Erskine Cup And Walkunders

The midweek matches did see a few changes to the table, with Jamie A the big winner moving to the top on the back of an 11.26 point gain. I was going to merge the midweek results in with this weekend, but I'd hate to deny Jamie A his place atop the podium, so here are the top 10 as we head into the weekend:

There are a few entries not showing up the first match of the Erskine Cup (I don't recall this happening in the FIFA World Cup) so the match-ups, with some notes to enhance your Cup experience, are:

While in football, a team whose opponents fail to show up is awarded a walkover and 3 points, I have the novel idea of adding in the possibility of a walkunder. Basically Mortimer, Ian Erskine, XX Draws, Football Elite and XX Unders are facing a team of dustbins, with the embarrassing possibility of losing to them! It's rather upsetting that two people think they can beat my XX Selections without showing up, but if last night's results continue through the weekend, and that is a big if, they may regret that decision. One goal in the two selections so far, and that was a 90th minute effort.

That every tie has at least one selection, means the chances of a draw are rather slim, so it's 3 points or nothing.

Ian Erskine, to whom we all owe a large debt of gratitude for sponsoring this diversion to the regular season, also had two selections last night, but has dug a small hole for himself as both Mainz '05 and Elche failed to win at home. Football Elite also handed the advantage to an idle opponent, as he had Mainz '05 to win as well.

Joining XX Draws with Mainz '05 v Hoffenheim as a draw selection was Draw Picks so TFA_Raz is already behind, as is Rubicon whose opponent Fairfranco found a draw in Ligue 2 although offset by one losing selection.

In Group E, there's a battle of the Draws, with Peter Nordsted's Drawmaster pitting three selections against TFA Graeme's first two selections of the season.

With three Group games, no one will be eliminated after this weekend, and the randomness of it all hopefully adds a little fun to the FTL. Thanks again Ian for making this possible.

And now for the Wisdom of the FTL Crowd forecast. Last week was another profit, which for the season now stands at 14.9 points.

Four homes and four draws with one No Bet where the panel is evenly divided.