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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 14:17:36 GMT
Afternoon, all.
With the arrival of June, our Prediction Game takes a close-season break. Time, then, to review the campaign that has just ended - courtesy of totting up by Archie and some month-by-month commentary from yours truly.
Stay tuned here for this - and also watch, over the next few days, the thread for our 2018/19 Big, Big Prediction Game, on which I shall attempt to calculate and announce how we all fared in that...
Cheers,
Macc
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 14:25:09 GMT
August
The first month of Downy's longstanding Heavenly competition to be run jointly by Team ArchMacc saw Sandy set the early pace, just ahead of the Hermanns Senior (August 2017's winner, as it happens) and Junior. "I shall now retire with an injury and claim the season as mine!", trilled the jubilant Sandmeister, knowing full well, as we all did, that it would be a marathon - not a sprint.
Top five:
1. Sandy - 14
2. Hermann - 13
3. Hermann Junior - 12
=4. Maccy - 11
=4. Gazz-man - 11
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 14:35:02 GMT
September
A five-week contest featured within it the horrors of guessing at the outcomes of ties involving lowly non-league outfits in the FA and Scottish Cups' First Qualifying Rounds. Mrs Macc put others to shame during those, and could even afford a zero score in the final week when, thanks to the tie-break, she pipped Sandy Junior - who was nevertheless consoled by a share of the overall lead with H.
Cumulative top five:
=1. Hermann - 26
=1. Sandy Junior - 26
=3. Gazz-man - 24
=3. Maccy - 24
=3. Sandy - 24
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 14:47:30 GMT
October
One of three highest-scoring months of the season - in which the winner notched up 17 points - also witnessed, in its first week, the best weekly score to date, as Eppers experienced the 'joy of six'. He proceeded to hold on to his lead throughout October, before edging out the author on a tie-break guess at the Scottish League Cup Semi-final attendance - for which everyone was shy by more than 3,500!
Cumulative top five:
1. Maccy - 41
2. Gazz-man - 37
=3. Hermann - 36
=3. Lennie - 36
5. Sandy Junior - 34
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:00:03 GMT
November
A tour around Europe's Premier Leagues, followed by brushes with the FA Cup's First Round proper and the new-fangled Nations League and, finally, a return to English and Scottish League matches, combined to produce a relatively low-scoring month that was claimed by Ceefer with a single-point victory over both Archie and Duds. The overall leader finished fifth to extend his advantage to eight points ahead of the closest challengers.
Cumulative top five:
1. Maccy - 52
=2. Ceefer - 44
=2. Duds - 44
=2. Hermann - 44
=5. Archie - 43
=5. Mhh - 43
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:13:05 GMT
December
Bradders was the man for the festive season - topping December's competition in both its first and third weeks, before mopping up in the two-week Christmas finale to accumulate a three-way best monthly tally for the campaign of 17. He rounded off a fine month by finishing joint-closest on the tie-break. Not that he needed to have done, mind, as his points by themselves proved sufficient to see off late challenges from Gazz and the previous season's overall champion, Market Harborough.
Cumulative top five:
1. Maccy - 65
=2. Gazz-man - 58
=2. Hermann - 58
=2. Mhh - 58
5. Duds - 57
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:20:44 GMT
January
The new year kicked off with a round of teasers that saw the junior versions of Hermann, Macc and Sandy all outscore their fathers! And the first named of those youngsters overtook early leader Archie to secure the first monthly title of 2019. Bradders again proved himself the tie-break master - but, such is the fickle fate of predicting, December's champion was consigned to the bottom of the table for January.
Cumulative top five:
1. Maccy - 72
2. Gazz-man - 69
=3. Ceefer - 67
=3. Mhh - 67
=5. Hermann - 66
=5. Hermann Junior - 66
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:36:42 GMT
February
Bradders found himself in the news again for February - this time as the comeback king, as December's champion looked to improve on his basement position of the intervening month. But having blazed a trail to lead for the first three weeks, he was ultimately caught, and edged out on the tie-break, by Sandy Junior, as all predictors guessed far too generously on the aggregate attendances for the FA Trophy Quarter-finals - with Plastic Fylde having 'attracted' a paltry 735 for theirs. The Gazz-man, who also finished level on points at the top, celebrated a good month by ending Hatter in Macc's reign as overall leader that had begun in October.
