Pasha
12 Jul 2004, 09:54 PM
Hello everyone,
I would like to organize a fantasy soccer tournament (or tournaments) (English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and/or Champions' League) based on the stats of the respective real-life tournaments (EPL, La Liga, Serie A and/or CL). The format of such tournaments would be similar to the ones used by Yahoo Fantasy Leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB).
Here is an approximate summary of such format:
TEAMS AND THEIR ROSTERS
Every manager (fantasy tournament participant) selects 20 real-life soccer players for his fantasy team. One soccer player can only play for one fantasy team at a time (that is, BTW, the main difference from most of the existing fantasy soccer leagues, which contain thousands of managers).
The pre-season selection of the players is done at a 20-round draft. During each round every manager picks one (not-yet-selected) player. In the first round, the pick order is determined by a draw. In the second round, the pick order is the exact opposite of the one in the first round -- the earlier you picked in the first round, the later you will pick in the second one. In the third, fifth and other odd rounds the pick order is the same as in the first round. In the fourth, sixth and other even rounds the pick order is the same as in the second round. Thus, all managers, on average, have equal opportunity.
A team roster can be changed during the season in two ways:
1.Trade (like in NHL/NBA/NFL/MLB). You can trade one or more of your players for one or more of another team's players. Naturally, both managers have to agree to the trade :-) The number of traded players doesn't have to be the same on both sides -- you can trade one player for two, or two for three. Only blatantly one-sided trades are forbidden.
2.Signing free agents. Every player who is not on any fantasy team roster is considered a free agent. You can always sign him. The only limitation is that you can't sign more than one player per week. There should be at least seven-day time period between two successive signings by the same manager.
Also, every manager should adhere to a 20-player limit. If the number of players on a roster becomes 21 or more because of a trade or a free agent signing, then the manager has to dump extra player(-s) right away. The dumped players become free agents immediately.
FANTASY MATCHES
Every fantasy round will be based on the respective round of a real-life tournament. For example, Day 10 of fantasy EPL will be based on the stats of Day 10 of real-life EPL. During each fantasy round, just like in real-life tournaments, every fantasy team will face another fantasy team in a fantasy match -- according to a previously drawn schedule.
For every fantasy match, both participating fantasy teams should field 11 players -- 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 forwards. The better (or worse) these players do in upcoming real-life games, the better (or worse) their fantasy teams will fare.
When the real-life round is over, the real-life stats, acquired by the fielded players, will be compared in the following nine categories:
1.G = Goals
In this category, a fantasy team gets:
+1 G for every non-PK goal scored by one of its fielded players
+0.5 G for every PK goal
-1 G for missed PK
-1 G for own goal
2.GWG = Game-Winning Goals
If one real-life team beats another one by the score of M-N, the (N+1)th goal is considered the game-winning one. If the final score is 4-2, the 3rd goal is the winning one. If it's 2-1, the 2nd one is the winner.
All game-winning goals are worth 1 GWG, whether they're PK goals or not. If a game-winning goal is an own goal, no one is credited with it.
3.GTG = Game-Tying Goals
If a real-life match ends in a tie and the final score is not 0-0, then, of course, the game-tying goal is the last one scored.
Also, if a team wins a real-life match by the score of M-N, and the losers scored the Nth goal before the winners did, then the winners' Nth goal is also considered the game-tying one.
(EXAMPLE: Arsenal hosts Manchester United. MU scores first (1-0), but then Vieirs ties the game (1-1), and then Henry pulls Arsenal aheas (2-1). The game is over, Arsenal wins 2-1. This means Henry scored the game-winning goal, while Vieira scored the game-tying one).
Just like for game-winning goals, it doesn't matter whether the game-tying goal was a PK one or not. No one is credited with a game-tying own goal, either.
4.DP = Defensive Points
Only defenders get Defensive Points. Each defender gets:
+1 DP for every full 30 minutes spent on the field
-1 DP for every goal conceded by his real-life team, while he was on the field
(EXAMPLE: a defender started the game, and then was replaced on the 75th minute, while the score was 2-1 in favor of his team. That means he gets +2 DP for the full 60 (2 x 30) minutes spent on the field, and -1 DP for the goal his team conceded. Thus, he will get +1 (2-1) DP).
5.FPP = Fair Play Points
In this category, "good behavior" is rewarded, while cards lead to punishment.
Every non-goalkeeper gets:
+2 FPP, if he spent all the match on the field and got no cards
+1 FPP, if he spent part of the match on the field and got no cards
-2 FPP, if he received a yellow card during the match
-5 FPP, if he received a red card during the match (and it doesn't matter whether he got it as a result of two yellows or not)
6.+/-
This category is stolen from the NHL :-) When a real-life team scores a non-PK goal, all its players (except for the goalkeeper) get +1 each. All the other team's players (again, except for the goalkeeper) get -1 each.
