The Official 2018/19 Champions League Predictathonthon

[mattyn1]

By request, let's do this.

The rules will be similar to the Premier League Thon we all know and love (and don't do very well) However if we can get 32 entrants, I am wondering if we could do groups just like the CL. 20 entrants I will run a simple league.

I will edit this post shortly with the specific rules. I am wondering whether we can do something different when we get past the group stages. Add your name to the post below to enter!!

More to follow!

[mattyn1]

Players for the 2018/19 CL Season:

1. Mattyn1

[mattyn1]

Just want to canvass players for the mot favoured format.

Choice A - Simple league table made up of all players - exactly the same format to the Premier League Predictathon.

Choice B - If we get enough entrants, set up a group competition much like the real CL. Players predict scores as per normal - but you are competing against players in your group only.

Choice B - 1 - At the end of the group stage - the top two of each group will make up the Champions League Division 1. The Bottom two of each group make up Champions League Division 2. We run the rest of the results as normal in a further League format.

Choice B - 2 - At the end of the group stage (assuming we get 32 entrants) we run the knock out stages (matches declared based on the real CL format). Top two of each group go through to the Champions League knockout stage - bottom two of each group go through to a Europa League (I will have a last 16 draw for those matches). This should keep interest going but I will need to work out a scoring system that is definitive over the two legs - I am working on that!

Or if you have a better idea, please post asap so I can sort it!!

I quite like the idea of following the real CL format - with a way to keep all players interested for as long as possible.

[mattyn1]

GloverMart said:

mattyn1 said:

Players for the 2018/19 CL Season:

1. Mattyn1 +2 (B2)
2. Glover Mart +2 (A)

My two lads would like to join separately (so that would be three from our household) but if you have enough players, don't worry. They can be just brutally thrown aside like they were from Gadget's thread...

I have added my two lads too as extras to get the numbers up if necessary!

Edit - added format choice!!

Edited by mattyn1 on Monday 10th September 23:26

[mattyn1]

Players for the 2018/19 CL Season:

1. Mattyn1 +2 (B2)
2. Glover Mart +2 (A)
3. Black can man


Sure - I will do that for you!!

[mattyn1]

GloverMart said:

gadgetmac said:

Just a thought but...

If you continue this competition next season then in line with the real competition perhaps you should have to qualify for it by being in the top half of the Premier League Predictathon at the end of the season.

It would add a bit of incentive and kudos to both competitions with this one being only for the cream of forecasters. It would be aspirational, qualifying for this competition would be like finishing in the top 4 of the EPL.

Like I said, just a thought.

That's not a bad shout, Gadget.

At this rate, maybe we should ask PH for a Predictathon section....

Would it be too grumpy to say if I don't qualify for Europe I am not doing the Champions League-a-thon!! its my ball and if I can't play......!!

There are 20 of us in the Premier League -a-thon - next season top ten do CL, bottom ten do Europa League. Keep them both as simple ten player leagues.

I have a plan brewing for this years CL-a-thon - lets see how many entrants we get before Sat night!!

[mattyn1]

Maybe we can get another to volunteer to run the Community Shield competition!!

[mattyn1]

Great response so far guys, thank you. I will publish the first matches in a mo, but I think we will keep the entry open until Tuesday Midday (UK time for those abroad).

I have been busier than expected at work am initially going to stick to a standard league format (we don't really have enough entrants for groups just yet). However I have a idea for when the CL moves to a knock out competition around Xmas which I intend to trial, alongside this league format. Details to follow when I get chance.

Throughout the group stages, I will publish all 16 matches (Tuesday and Wednesday). Please return predictions by 1500 (UK time to allow for those early kick offs) on the Tuesday match day. I will post a reminder when I post the matches.

Usual routine though guys please - format your scores as follows: scorespacescore (1 1). Try to avoid a space after the score as I do think that causes an issue, but I will try to check as I copy and paste them into the spreadsheet. For those unaware, please post as follows:

Matchday 1a - Tuesday 18 Sep 18 - predictions by 1500 18 Sep 18

Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund
AS Monaco v Atletico Madrid
Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan v Tottenham
Liverpool v PSG
Crvena Zvezda v Napoli
Galatasaray v Locamotiv Moscow
FC Schalke v Porto

0 1
2 0
2 2
1 0
0 1
1 1
0 0
0 3

I am getting team names and fixtures from the official UEFA CL site. Apparently Crvena Zvezda used to be Red Star Belgrade!