Cumulative top five:
1. Gazz-man - 83
2. Maccy - 79
3. Mhh - 76
=4. Ceefer - 75
=4. Duds - 75
=4. Lennie - 75
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:43:52 GMT
March
The Prediction Game welcomed new Heavener, Irish County fan, as Eppers took the latest month by storm in its first two weeks. But March took a twist in the middle - with Duds achieving six correct guesses out of six, after entering too late to hazard a guess at the outcome of Sheffield United's visit to Dirty Leeds. Everyone's favourite adopted Brummie went on to claim the monthly title, as well as moving into third place overall alongside Mhh - who finished equal-second for March with Sandy Junior.
Cumulative top five:
1. Gazz-man - 95
2. Maccy - 93
=3. Duds - 91
=3. Mhh - 91
5. Lennie - 89
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 15:54:24 GMT
April
The Knockout Cup, which had started in February, reached its conclusion - with Lennie seeing off a spirited challenge by Sandy Junior to win the two-legged final 6-4. The two finalists had, in their respective first round matches, eliminated Maccy and Gazz, who continued, in best tradition, to concentrate on the League - despite not having claimed a monthly title between them. The Gazz-man went close in April, after setting the early pace with Eppers - but both suffered a terrible final week, with the former failing to trouble the scorers and the latter only guessing one of the standard Premier/Football League teasers correctly, as H Junior leapfrogged the pair of them to see off Eppers in the tie-break for his second monthly trophy of the campaign.
Cumulative top five:
1. Gazz-man - 105
2. Maccy - 102
3. Mhh - 101
4. Lennie - 97
=5. Archie - 95
=5. Hermann - 95
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 16:02:54 GMT
May
The predictors went into the final month, with three - including the reigning title-holder - maintaining hopes of becoming champion for 2018/19. The season's lowest monthly points tally of 12 in April was followed by the joint-highest of 17 in May, as the trickiness of guessing outcomes of domestic play-off fixtures and overseas tussles held no fear - especially for Macc Junior, who beat Lennie by a point to receive a trophy that could go in his father's virtual cabinet for safe keeping. But would Macc Senior be able to secure another, through his own efforts, as he strove to close the overall three-point gap on the Gazz-man...?
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 16:15:49 GMT
No - he could not!
A third-place finish by Gazz for May saw him extend his lead at the death to five points - with Market Harborough drawing level in second on 115, which matched the tally that had been enough to win the title a year previously:
1. Gazz-man -120 (monthly totals: 11/13/13/5/16/11/14/12/10/15)
=2. Maccy - 115 (11/13/17/11/13/7/7/14/9/13)
=2. Mhh - 115 (10/11/12/10/15/9/9/15/10/14)
4. Lennie -113 (11/12/13/6/14/8/11/14/8/16)
5. Duds - 111 (9/10/12/13/13/8/10/16/10/10)
=6. Hermann - 106 (13/13/10/8/14/8/8/12/9/11)
=6. Macc Junior - 106 (7/10/16/7/11/7/11/13/7/17)
8. Archie - 105 (10/9/11/13/10/11/7/14/10/10)
9. Hermann Junior - 100 (12/7/14/9/11/13/7/6/12/9)
10. Bradders - 99 (11/11/9/7/17/5/14/7/7/11)
11. Ceefer - 97 (10/9/11/14/12/11/8/5/10/7)
=12. Eppers - 94 (5/8/17/4/11/8/10/9/12/10)
=12. Mrs Macc - 94 (7/15/8/5/12/9/8/12/8/10)
14. County_fan - 91 (9/9/9/9/9/8/2/12/10/14)
15. Sandy Junior - 86 (11/15/8/5/5/7/14/15/6/-)
16. Sandy - 78 (14/10/7/11/3/6/10/9/8/-)
17. Irish - 21 (-/-/-/-/-/-/-/6/9/6)
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Post by hatter_in_macc on Jun 1, 2019 16:19:05 GMT
So, there you have it! Well done to the Gazz-man for a fantastically consistent year's predicting, and many thanks to all of you for taking part - with an especially honourable mention to my esteemed partner in guessing crime, Archie, for doing the sums. See you in August for the next one.  |
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Post by gazz on Jun 1, 2019 16:49:21 GMT
Blimey!!!
I honestly didn't see that one coming, so I'm well chuffed with that!
Many thanks and commiserations, Maccy and many thanks to you and Archie for all your efforts this season!
Well played, everyone!
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Post by dudleyhatter on Jun 1, 2019 19:29:13 GMT
Cheers Macc and Archie for doing this for us this season. I am happy with a 5th place finish. Just reward for pure guesswork and being duty bound to back a Birmingham victory every time! Which probably cost me second place!
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