7.GP = Goaltender Points
Every goalkeeper gets:
+1 GP for every full 30 minutes spent on the field
-1 GP for every conceded non-PK goal
+2 GP for every denied PK (and it doesn't matter whether the guy who attempted the PK pulled a Beckham -- the goalkeeper is credited anyway)
(EXAMPLE: a goalkeeper spent all 90 minutes in the net, conceded two goals (one of them a PK one) and denied another PK. That means he gets +3 GP for the full 90 (3 x 30) minutes, -1 GP for the non-PK goal, and +2 GP for the denied PK. Thus, he'll get +4 (3-1+2) GP).
8.GW = Goalkeeper Wins
Another goalkeeping category. When a real-life team wins, the goalkeeper gets 1 GW. If the team used not one, but two keepers during the match, then the GW will be given to the goalkeeper that spent more time on the field. If the keepers spent a half each in the net, the GW will be given to the goalkeeper that was on the field when his team scored the winning goal.
9.SO = ShutOuts
This category is also a goalkeeping one. If a goalkeeper spent all the time in the net and conceded no goals during the match, he will get 1 SO.
Thus, we have nine categories -- three of them goalkeeping ones. When two fantasy teams face one another, they sort of compete in each category separately. By winning a category, a fantasy team scores a "fantasy goal". The team that "scores" more "goals" in a fantasy match, wins.
EXAMPLE: Two fantasy teams (Team A and Team B) play each other.
The Team A players score 5 goals (2 of them are game-winners), get 5 DP, 10 FPP and +4. The Team A goalkeeper gets 4 GP and wins, but it's not an SO.
The Team B players score 3 goals (2 of them are game-winners, and 1 is a game-tying one). They get 6 DP, 11 FPP and -2. The Team B goalkeeper gets 3 GP, wins and earns an SO.
Let's count the stats category-by-category:
1.G. Team A has 5 goals, Team B has 3. Winner: A.
2.GWG. Team A has 2 game-winning goals, Team B also has 2. Draw.
3.GTG. Team A has no game-tying goals, Team B has 1. Winner: B.
4.DP. Team A has 5 DP, Team B has 6. Winner: B.
5.FPP. Team A has 10 FPP, Team B has 11. Winner: B.
6.+/-. Team A has +4, Team B has -2. Winner: A.
7.GP. Team A has 4 GP, Team B has 3. Winner: A.
8.GW. Team A has 1 W, Team B also has 1. Draw.
9.SO. Team A has no shutouts, Team B has 1. Winner: B.
Thus, Team A won three categories (G, +/-, GP), while Team B won four (GTG, DP, FPP, SO).
Which means Team B won by the score of 4-3.
CONCLUSION
That's pretty much it. The rest is just details: how many team can play in a fantasy tournament (I think no more than 20), how to organize a schedule, where to get the official information on players' positions and the real-life match details... All this can be discussed. The main thing is to get enough managers who would want to play using the above-mentioned format.
I would like to organize a fantasy soccer tournament (or tournaments) (English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and/or Champions' League) based on the stats of the respective real-life tournaments (EPL, La Liga, Serie A and/or CL). The format of such tournaments would be similar to the ones used by Yahoo Fantasy Leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB).
Here is an approximate summary of such format:
TEAMS AND THEIR ROSTERS
Every manager (fantasy tournament participant) selects 20 real-life soccer players for his fantasy team. One soccer player can only play for one fantasy team at a time (that is, BTW, the main difference from most of the existing fantasy soccer leagues, which contain thousands of managers).
The pre-season selection of the players is done at a 20-round draft. During each round every manager picks one (not-yet-selected) player. In the first round, the pick order is determined by a draw. In the second round, the pick order is the exact opposite of the one in the first round -- the earlier you picked in the first round, the later you will pick in the second one. In the third, fifth and other odd rounds the pick order is the same as in the first round. In the fourth, sixth and other even rounds the pick order is the same as in the second round. Thus, all managers, on average, have equal opportunity.
A team roster can be changed during the season in two ways:
1.Trade (like in NHL/NBA/NFL/MLB). You can trade one or more of your players for one or more of another team's players. Naturally, both managers have to agree to the trade :-) The number of traded players doesn't have to be the same on both sides -- you can trade one player for two, or two for three. Only blatantly one-sided trades are forbidden.
2.Signing free agents. Every player who is not on any fantasy team roster is considered a free agent. You can always sign him. The only limitation is that you can't sign more than one player per week. There should be at least seven-day time period between two successive signings by the same manager.
