Wednesday 5 December 2012

BAFA Uni Football Week Five Powerless Rankings




We've reached the penultimate powerless rankings of the 2012 portion of the season, and all we can say is wow, this season sure has flown by so far. Before we know it, we’ll be at the John Charles not cheering on any of the teams on this list as they’re all but out of the playoff races this season.

Only one person on the dishonorable mentions list this week, and that honour goes to...

Grounds men around the league – When the pitch is flooded, I can understand why that game is called off, but never in my life, have I heard of a game being postponed on an all weather pitch due to it being frozen! The all weather part of the title suggests that the pitch is fine to be used, but no, the grounds men decide to call it off, meaning teams miss out on fixtures this weekend. Grounds men around the league – sort it out!


10. Oxford Lancers (0-3)
This spot was a tough choice. Do I go with the Oxford Lancers or LSBU Spartans who are both 0-3. In the end, I realised that the Spartans have lost to UEA and Hertfordshire respectively, so I went with the Lancers who rise four places due to other results around the league. With their 2012 fixtures done and dusted, the Lancers have plenty of time for the second half of the season.
Next game – 27th January – vs. RHUL Bears

9. Lancaster Bombers (0-3)
Despite an improved performance against the Warriors compared to last season (97-0 last season, 24-0 this season), the Bombers were still unable to find the endzone for another week dropping their average points per game to less than 3. With Derby up next, it could be a miserable Christmas period for the Bombers faithful
Next game – 9th December – Derby Braves

8. Royal Holloway Bears (0-4)
The only 0-4 team in our powerless rankings (and the league) are the Royal Holloway Bears who find themselves at the number eight spot. Looking at the first half of their schedule, it’s no surprise the Bears are 0-4, as the Bears have faced BNU, Kingston, Brighton and Southampton in the past four weeks. Now that their 2012 schedule is over, the Bears can start resting up before planning for their game against the Oxford Lancers in the New Year.
Next game – 27th January – @ Oxford Lancers

7. Nottingham Outlaws (0-3)
I stopped myself from putting the Outlaws on previous powerless rankings due to their first two games being against Birmingham and Loughborough, but all that’s changed now following the Outlaws crushing loss against the Northampton Nemesis. Instead of looking like a playoff team like many predicted, the Outlaws are starting to look like one of the bottom feeders in the MAC.
Next game – 9th December – vs. Leicester Longhorns

6. Surrey Stingers (0-3)
When I saw the Surrey final scoreline, I thought that there was a typo and the score was actually meant to say 41-8 not 14-8. Well, it turns out that the Stingers did lose to the undefeated Tsunami by just one score. Now the big question is whether the Stingers can continue to perform better than everyone expected, or was this game just a flash in the pan and Surrey resume the role of whipping boys this weekend.
Next game – 9th December - @ Portsmouth Destroyers

5. Teesside Cougars (0-3)
When you lose to a team who are less than impressive, you must be really bad, and that’s why the Teesside Cougars slide two places this week. Had the loss been by more than two points, the Cougars would be further down this list! With the move to a new conference, all signs suggest that the Cougars will be finishing the season 0-8.
Next game – 9th December - @ Sunderland Spartans

4. Bath Spa Bulldogs (0-3)
It’s a rise of one spot for the Bulldogs despite being out of action for quite some time. Due to the bad weather, the Bulldogs have had extra weeks to train, and it’s that extra training that could be the difference when Bath Spa takes on the winless Swansea Titans this weekend.
Next game – 9th December - @ Swansea Titans

3. Wolverhampton Wildcats (0-1)
Another slide for the Wildcats despite no game at the weekend. Why, you ask? Because the Wildcats have now postponed three games this season. THREE! That means they should have six games in the New Year (but we doubt that’ll happen). Let’s just say that this writer isn’t impressed with his local teams off the field performances this season!
Next game – 9th December - @ Coventry Jets

1=. Worcester Royals (0-2)
Worcester remains tied for the bottom spot after their game against the Gloucester Gladiators was postponed due to the heavy downpour on the region. With a trip to Exeter on the cards this weekend, we’ll be able to see if the Royals took full advantage of their bye weeks as they plan to claim their first league victory in team history.
Next game – 9th December - @ Exeter Demons

1=. DMU Falcons (0-3)
If I was a member of the DMU team, I’d be livid! Not only did it look like the team would score their first points of the season, but it also looked as if the team would finally claim their victory of the season and move out of our powerless rankings. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be for the De Montfort boys as they now turn their attention to their game against the NTU Renegades this coming weekend.
Next game – 9th December – vs. NTU Renegades

17 comments:

  1. Hi Richard
    nice league table although i am not sure how you create the rankings that put a 0-4 team above a 0-2 team however.no doubt you use a sophisticated weighting coefficient based on the American college ranking system. perhaps you use the finger (middle one) in the air designed to demoralise hard working teams.
    Anyway your rant on "all weather pitches" is nothing more than juvenile nonsense written by someone who has no intention of understanding how things work. 4 inches on water is unplayable as is 6 inches of snow. this suggests that all weather is not in fact ALL weather. its a bit like suggesting AMERICAN football should be played by Americans or indeed that the foot is used very often. enjoy the rest of the American rules throw ball season.