Scoring is exactly the same as before - 3 points for getting the correct scoreline, 1 point for getting the correct result (home win/away win/draw).

I will post full rules over the weekend.

Most of all, good luck!!

[mattyn1]

Matchday 1a – Tuesday 18 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund
AS Monaco v Atletico Madrid
Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan v Tottenham
Liverpool v PSG
Crvena Zvezda v Napoli
Galatasaray v Locamotiv Moscow
FC Schalke v Porto

Matchday 1b – Wednesday 19 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Ajax v AEK Athens
Benfica v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Man City v Olympique Lyonnais
Real Madrid v Roma
FC Viktoria Plzen v CSKA Moscow
BSC Young Boys v Man Utd
Valencia v Juventus

[mattyn1]

Matchday 1a – Tuesday 18 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund
AS Monaco v Atletico Madrid
Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan v Tottenham
Liverpool v PSG
Crvena Zvezda v Napoli
Galatasaray v Locamotiv Moscow
FC Schalke v Porto

1 2
1 2
2 0
2 1
1 1
0 2
1 0
1 2

Matchday 1b – Wednesday 19 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Ajax v AEK Athens
Benfica v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Man City v Olympique Lyonnais
Real Madrid v Roma
FC Viktoria Plzen v CSKA Moscow
BSC Young Boys v Man Utd
Valencia v Juventus

2 0
1 2
2 0
2 0
2 1
1 1
0 2
0 2

[mattyn1]

JackN Predictions
Matchday 1a – Tuesday 18 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund
AS Monaco v Atletico Madrid
Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan v Tottenham
Liverpool v PSG
Crvena Zvezda v Napoli
Galatasaray v Locamotiv Moscow
FC Schalke v Porto

1 2
2 2
4 0
1 2
1 1
1 3
2 2
2 3

Matchday 1b – Wednesday 19 Sep 18 - Predictions by 1500 Tuesday 18 Sep 18

Ajax v AEK Athens
Benfica v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Man City v Olympique Lyonnais
Real Madrid v Roma
FC Viktoria Plzen v CSKA Moscow
BSC Young Boys v Man Utd
Valencia v Juventus

2 2
1 4
1 1
3 1
2 1
1 1
2 2
1 2

[mattyn1]

Proper rivalry this!!

[mattyn1]

Hey no problem! After lasts nights drama, I am able to take today off to look after the Mrs - so in all, a bit of a win!

I just hope she is better later to cook dinner!

[mattyn1]

Right guys - entrants locked in and this is the "final" list: (bold indicates the new joiners)

1 Mattyn1
2 Jackn1
3 Glover Mart
4 GloverRyan
5 Black can man
6 Dan_1981
7 Jcremonini
8 Gadgetmac
9 BrabusMog
10 The Jiffle King
11 Pommy
12 Lenandsons
13 V15Ben
14 Ascayman
15 GTO-3R
16 GloverHarry
17 Phuzzy
18 mickk

As it stands we have 18 entrants, with three new guys - meaning five from the Premier League have not entered.

I am happy to take any other entrants this week - just on the basis tonight's matches won't count for them - and tomorrow's won't count if they do not submit their name by 1500 tomorrow.

Final final cut off for entry is 09:00 Thur 20 Sep 18.

If I have missed anyone in the list above please flag it up here asap!

[mattyn1]

So, the rules......

RULES FOR SEASON 2018-2019

These rules can be amended/added to by a simple consensus of more than half the people playing all agreeing to the change - this isn't my game, it belongs to everyone playing – UP TO A POINT. Any rule changes which increase the workload for the Administrator can be vetoed by him. You can ask any following administrator to reconsider should that happen.

Once agreed, however, and in order to be fair and unbiased, the rules will be adhered to all season as once you allow one person to bend them, others begin to think there's favouritism being shown.

So, the rules are as follows:



1. THIS THREAD

Please keep this thread for Champions League Predictathon business only. Banter etc is always welcome as before, but if you want to have in-depth discussions about other football subjects, please do it on another thread.



