super-signing. Those needing advice could do worse than casting an eye over David Ambrozejczyk’s comprehensive guide to the competition. I have a feeling that these early stages will surprise many; now that both sides in a game are given a man-of-the-match regardless of the result, expect your thirds and seconds players to pick up a few more points than last year. Also be wary of the influence of team members and captains on our timid and easily swayed reporters when it comes to picking MOTM; in my experience they are far more likely to recommend highly improved or usually ‘unsung’ players than the six-goal-a-game striker.

All of this means that the user leading the rest at the end of the group stages will probably be the one that, rather than filling his or her team with college football BNOCs, has studied the LNOCs, astutely recognising those players that keep the weaker teams ticking. Also look closely at the draw – it might not be a great idea, for example, to fill your team with James thirds players when they are likely to enjoy a torrid tournament in the so-called ‘Group of Death’.

So who have proved popular fantasy football picks so far? Unsurprisingly Parris Williams, last year’s Nouse Player of the Tournament, is the most picked forward and, at 7.2m, he does seem slightly better value than higher priced strikers such as Dan Cox and Conor Brennan.

Elsewhere Miles McDermott’s goal scoring potential as a defender has no doubt made him attractive and users might have noticed James’ relatively easy group fixtures when catapulting Don McMahon to the top of the most-selected goalkeeper charts.

Jack Fisher and Harry Shaw are perhaps the surprise inclusions, playing for James and Goodricke thirds respectively. I wonder if those who picked Shaw in defence will regret their decision when he has to deal with Brennan and Ragan against Halifax on Tuesday, and the much-hyped Fisher might struggle to pick up points in the ‘Group of Death’, where even the most optimistic pundits will put James thirds as whipping boys.

Putting aside fantasy football, what do we think about the overall winner of the tournament? A lot of the discussion so far has been centred around Halifax and Derwent, but this is likely to be an extremely open competition that a number of teams could win. Halifax have looked good so far this year, and have a few university team reinforcements entering the side, but some have questioned whether two terms of disrupted play on poor surfaces can really give a good indication of each team’s current level. Defending champions Alcuin play a style of football suited to the Astroturf and will definitely be one of the favourites; Goodricke have real quality in midfield but have looked poor at times this year, with an obvious lack of goalscoring options. James firsts could also be contenders, with a reasonably easy group and some handy additions from the university first team.

Either way, we’re in for a cracking term of football. Forget the World Cup, it’s all happening here on campus. Start ‘em Sit ‘em will be there to guide you through it.

As far as geese go, I’d particularly like to thank organisers Adam Lewis, Matt Oliver, and Joe Harrison. Their efforts have been incredible in running the tournament so successfully and I doff my cap, curtsey, give them a serious – un-Dreamz-like – ‘bravo’ and offer a massive ‘thank you’ from all of us.

Congratulations are in order, too, for we have also come to the end of a pulsating Fantasy Football competition. Bukkake FC have topped the table with 239 Fantasy Points, providing manager Dan Cox with the ultimate double after Alcuin Firsts claimed the Cup in Monday night’s memorable final. In second, Chris Barnett’s Maximuscle X (230 Fantasy Points) followed closely behind, and James Loftus’ Loftites (237 Fantasy Points) just pipped Chris Clarke’s Racing CC (236 Fantasy Points) to come in third.

Well done all three – prizes are on their way.

As a final little bit of self-indulgence I’ve put together a few top teams using something I like to call Points Per Pound (PPP) to keep you entertained for the next fifteen minutes. Here we go:

Top college teams (from the quarter-finals onwards) by Points Per Pound (PPP):

1. Derwent Seconds; Team value: £34.3m; Total team Fantasy Points earned: 121 points; Points Per Pound: 3.53 PPP

2. James Firsts; £70m; 240 points; 3.43 PPP
3. Derwent Firsts; £74m; 251 points; 3.39 PPP
4. Alcuin Firsts; £78.5; 263 points; 3.35 PPP*
5. Halifax Firsts; £52.8m; 174 points; 3.30 PPP**
6. Vanbrugh Firsts; £77m; 241 points; 3.13 PPP
7. Alcuin Seconds; £39.3m 123 points; 3.13 PPP
8. Goodricke Firsts; £75.3m; 189 points; 2.51 PPP

*Alcuin’s totals include Ollie Webb (£1.4m; 6 points) who was drafted in for 2 games to replace the injured Jake Delaney.
**Halifax’s value excludes Joe Brennan and Simon Davidson who both did not play.