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    Replies
    1. cool story bro

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    2. "i am not sure how you create the rankings that put a 0-4 team above a 0-2 team"

      then maybe you should read the article properly?
      It states that while RHUL have lost 4 straight, they've done so while playing some of the tougher teams in the conference, whereas others are 0-2 despite playing against other bottom dwellers.

      I think my rankings would probably be a little different, but pretty much the same teams, different order.

      Delete
    3. his reasons for the rankings are made clear in the article, and power rankings are about current form, so it makes sense to rank the RHUL bears above the Royals, I assume those were the teams you were talking about, as the Bears have played some decent teams so far and haven't looked atrocious, while the royals haven't played decent teams, and lost to tarannau. Also postponed games does give a team a chance to regroup and recover, but its going to be brutal later in the season, playing consistently and suffering because of it, so the rankings make perfect sense.

      And the comment about all weather pitches is that is was frozen, which is ridiculous, you went off on a tangent just to criticize Rich. No one expect to play in 4 inches of standing water or 6 inches of snow. That would be stupid.

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    4. "When the pitch is flooded, I can understand why that game is called off, but never in my life, have I heard of a game being postponed on an all weather pitch due to it being frozen!"

      Way to read the first line...lets hope you spend more time reading the playbook, but I'm guessing not if you're a member of one of the teams on this list.

      Also, it's not a league table, it's a powerless ranking...

      Delete
    5. FYI There's no such thing as an all weather pitch. 3G does get frozen, and it can also get covered in standing water, now you know. Can we all move on with our lives?

      Delete
  2. I like this article : )

    Keep it up

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  3. I fail to understand how postponed games makes someone a bad team... weather can't be helped and not all teams have fancy 3G pitches available to them!

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    Replies
    1. I suppose it depends on why the games were postponed, have all three of Wolverhampton's games been called off due to the weather?

      As for 3G apologies if you don't mean it like this but the way it reads is that every team with a 3G pitch has been given one. Unless you Uni insists that you HAVE to play on their pitch (and refusing to fund an alternative is not insisting that you HAVE to) then check spogo and see if there is an astroturf nearby. Sometimes it's just a question of whether it is worth raising that little bit extra money to ensure you don't have to postpone a home game.

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  4. hi Brett, which one of these teams are you

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  5. It's articles like these that make me ashamed to play this sport.. where did sportsmanship vanish off to? There are always a myriad of reasons as to why teams perform badly or spectacularly each season, and if articles like this are going to be written, time should be taken to analyse everything. From the size of each uni, the funding each team receives, the ratio of men/women in each respective university which can affect the pool of players available, the actual scores of the matches they have played and not just their win/loss ratio, plus one or two of the matches they have played.
    Yes, I am a member of one of the teams of the list but realise I'm not trying to argue whether my team should be on this list (I agree we should be, as we have performed badly this season), simply that if you're going to bother to take the time to make this you should at least do it properly. Maybe you could make a table like this to show all the teams in one big ranking table, which would show you actually know what you're talking about. It would prove to many that you don't do this to demoralise the teams on the list to boost your own self esteem, but that you actually care about the sport.

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    Replies
    1. You're querying whether a Royal's alumni is doing this article each week to boost his own self esteem?

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    2. Yes. I am talking about all teams in the league, regardless of their previous affiliation. Just because they are a Royal's alumni does not mean they are exempt from criticism of their opinion of the team, and any other.

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    3. "(I agree we should be, as we have performed badly this season)"

      "Maybe you could make a table like this to show all the teams in one big ranking table, which would show you actually know what you're talking about."

      So first off, you say you agree with him, then you say he needs to make a big table to show that he knows what he's on about...Either you agree with him or you don't?

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    4. This isn't the Leveson inquiry.

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  6. Pretty sure the writer says that he'll doing a full team power rankings during the winter break.

    With regards to being ashamed to play in this league because of articles like this, do you think NFL players get upset when they see that their team is ranked so poorly? The main reason people should be ashamed of britball is the fact that there's too many people who get butt hurt over a persons opinion article.

    Instead of moaning, team's (and players) need to either accept they're shit and try to improve or just shut up and get on with the season instead of crying like a baby.

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  7. Bangor should be at the bottom. They suck.

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