Having been deposed by Michelle last week, Kevin, with the week's top score, has turned the tables this time around and has retaken the lead. Ken has regained the ground he lost last week and moved up to 3rd, while Jon improved by two to share 4th with Joe who didn't move. Simon edged up another place and joins Sandra in 6th, the latter having fallen back three places. Chris, Jenni and Brian didn't move but Mick overtook Oliver to move into 11th, and Dan did the same to Nick to grab 13th. What can I say about Karen and Powys Pensioners in 15th? Nothing!

We are now heading for another international break. It would be nice to have a rest ourselves but, with player involvement all over the globe and those players not on international duty still training or recovering from injury, you'll probably want to remain vigilant regarding your team members or possible replacements ready for the PL return on Saturday 18th. Some break!

Back in two weeks.

Perhaps we should all go on Safari during the football season because the Kenyan air certainly seems to have done wonders for Michelle's managerial skills that have taken her up three places to head the table. Having already laid eyes on the 'Big 5', she now has a prize of her own in sight. Her improvement was unwelcome news for Kevin and Sandra who each dropped a place and who are now being closely tracked by Joe, the week's joint highest scorer, who moved up two places at Ken and Jon's expense. It obviously takes more than African wildlife to inspire The Unconvincibles! 

Meanwhile in wet Wales, success this week was gender-based. Simon gained a place in 7th, pushing Chris down to 8th, while Brian, with the week's joint highest score, made the biggest move, up four places to 10th, just behind Jenni who didn't move. Neither did Oliver or Mick, which was actually better than Nick and Dan who lost ground while Karen remains immobile in 15th.

For the fifth footballing week in a row, a different manager has top scored. This week it's Ken who has lifted himself up three places to third behind Sandra, who recovered the ground she lost last week, and Kevin who continues to lead. Michelle didn't move in 4th, but both Jon (down three) and Joe (down one) lost out. Chris overtook Simon to move into 7th and Jenni did the same to Nick to go 9th. The only other movement saw Brian drop to 14th, just above Karen. Those poor Welsh pensioners and their donkeys are in a sorry state!

Currently the table is split into three groups: places 1-6, 7-9 and 10-15 and, within those groups, the positional changes aren't that significant. Although this is the third week that Kevin has held the lead, it's only by small margins. I know it's only early days but, is the change in the number of weekly transfers making a difference? I think it is. Whereas we had anticipated that league fixtures would regularly be spread over four days, so far that isn't happening, but the scheduling of fixtures is providing an opportunity for managers to make very similar transfers - even more so than in previous seasons. I think that accounts for why the points scored in these first few weeks of the season have been reasonably similar. It may take a brave manager to break the mould in order to set themselves apart.

The Premier League returned after the international break with the usual moans about players tired from their global travels and injury niggles from their international playing time, and still the uncertainty of how long it is going to take recent squad additions to settle. Perhaps surprisingly - but helpfully - there weren't any upsets in terms of the weekend's results.

The week's break gave us an extra opportunity to re-think our teams, but not everyone took advantage. Mick was one who didn't, presumably because he was comfortable with his selections (rather than he just forgot!), and his decision not to over-tinker was vindicated because he returned the week's highest score that lifted him two places into twelfth.  

Kevin has held on to top spot but he is now only one point ahead of Jon who has eased away from Sandra who dropped to third. Michelle and Joe both moved up two places, swallowing up Ken and Simon en route. Chris overtook Nick to go 8th while Jenni and Oliver didn't move. With a high score of his own, Dan lifted himself two places to share 13th with Brian, pushing Karen back to 15th again. The last two had had a very tiring week beforehand (thanks guys!) so, if they lost their focus, they are excused!

Three weeks in: VAR controversies, transfer window hype and an international break already upon us. It’s déjà vu!

It’s a challenging time for fantasy managers. Will new players - most of whom are highly rated, hugely overpaid unknowns – be selected to play and turn it on from the outset or, despite the extravagance of their transfer fee, will they be held back because they require time to find their feet and "adjust to the intensity of the PL"? All the anticipation and careful pre-season planning just goes to pot, and it is sometimes safer to rely on the players we know. But then there is always the risk of a promising team recording an unlikely result. Take Spurs' home defeat to Bournemouth for example. Eleven transfers were made to include a Tottenham player this week. Of the four players selected, none earned more than two points. It was also reasonable to expect Forest to see off a struggling West Ham, so ten transfers for the home team, especially their star striker, was predictable but, in the event, frustratingly wasteful. As I said, it is déjà vu!