Before you start, I make no apologies for any dodgy calculations. Since a certain Mr. Gouland put me into the crowd in the final, my calculator hand has been a little unpredictable.

In all seriousness, though, the results are quite revealing. Despite winning the tournament and accumulating the most Fantasy Points, Alcuin does not top the Points Per Pound list. That has a lot to do with injured £8m man Jake Delaney who only made one appearance, but is a testament to the performance of other teams, too.

Derwent Seconds’ excellent run to the quarters is reflected in their superb 3.53 PPP – a winning effort. And dark- horses James Firsts are on a 3.43 PPP rating after being edged out by Vanbrugh in the semi-finals.

Most disappointing is Goodricke Firsts’ score of 2.51 PPP, but that can easily be attributed to the absence of most of their key players when they exited – also at the hands of Vanbrugh – in the quarter-final stage.

As far as players go, the list is as follows:

Top 3 Players by PPP
1. Parris Williams, Alcuin Firsts; £4.1m; 33 points; 8.05 PPP
2. Chris Milne, Wentworth Seconds; £1.9m; 14 points; 7.37 PPP
3. Thomas Gibby, Alcuin Seconds’ £3m; 22 points; 7.33 PPP

Bottom 3 (three or more appearances required)
1. Matt Witherwick, Vanbrugh Firsts; £7.4m; 6 points, 0.81 PPP
2. Sam Lewis, Goodricke Firsts; £4.7m; 6 points; 1.28 PPP
3. Thomas Wilson, Goodricke Firsts; £7.8m; 10 points; 1.28 PPP

The bottom three is perhaps a little unfair on the players it lists – especially the injured Matt Witherwick who pulled out of the tournament after three games – but hey-ho, that’s the crazy world of statistics for you.

At the top Parris Williams is clearly best value for money buy of the game and deservedly picked up Nouse Player of the Tournament as well.

Feel free to do your own PPPs (not a pun, definitely not a pun) – I honestly do value every one of you, but the passage of time, as we all know, waits for no man.

And with that, it’s over and out from me. It’s been a pleasure, a wonderful, all-engrossing trip, and I leave you all with the best of luck for the future… and one last thing: the College Cup has been what WE , all of us, have made it – go on, make next year’s even better.

The choice is yours. Vote for your College Cup Goal of the Tournament below and we’ll announce the winner in the next edition of Nouse (on campus this Tuesday). If you’re having any trouble deciding, refresh your memory in the Nouse Sport archives: we’ve been there for every cup game.

Among the dark-horse entries are Hugh Pryce’s delicious chip against Alcuin Seconds that earned him the Man of the Match – it was that good – and David Slater’s boomtown effort from long-range when Derwent Seconds drew 1-1 with Wentworth firsts. Top, top goals and either could sneak first prize.

Another potential winner is Jamie Tyler’s audacious overhead kick for Derwent Seconds against Vanbrugh Thirds on 25 May. The defender had already stunned fans by venturing from defense into the alien territory of the centre-forward position and hit an absolute gem.

But at the end of the day, it’s your shout… so get voting!

The quarter-finals have been played in a nervy, knife-edge atmosphere that, certainly in the three cups I’ve played in, hasn’t been the case in other years. It’s a testament to the edginess of 2009’s Cup, a certain je ne sais quoi that has had almost every player involved desperate to add to the medal collection, no matter how decorated a mantle piece adorns the living-room. The Mark McLeods and Mark Goulands of the tournament have shown a desire at college level that has made it a fantastic spectacle. And next week, it gets serious.

