Once again there hasn't been much positional movement, but the top four have become more compressed. Jon top-scored and closed up on Michelle, who in turn has put the pressure on Kevin who, not to be outdone, reduced Ken's lead. The actual changes took place in mid-table where Simon, in a repeat of Week 20, got the better of Jenni to move back into 5th, and at the bottom Dan and Nick have changed places for the third week running.

This week's points tally is just below the average for a week in which there has been just one full list of fixtures, and this has been the case for the previous three weeks when a similar number of matches have taken place. So, what's been happening? Well, Haaland, who was prolific earlier in the season, has only scored once in those four weeks and the teams with defenders popular with fantasy managers (Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea) have only managed seven of the twenty one clean sheets achieved in that time. Time for a shake-up perhaps? If it helps, this week's top scorers were Bowen (midfielder) 11pts, Aina (defender) and Pedro (forward) 10pts.

There were only four positional changes this week: Joe moved above Sandra into 8th and Nick lifted himself off the bottom to change places with Dan. The rest of us stayed put with, for the most part, not too dissimilar point's totals. Ken and Simon top scored with five other teams totalling over forty, and six in their thirties.

Given the popularity of Arsenal and Chelsea defenders and the fact that both teams kept a clean sheet at the weekend, the similarity in our scores was not too surprising. Add that to the fact that both Etikite and Watkins were transferred in on six occasions apiece - and failed to deliver more than two points each - point's tallies were somewhat subdued. For the sake of completeness, Dorgu (Man U) was the week's top scorer with 12 pts. Will anyone take a punt on him next week in an away fixture at Arsenal?

Well, that was a busy week! Having to keep abreast of the midweek PL games while also giving thought to an FA Cup team. Sadly, not everyone managed to do both.

The league table shows little movement apart from where it counts. Ken continues to lead but Kevin, with the week's highest score, has moved above Michelle into second. At the foot of the table, the inevitability of Nick sinking to rock bottom again was realised when Dan lifted himself into 14th.

A fair number of us have enjoyed the performances of Chelsea's defenders this season - they have been a relatively reliable point-scoring source. But, of late, that bubble seems to have burst, culminating in Cucurella's sending off on Wednesday. Jon was lucky as he transferred him out the previous Sunday. Unfortunately, he brought Keane in. Yes, Michael Keane of Everton who scored, but then got sent off as did Grealish in the same game. Oh, and Jon had transferred him in too!

So, to the FA Cup. It's a very select group in the competition this season - only nine entries. But, cometh the hour cometh the man. Casting his league choices to one side, Jon made the right Third Round selections, including Reijnders (10 pts), Wilson (9) and Smith-Rowe (8) and they took him and his Uncupsetables to the top of the leaderboard. But he is not alone. Jenni - whose trip to Old Trafford didn't quite end up as she had hoped - shares the lead. Apart from two players, she has a different looking team altogether. She also selected Wilson and relied on goals from Sesko (7) [at least that gave her something to cheer!] and Rodri (7) plus clean sheets from Frimpong and Adarabioyo (Chelsea). 

The rest of us aren't too far behind, although Arctic Donkeys would surely have been hoping for a faster getaway. Brian will be playing catch-up in the next round in a month's time and, in the meantime, Karen will obviously be continuing her Welsh lessons! Come on you Pensiynwyr.

We are almost at the end of the holiday mayhem; just this coming midweek round of games (starting tonight) before everything settles back to normal. I say 'mayhem'. What else would you call it when two of the highest profile league managers get sacked and, closer to home, Dan was the week's top scorer. I don't think I've written that too many times!! 

Surprisingly, after two sets of fixtures across New Year, none of the usual high-scoring PL players featured in the top ten, a list headed instead by Thiago of Brentford (19pts). Which helps to explain why fantasy points were generally on the low side - especially for Ken who was the lowest of the lot! He still managed to retain his lead with Michelle in second, but Kevin has moved back into third at the expense of Jon who dropped a place. In their personal battle for 5th, Jenni got the better of Simon, while Chris moved up two places into 11th, pushing both Brian and Oliver backwards.

FA CUP 3rd Round

The website is ready for you to enter your FA Cup teams ahead of this coming weekend's 3rd Round ties. Matches begin on Friday, kicking off with Wrexham v Nottingham Forest at 19:30. Teams need to be completed by 18:15.

If you are anything like me, the days over this festive period all merge together. So, while I'm not altogether sure, Christmas is fast disappearing into the distance and 2026 is on the horizon. And over this period, there has been a lot of football. Never mind the footballers, it's hard for us sit-at-home fantasy managers to keep up! The fixtures that we are concerned with now took place over the past weekend, sandwiched between Christmas Day and the beginning of the New Year schedules (which start this evening).