But as fantasy managers, we just have to get on with it and high-scoring Kevin is proving that Surging from the Start this Season can be beneficial. He has eased himself into an early lead, pushing Jon down to share second place with Sandra. Ken is up to fourth, passing Simon on his way down to fifth, clearly overloaded by the weight of his team name! Let's be Frank hasn't moved for Michelle in sixth, while an improving Nick shares seventh with Joe who again lost ground. Chris has overtaken Jenni to go ninth and Oliver and Brian are unmoved in 11th and 12th. Karen has gained another place in 13th and Mick has followed her into 14th. Sadly, despite his best efforts, Dan has bottomed out in 15th.

New players into the PL following the flurry of activity on Transfer Deadline Day, and those players who changed clubs should be listed correctly in time for the next round of matches after the break.

Last week's top three of Joe, Sandra and Ken all slipped back as the first opportunity to change our original selections impacted the league table. Recording the week's top score, Jon took advantage and jumped up five places to lead, ahead of Kevin (up 2) and Simon (up 4) who now shares third with Sandra. Michelle improved by three to join Joe in sixth; Nick gained two places in 9th, and Karen's Powys Pensioners kick-started their mobility scooters to move up to 14th. With the exception of Dan who stayed in 13th, the rest of us all went in the wrong direction.

But it is only Week 2!

Welcome back. Fifteen teams make up this season's league. We've lost Tom but welcome Oliver with Mindblockers United. You'll notice some new team names and cannot fail to miss Simon's which, if it ever gets a mention on these pages, will be known as Llanfair PG FC. Jenni's team name now looks positively compact in comparison!

Let's face it, it takes time for the league to settle down. The summer transfer window is still open, pre-season injuries have yet to be treated and PL managers haven't worked out their first choice lineups yet. How can we expected to get it right straight away?

But some have! After only one week, Joe is already top; it doesn't bode well for the rest of us! Sandra is only one point behind with Ken a further point away in 3rd. Kevin has certainly Surged From The Start into 4th. Karen's Powys Pensioners clearly have mobility problems in 15th. You've got to feel sorry for them!

Welcome to SITF

The 2025/26 season begins on Friday 15 August. Teams need to be completed by 20:00 on that date ahead of the season's opener at Anfield.

You can make as many changes as you like before the deadline, and thereafter THREE transfers can be made within each transfer window between 00:00 on a Tuesday and 23:59 the following Monday. The first transfer window will open on Tuesday 19 August.

Good luck and enjoy the season.

That's it! The final whistle has blown and the corpulent female's vocalisation of You'll Never Walk Alone has reached its final beat. There could only be one SITF Champion this year. From the moment he took over the lead in Week 10, he resisted all the challenges that came his way. Faced with the obstacles of living in an upside-down world and in a completely opposite time zone, Joe fully deserves our congratulations. Ken came second to match his FAC performance and Kevin third.

Top scorer of the week was Brian, but he didn't move in 9th. And, surprise, surprise, Tom's appropriately named  Dunk in Donuts finished in 15th, the position he has held resolutely for most of the season.

So, it's goodbye from me. Enjoy your Summer break. No Euros or World Cup this year, just the World Club Cup to keep FIFA's coffers overflowing. 

Now there is just the small matter of the Presentation Evening to sort out ....

Still flushed with her success in the FA Cup competition, Michelle capped a fine weekend with her league team, Ange here we go again .. (which may soon be changed to Ange you're getting sacked on Monday!), top-scoring and moving up two places to 6th. Her improvement saw Sandra and Karen both lose ground, and it puts her only one place behind Jon, who himself fell back two as a result of a resurgent Kevin, who moved up to third. Joe, who clearly felt able to rest on his laurels and had a quiet weekend, has the title sown up, while Ken has a few more points to his advantage in second.

Brian and Chris changed places, so they are back to the same positions they held last week, while Dan moved above Nick for the first time since Week 2.

So, it all comes down to the next twelve games, starting this evening. We started in August; have battled through what seems like an infinite number of international breaks, have suffered (or perhaps gained) at the hands of VAR, and - as far as I am aware - we have come through it unscathed without serious injury. Fantasy football requires commitment, focus, thinking time, decision-making and a lot of luck. It's emotionally draining so, whatever the result, let us congratulate ourselves on getting through this, our 30th season of SITF. Enjoy the last week of football - but don't take your foot off the pedal until the final whistle.