Talking of Mark Gouland takes me (rather neatly) into a small exercise in hindsighting (yes, I’ve made that word up). Looking back over the last few weeks, it’s been a mixed bag of success for those tipped for starts and sits in this blog. Taking a closer look, there’s been some…

Good
After scrapping to victory against Derwent, Vanbrugh have gone on to beat Goodricke and book a very winnable quarter-final against James. I’m not saying you heard it here first because they got their fair share of criticism from me when they looked on their last legs in the group stages, but after watching that victory I felt there might be a few more upsets in them…and there may be more yet.

Elsewhere in the ‘Good’, Ben Smith duly scored after being tipped to do so in Window Shopping (June 9) and Parris Williams has gone from strength to strength (and Joe Cooper hasn’t) since Vanbrugh tanked, Hallam banks (May 31).

Bad
That May 31 posting also saw Mark Gouland as an “off-colour”, overpriced purchase. How wrong. The stats speak for themselves and Gouland has notched scored in every game so far (4 in 4) and his Vanbrugh side have now outlasted Dom O’Shea’s Goodricke in the competition. He’s beginning to show why he’s priced so highly at £8.1m: the man’s a goal scoring machine… with a lifetime guarantee.

Ugly
But since advertising Ed Lacaille and Ali Prince as Sit ‘ems in Second team units are good picks (May 25), they have both been superb. Lacaille has been amongst the goals (albeit mostly non-fantasy-scoring ones for Derwent Seconds) and nearly scooped the Man of the Match award in Derwent Firsts’ quarter-final against Alcuin Seconds. And Ali Prince put in a superb two-goal, match-winning performance against that Derwent side to send Vanbrugh Firsts into the latter stages.

I’d like to claim that my playful prodding inspired them to greater heights, but that would be a little too presumptuous. Either way, the College Cup has shown so far that it only takes one or two games to turn around a player’s fantasy tournament and to those players that have defied patchy early form to pick up points, I doff my cap.

Feel free to point out any other blogging bloopers from the past weeks – and any good ‘uns (if you’re feeling generous) too…

But as I write, there’s around 36 hours of light in the Transfer Window, leaving plenty of time to make those four crucial changes to your squad if you haven’t already. To get you going, here’s a few possible ins and outs:

Start ‘em: Tactically picking a cheap second team player as one of your four transfers can be a great move early on. Although both second teams in the quarter-finals (read Alcuin and Derwent) are expected to go out at the hands of first teams (read Derwent and James, respectively), a guaranteed two points and the potential of an upset make this a good value first move. After all, there’s no guarantee for any team – Dom O’Shea or no Dom O’Shea – to go through at this stage. If you do take this path, look no further than Thomas Gibby (£3m), who has, incredibly, popped up for three goals for Alcuin Seconds.

Elsewhere, after their victory over Derwent last week, Vanbrugh have the potential to upset a Goodricke side that may well be without some big names after a weekend exodus has threatened their proposed squad for Monday morning. Stars Dom O’Shea, Chris Grayland (£5.7m) Thomas Wilson (£7.8m) and Luke Molyneux (£5.3m) are doubts for the game – and against a rejuvenated Vanbrugh, there could be carnage. With this in mind Vanbrugh winger Liam Regan (£4.6m) is excellent value and has two Man of the Matches and a goal in his 18 Fantasy Points total.

Sit ‘em: Obviously, there is now huge risk involved in picking those aforementioned Goodricke players. O’Shea would be a massive waste of £8m if he doesn’t play and (consequently) Goodricke go out. But if they scrape through, they might actually win the thing. Tough call.

A more important man to let go is Jake Delaney. Probably the player with most fantasy potential – especially given Alcuin’s form in the tournament going into the quarter-finals – he confirmed to Start ‘em Sit ‘em on Thursday that his cruciate ligament injury has cruelly put paid to his campaign. His £8m price-tag, though, provides quite a kitty for use elsewhere (e.g. Barnett and Johnson) if you picked him five weeks ago.