Michelle didn't have a problem keeping her focus: she top-scored to keep up the pressure on Ken who continues to lead, but with a reduced advantage. Brian was clearly inspired by being back in England for a couple of days. Not only was he the week's second-highest scorer but he delighted in keeping count of his scorers as we watched local football in the freezing cold! He gained two places, up to 11th, while Chris did the opposite, down two into 13th.

Elsewhere, Simon has quietly gone about his business and is now up to 5th, knocking Jenni down one to 6th. Sandra got the better of Joe to move above him into 8th. 

That's it for this year. See you on the other side in 2026. Happy New Year everyone.

There aren't too many things that Ken and Kylie have in common, but both being number one at Christmas presents an opportunity to make a connection that just can't be missed. Yes, I know it might not be exactly the same, but I could have made a link with Arsenal also being top of a table - but that would have got me into even more trouble from some circles!

Heading into Christmas, the top two of Ken and Michelle remain the same, but Jon, with the week's top score, has forced his way into third (his highest position since week 5) pushing Kevin down into 4th. Positions five to ten didn't change, but Chris moved into 11th above Oliver, Brian remains at 13th, while Nick celebrates the family's pre-Christmas New York break by claiming back 14th place, shouldering Dan down to 15th. 

So, once the wrapping is all done, the food for the Big Day prepared and ready to go, what else will there be to do? Of course, there's no football on Christmas Day so you'll have to be content with festive specials on the TV, sandwiched between the re-runs of old films. Or you could look ahead to, and plan for the resumption of the packed PL seasonal schedule which begins again on Boxing Day, continues over New Year and followed by a mid-week fixture list ahead of the 3rd Round of the FA Cup over the weekend of 9/12 January. Phew!

I'd make the most of those old films if I were you; there's a busy time ahead.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas is nearly here - one more week of fixtures before the big day - but did your Premier League players dish up any early presents for you? You would have thought that with Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all keeping clean sheets, there would have been more points on the board. But, with some players missing through injury or suspension and some less well-fancied players getting on the score sheet (not helped by Arsenal having their two goals scored for them!), there were no real stand-out performances.

Ken top-scored, but not by much, and the top four places remain unchanged. Moving up gradually is Jenni, now into fifth, while Mick, who gained the same number of points as her this week, also moved up a place into 7th. Joe's fall from grace continues - down another two places into 8th. Also down was Nick whose steady, but relentless decline now sees him at rock bottom.   

There's nothing better than a week with two full sets of fixtures although, to rack up maximum points, you do have to make the right transfers at the right time. Hmm, perhaps that is a bit more problematic and stressful than I first thought - and there is always a certain amount of luck attached to it!

Full disclosure, I did actually write that first sentence before realising that it was rather insensitive and might appear a bit smug given that Greenbank Flyers had top-scored and lifted themselves up a place to take over the lead. Michelle also moved up one into second, meaning that after nine consecutive weeks, Kevin has dropped to third. Also up one into 4th is Jon, replacing Joe who fell back to 5th.

Altogether, six teams reached treble figures for the week with Jenni, in 7th, being the second highest scorer, just ahead of Mick a place behind. The only other movement, though, saw Dan elevate himself off the bottom .. if only to share 14th with Nick. It's nevertheless a move in the right direction!

In case the top teams fail to keep a clean sheet, it can be advisable to have a backup strategy to compensate for those lost points. Perhaps keeping faith with Liverpool, given their present form, might be a bit risky, but it worked this week with somewhat of a surprising win at West Ham. And then bring in a player, like Foden, who is now playing better and keep your fingers crossed. 

Michelle did just that and, together with the two highest points' scorers in an otherwise pretty shabby Spurs team, reaped the rewards and top-scored this week. That lifted her up to third, behind Ken, who also moved up one, with Kevin continuing to lead. Joe was the collateral damage, dropping two places to fourth. Jenni gained two places in 7th, replacing Sandra whose nightmare of a week saw her fall back by the same number to 9th.

There was no further movement but that could all change next week with two full sets of fixtures within seven days. 

Welcome back. I trust you didn't pick up any injuries during the international break and aren't suffering too much jet lag from your overseas trips! It was, thank goodness, the last such break until March.

So, it was back to business for the Premier League, and some things didn't change. Spurs failed to win again but did at least score to stop Arsenal keeping a clean sheet. Chelsea made it three shutouts in a row while both Manchester teams lost and Liverpool just can't comprehend the losing run they are putting together.

These sorts of results can catch fantasy managers out, so you need to keep your wits about you. Just like Jon, who top scored this week, but only just behind was Karen whose form has carried over from before the break, The only movement in an otherwise unusually static table this week was Simon, leading the Welsh contingent, up one place to 6th, while Sandra dropped back two to 7th.