2. POSTING YOUR PREDICTIONS

If you’ve agreed to play you MUST keep an eye on this thread including looking back to pages that you’ve haven’t read before and posting your predictions in good time.



Group Matches
All predictions must be submitted by 1500 (3PM) on each Matchday Tuesday.
A Matchday consists of group matches on that Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please post in this forum in the same format as before, listing your scores below the fixtures thus:



Club Bruge v Borussia Dortmund
AS Monaco v Atletico Madrid
Barcelona v PSV Eindhoven
Inter Milan v Tottenham
Liverpool v PSG
Crvena Zvezda v Napoli
Galatasaray v Locamotiv Moscow
FC Schalke v Porto

1 1

1 2

3 3

0 2

1 2

1 2

1 1

2 1



You must use the published fixture list I produce each week for your forecasts as it makes it easier for me to cut & paste your forecasts straight into the spreadsheet. The key for me is the list of scores as this will be pasted into the spreadsheet and hence the order and spacing needs to be correct so that each score corresponds to the correct match.


Make sure you have the right number of scores in the list! If you don't it will be your loss as I won’t be counting your entries and notifying you if you are short, in such cases your scores will be deemed to correspond to the games in order, ie. if you only post 9 scores, these will be deemed to apply to the first nine matches and you will be awarded zero points for the tenth match. ‘Edited’ forecasts are not permissible and will be ignored so once you press ‘post’ I’m afraid that’s it.



3. MISSING THE DEADLINE

 If you forget to submit your predictions or submit them too late, you will be awarded zero points for every game.



5. HOLIDAYS ETC

 If you are going away please tell me by posting on this thread (don’t email me as I don’t check my emails that frequently) and I will email you the fixtures you will miss for you to forecast in advance. Post your forecasts onto the thread, do not send them back to me. If you don't do this you'll be awarded zero points for each game you miss and will be removed from the game should that take you over the limit of 3 (yes 3, more on that in a minute) matchdays in total each season that you can miss.



6. FAILING TO PREDICT

 There is a ‘3 strikes’ rule in operation. If you do not forecast for 3 matchdays in total without a prior notification of your intention not to forecast being posted on this thread (ie you are going on holiday, your cat got run over, your woman slapped you about a bit, paper cuts etc), you will be removed from the league with no re-admittance this season or NEXT season (It will be the Administrators choice). There will be no warnings given if you are already at 2 strikes and you fail to forecast again - you will simply find yourself excluded from the game. If you can’t be bothered for 3 matchdays in the season I won’t be chasing your a*se. There will be no readmittance to the Predictathon should you have not had the decency to inform the administrator (ie Me) that you won’t be forecasting over the course of 3 matchdays in the season. It’s not fair for you to do this as it’s a LOT of work.


7. COMEDY FORECASTS 

Please don’t post comedy forecasts (ie 10-0 and other obvious nonsense) - this isn't allowed and you'll be given zero points for all of that matchday’s forecasts if you do it. By all means post funny comments above the actual list of scores that I'll be cut 'n' pasting but take the forecasts seriously - a lot of work goes into this so silly forecasts might just make me wonder whether to bother.



8. POINTS

 As in previous years, 1 point will be given for a correct prediction (home win/away win/draw) with an additional 3 bonus points awarded for a correct score line.



9. YOUR WEEKLY SCORE

 You are responsible for checking that I have got your points earned that week correct and letting me know if something is amiss, which I’m sure you will.





11. POSTPONED OR REARRANGED GAMES

 Scores will be held in the system for postponed games and points will be calculated once the games have been played. I’m afraid that due to time constraints should a game be postponed for several months, all participants will NOT be given the opportunity to revise their prediction, the scores held in the spreadsheet will apply.



12. THE TABLE 

I will publish the table when I can the post completion of the matches. Bear in mind that it takes a lot of work, so some weeks there may not be an update.



13. TABLE POSITIONS 

Slightly different to the Premier League a thon – correct score lines will be counted before correct results (Home win, Away Win, Draw) – thinking is the correct score line is harder to guess! If it’s still equal, we will utilise a count back system - correct scorelines on the last matchday, last two match days etc.