Elsewhere, Alex Richards is yet to find his feet in the Cup without the gifted Joe Brennan (£6.2m –get rid of him, too) alongside him in the Halifax midfield and is probably a little too expensive now at £5.9m, particularly with a tough tie against Alcuin in next round on Tuesday.

But, really, the key is indivuality. Picking up those leftfield picks that others have overlooked is the passport to climbing the table. So gamble, think outside the box, go all in: fortune favours the brave.

Selling a player is an irreversible process. So once you’ve clicked that button (and said OK in the pop-up confirmation box) there’s no going back.

Exactly the same is true for transferring in players: once you’ve done it it’s irreversible. Most importantly, though, this means you need to be particularly careful with your budget.

Say, for example, you take out four players worth £2m each, and then transfer in Dom O’Shea for £8m. You’ve kept within your budget but you’ve not got enough left to purchase any other players (Ollie Webb is the cheapest at £1.4m).

Unfortunately, this means you miss out on scoring opportunities in all three unfilled positions. All your other players will score, but will this make up for the points you would have tallied up if all 11 positions had been filled? Unlikely.

Clearly there’s some tactical decisions to be made here – I’m not going to deny that – but bear in mind the potential loss if the superstar for whom you sacrificed an entire pick goes out in the next round.

Don’t worry, if you’re not sure about who’s hot and who’s not, I’ll be Starting and Sitting a few top (and bottom) picks just to get you going over the next 3 days or so.

Happy trading!

In our paper edition this week, I wrote a guide to this weekend’s Transfer Window with Vanbrugh’s early exit in mind. But they put in a cracking performance to snatch a 2-1 win against favourites Derwent yesterday to book a quarter-final birth against Goodricke Firsts.

Sticking my neck out here, I see a little bit of Fabio Capello’s Real “Beckham” Madrid side of 2006-2007 in this Vanbrugh team: they aren’t pretty to watch but have a doggedness, a grit about them, and it has started – albeit by the slimmest of margins – to produce results. Like Capello’s potpourri concoction, Vanbrugh have a few too many Michel Salgados in their ranks but strangely might still end up with a title come the end of term. Don’t bet against them upsetting a few more ‘favourites’ yet.

Alcuin’s game against James tomorrow also takes on a particular significance. Of course, we’re talking ifs and buts here (no, I’m not talking about you again, Matt Butter, don’t worry), and it works as follows:

>>The winner of tomorrow’s game will face Haliax Firsts in the next round and then, if they progress, could face Derwent Firsts in the semi-finals. A tough draw.

>>The losers, meanwhile, will face Derwent Seconds in the quarters and then Goodricke Firsts, potentially, in the semi-final. A slightly easier route.

This has enormous fantasy impact. With the Window in mind, FF managers will most likely want to make sure that, firstly, they don’t pick players from teams matching up in the quarters; and secondly, from ones expected to meet in the semis. Alternatively, some revolutionaries may want to look at it the other way around: hedging your bets on a few teams expected to meet increases the chances at least some players scoring points in Week 10.

Either way, don’t be fooled by the ‘favourites’ tags of Derwent and Goodricke’s first teams. If you successfully root with the team, or teams, you expect to see in the finals now, you could be laughing come July.

From 6.00pm sharp – and all through the weekend – fantasy fans will be able to make up to four crucial changes to their teams in preparation for the quarter-finals. But while it might seem pretty darn obvious who you should take out – all Langwith and Wentworth players for starters – there are some little-known steals lurking in the bargain basement.

Miles McDermott and Parris Williams look criminally undervalued at £3.9m and £4.1m, respectively, after rising from regular substitutes to nailed-on starters in Alcuin’s first team. Meanwhile, though, Jake Delaney (£8m) is almost certainly out for the rest of the tournament with cruciate ligament damage. There could be no better trade for the hundreds of teams that have made Delaney the most-picked midfielder in the game than switching him for a bit-part player from favourites Derwent or Goodricke – Nav Jakarkhly (£4m) or Sam Lewis (£4.7m), for example – and using the spare cash elsewhere.

Chris Barnett (£6.3m) and Mark Johnson (£6.6m) are expensive but proven performers and it’s important at this stage to pick players in teams expected, at least, to make the semis. Derwent are as good as certainties and James, who will probably face Halifax Firsts in the quarters, should join them.

Elsewhere, Ben Smith (£5.8m) is due a goal for Goodricke and next year’s university second team captain would be a fitting replacement for Mark Gouland (£8.1m) should Vanbrugh face elimination at the hands of Derwent today. Goal-a-game striker Dom Green has also shown excellent value for Halifax Firsts at £4.6m. If absent medics Joe Brennan and Ian McKellow show their esteemed faces for the ‘Fax, they could go all the way, making Green a perfect addition.

Thus far, defenders have been the surprise source of plenteous group stage points – particularly Halifax’s Shaun Evans – but don’t expect any stunning hattrick performances from rearguard battering-rams in the latter stages. If you’re feeling lucky, though, look no further than Chris Grayland (£5.6m): a towering figure at corners for Goodricke. With the delivery coming from two of the best deal-ball operaters at York in Remi Remington and Tom Wilson, Grayland is odds-on to bag.

Adlou may have dominated the league table since Matchweek 1, but his victory is by no means assured. Some insightful picks this weekend could see those as far back as 200th jump into the the top three: it all comes down to window wranglings now. Remember to change things around by 9.00am on Monday morning in order for transfers to take effect, and check my Start em Sit em blog online at nouse.co.uk for the latest titbits.

Delaney was taken away in an ambulance from his six-a-side match earlier this afternoon to the visible distress of Alcuin captain Dan Cox, and campus desperately awaits news of the injury.

One source rumoured that Delaney may well have aggravated the cruciate knee ligament problems that inhibited the part-time Harrogate player’s start to university football last year. If this is the case, then it almost certainly cuts short his Cup as well dealing a heavy blow to the ambitions of the many managers that have made him the most picked midfielder in Fantasy Football.

Furthermore a serious injury would have significant effects on Alcuin Firsts’ challenge. The team relies heavily on Delaney’s goals, dominance in the air, and Michael Ballack-style distribution from the middle of the park – and there is no ready-made replacement hiding amongst the cocktails up on Campus North.

For the sake of football and, more importantly, Delaney’s health, Start ‘em Sit ‘em wishes him all the best and a speedy, painless recovery.

But the ramifications will worry any V-Bar stalwarts out there: Vanbrugh might now have to beat Derwent Firsts to qualify for the quarter finals. That’s the Derwent team yet to concede a goal – having notched 8 in two games – with a central core that includes Greg Gardner, Chris Barnett and, of course, the capricious Dreamz Murphy. I know where my money would be.

Vanbrugh’s struggles have had a big fantasy impact, too, with only a couple players breaking the 7 Fantasy Points barrier after two games – and one of those is the off-colour Mark Gouland. If Vanbrugh fail to do the business on Tuesday Week 7, Gouland’s £8.1m price tag might come in handy for those window shoppers looking for a boost going into the quarter finals. Trading him out and bringing in a Dom Green (£4.6m, 13 Fantasy Points) or Chris Barnett (£6.3m, 15 Fantasy Points) doesn’t just provide the chance of better scoring, but frees up some cash to improve your squad as a whole.

In the latest Team of the Week – revealed every Saturday on the Fantasy “Home” page – Shaun Evans continues to defy the odds, having popped up for a midweek penalty and clean sheet, whilst Goodricke Seconds’ hero Andy Myhill leads the line after bagging two against Vanbrugh.

Start ‘em: Matt Hallam has been one of the players of the tournament so far for Derwent Firsts, despite only amounting 8 Fantasy Points. While his long-range belter in Matchweek 2 represented a rare score-sheet appearance, his dominant performances at the centre of a promising Derwent team make him a good bet to pick up steady points as the tournament progresses.