14. FORMAT. If necessary, there will relegation, so watch the table! The bottom 3 will be relegated. Once relegated you are omitted from the competition for the following season and your place will be taken by a newcomer or somebody returning after a season in exile. Relegation will allow any future administrator to control the number of contestants should he wish. Even if you know you’ll be relegated you MUST continue to forecast until the season end as you will have the chance to re-enter the Predictathon after a season out. Previously relegated players with a complete posting record in their season of relegation with take precedence over Newcomers if places are tight. If you fall foul of the 3 strikes rule YOU WON’T. I believe relegation will make things more interesting and the banter more cruel funny.



15. NUMBER OF PLAYERS

 This is limited to 32 in-line with the actual Champions League Group Stage.




17. YOU & I - OUR PACT 

In short, I agree to



1. Publish the fixtures each week

2. Gather in your forecasts

3. Store any predictions for postponed games and apply them when due.

4. Calculate your points

5. Record any missing forecasts each week

6. Compile and Publish the League Table




You agree to



1. Read the thread

2. Follow any instructions or set timetables and revisions for Holiday periods

3. Actually forecast.

Everyone must pull their weight as the administrator doesn't have the time or the inclination to pull both his weight and yours.



Thank you for reading this and good luck.

[mattyn1]

In addition, come Xmas when the CL enters the knock out phase we will adopt two competitions to run parallel with each other.

The main comp will continue on a league basis, utilising each match as a prediction - all predictions must be based on 90 minutes and will not include extra time.

To add a bit of competition and rivalry, we will also run a knock out phase to coincide with the real time CL. The top eight players from our league will be assigned the winners of the real time CL group winners (Groups A - H), players in position 9 - 16 will be assigned the runners up of each group.

When the champions league round of 16 draw takes place, it will then form eight matches - we will then run similar matches - player against player and you will predict scores for each leg of all of those R16 matches. Final scores for predictathon matches will be calculated over the two legs. However, a slight change will be the home player for each leg will choose his predicted scores first - away player will chose his predicted scores second. In addition, away players cannot choose the same scoreline as the home team player.

Let me explain with an example:

Black can man is drawn against gadgetmac

For the first leg matches, Black can man will choose his scoreline predictions first. gadgetmac will then choose his predictions ensuring he does not select a same scoreline for a real match as his opponent. Both players choose predictions for all real matches in that round.

For the second leg matches, order of predictions will be reversed - gadgetmac first and then Black can man. Second leg predictions will be for 90 minutes only and will not include Extra Time!

The fixture winner will be calculated using standard points scoring system, and he will then go through to the next round, and his next match will be based on the draw for the real time CL.

By the time the season hits the CL final, we will only have two players left - and can have a big build up to the final!!

The knockout phase predictions will be independent to the normal league predictions (or if you want, you are perfectly entitled to copy your predictions). That will be up to you.

I hope this makes sense.

[mattyn1]

Temp League Table after Matchday 1a (Matches played include tomorrows predictions - so don't worry about that)




I think this is about it!! I will not be doing this every Tuesday night - I just wanted to hail Jiffle and a great performance!

[mattyn1]

Table post Matchday 1



I just need to do some tweaking on the level points issue - consider yourselves joint first for the mo!

[mattyn1]

Dan_1981 said:

Cough alphabetical order cough

I see your point but I have had a private request from someone to change their name to aaaaaaaaaaaardvark!!!

[mattyn1]

Matchday 2a – 2 Oct 18 – Predictions posted by 1500 2 Oct 18 please

Bayern Munich v Ajax
AEK Athens v Benfica
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v Man City
Olympique Lyonnais v Shakhtar Donetsk
CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
Roma v FC Viktoria Plzen
Juventus v BSC Young Boys
Man Utd v Valencia

Matchday 2b – 3 Oct 18 - Predictions posted by 1500 2 Oct 18 please

Atletico Madrid v Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund v AS Monaco
Tottenham v Barcelona
PSV Eindhoven v Inter Milan
PSG v Crvena Zvezda
Napoli v Liverpool
Locamotiv Moscow v FC Schalke
Porto v Galatasaray

Edited by mattyn1 on Wednesday 19th September 23:01