Sit ‘em: This week Vanbrugh’s first-teamers deserve a category of their own (“Drop ‘em”?), but they’ve taken enough stick. More pressing is the revelation that Joe Cooper (£5.2m) has been edged out of Alcuin Firsts’ starting line-up after Parris Williams’ (£4.1m) two excellent displays alongside Dan Cox. Cooper is a confidence man and, after a decent regular season, a poor cup final performance for the University Seconds two weeks ago saw the belief drip-drop-drain away.

OK, so week two didn’t feature any of those thrived-upon upsets we crave, but what it did do was show that you don’t have to be Dom O’Shea or Jake Delaney to make a mark on the Fantasy scene.

If you check out the leading players thus far in the College Cup, leaping off the page are the three second teamers mingling with the big-shots in the top seven. Craig Macklin (£3.4m) bagged two last week against Halifax thirds and subsequently picked up the Man of the Match award. That’s 2 points for appearance, 10 for the goals, 3 for the MotM, and another 2 for a clean sheet to give him 17 for the day.

Additionally John Carrol (£3m) has been banging them in for James Seconds and has 14 Fantasy Points to go along with consequitive Team of the Week appearances in defense; and Matt Scaysbrook’s (£3m) stunning free kick against Alcuin today has him in third place overall with 17 after a goal-scoring MotM performance last week.

It’s in those areas that this competition will be won. Selecting several £7m or £8m players forces you into picks from the lesser teams, and finding value there is absolutely key. Players like Dave Coulson (£1.9m) may be cheap but carefully scouting out underrated second and third teamers could earn you those few extra points that make all the difference come the end of June.

Start ‘em: Miles McDermott – who scored and picked up Man of the Match against Vanbrugh Seconds today – is cracking value at £3.9m having gone from twelth man to regular starter for Alcuin Firsts since the beginning of term. One for the window.

Sit ‘em: Ed Lacaille is in a poor run of form for Derwent Firsts and a terrible miss last Thursday makes his £4.8m price-tage look rather ridiculous. Elsewhere, Ali Prince deserves a starting chance after a goalscoring performance off the bench today, but with Vanbrugh in danger of an early exit and Prince currently playing second fiddle to Tristan Buckley and Mark Gouland, he looks overvalued at £5.2m.

Welcome to Start ‘em Sit ‘em. Every week I’ll be reflecting on the best – and worst – College Cup performers, taking a closer look at those bargain basement buys in the Fantasy market. Don’t forget there’s a Transfer Window coming up where you’ll be able to make four crucial changes to your team – and I’m sure everyone’s as desperate as I am to see Adlou dislodged from his lofty comfort zone atop of the FF table. I’ll be previewing that in more detail as it draws ever closer in week 7.

If you head over to the Fantasy Football home page there’s also a Team of the Week on display: this is simply the best 4-4-2 team of players according to points over the last game week and is a tip-top indication of players currently “on toast” (credit: Alan Hansen).

Shaun Evans is this week’s Player of the Week and a nailed-on starter in Team of the Week, but don’t necessarily expect to see him there in the future. He told me he was “just as surprised as you are” by his stunning hat-trick showing and, boy, wasn’t it a surprise? He’ll be a good buy over the course, especially with the start he’s made, but expect Halifax to begin conceding when they’re pitted against the tougher teams and, unfortunately, the goals to dry up for Shaun.

Standouts from week one include John Carrol (£3m, 7 points) for James Seconds – a decent outfit, despite clean sheets not being their forte – and Nav Jakarkhyl (£4m, 10 points) who had an absolute stormer for current Cup favourites Derwent Firsts, notching 2 goals in their 5-0 win.

Ardent fans of Tom Wilson (£7.8m), Joe Brennan (£6.2m) and University Second Team captain Alex Richards (£5.9m) will be bitterly disappointed after they failed to show for their respective colleges in the week of the Eurovision song contest: they all languish on nil points.

I’ll be here at regularly sporadic intervals over the weeks with the best titbits from the College Cup and all your best buys to boot.