Also, every manager should adhere to a 20-player limit. If the number of players on a roster becomes 21 or more because of a trade or a free agent signing, then the manager has to dump extra player(-s) right away. The dumped players become free agents immediately.
FANTASY MATCHES
Every fantasy round will be based on the respective round of a real-life tournament. For example, Day 10 of fantasy EPL will be based on the stats of Day 10 of real-life EPL. During each fantasy round, just like in real-life tournaments, every fantasy team will face another fantasy team in a fantasy match -- according to a previously drawn schedule.
For every fantasy match, both participating fantasy teams should field 11 players -- 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 forwards. The better (or worse) these players do in upcoming real-life games, the better (or worse) their fantasy teams will fare.
When the real-life round is over, the real-life stats, acquired by the fielded players, will be compared in the following nine categories:
1.G = Goals
In this category, a fantasy team gets:
+1 G for every non-PK goal scored by one of its fielded players
+0.5 G for every PK goal
-1 G for missed PK
-1 G for own goal
2.GWG = Game-Winning Goals
If one real-life team beats another one by the score of M-N, the (N+1)th goal is considered the game-winning one. If the final score is 4-2, the 3rd goal is the winning one. If it's 2-1, the 2nd one is the winner.
All game-winning goals are worth 1 GWG, whether they're PK goals or not. If a game-winning goal is an own goal, no one is credited with it.
3.GTG = Game-Tying Goals
If a real-life match ends in a tie and the final score is not 0-0, then, of course, the game-tying goal is the last one scored.
Also, if a team wins a real-life match by the score of M-N, and the losers scored the Nth goal before the winners did, then the winners' Nth goal is also considered the game-tying one.
(EXAMPLE: Arsenal hosts Manchester United. MU scores first (1-0), but then Vieirs ties the game (1-1), and then Henry pulls Arsenal aheas (2-1). The game is over, Arsenal wins 2-1. This means Henry scored the game-winning goal, while Vieira scored the game-tying one).
Just like for game-winning goals, it doesn't matter whether the game-tying goal was a PK one or not. No one is credited with a game-tying own goal, either.
4.DP = Defensive Points
Only defenders get Defensive Points. Each defender gets:
+1 DP for every full 30 minutes spent on the field
-1 DP for every goal conceded by his real-life team, while he was on the field
(EXAMPLE: a defender started the game, and then was replaced on the 75th minute, while the score was 2-1 in favor of his team. That means he gets +2 DP for the full 60 (2 x 30) minutes spent on the field, and -1 DP for the goal his team conceded. Thus, he will get +1 (2-1) DP).
5.FPP = Fair Play Points
In this category, "good behavior" is rewarded, while cards lead to punishment.
Every non-goalkeeper gets:
+2 FPP, if he spent all the match on the field and got no cards
+1 FPP, if he spent part of the match on the field and got no cards
-2 FPP, if he received a yellow card during the match
-5 FPP, if he received a red card during the match (and it doesn't matter whether he got it as a result of two yellows or not)
6.+/-
This category is stolen from the NHL :-) When a real-life team scores a non-PK goal, all its players (except for the goalkeeper) get +1 each. All the other team's players (again, except for the goalkeeper) get -1 each.
7.GP = Goaltender Points
Every goalkeeper gets:
+1 GP for every full 30 minutes spent on the field
-1 GP for every conceded non-PK goal
+2 GP for every denied PK (and it doesn't matter whether the guy who attempted the PK pulled a Beckham -- the goalkeeper is credited anyway)
(EXAMPLE: a goalkeeper spent all 90 minutes in the net, conceded two goals (one of them a PK one) and denied another PK. That means he gets +3 GP for the full 90 (3 x 30) minutes, -1 GP for the non-PK goal, and +2 GP for the denied PK. Thus, he'll get +4 (3-1+2) GP).
8.GW = Goalkeeper Wins
Another goalkeeping category. When a real-life team wins, the goalkeeper gets 1 GW. If the team used not one, but two keepers during the match, then the GW will be given to the goalkeeper that spent more time on the field. If the keepers spent a half each in the net, the GW will be given to the goalkeeper that was on the field when his team scored the winning goal.
9.SO = ShutOuts
This category is also a goalkeeping one. If a goalkeeper spent all the time in the net and conceded no goals during the match, he will get 1 SO.
Thus, we have nine categories -- three of them goalkeeping ones. When two fantasy teams face one another, they sort of compete in each category separately. By winning a category, a fantasy team scores a "fantasy goal". The team that "scores" more "goals" in a fantasy match, wins.
EXAMPLE: Two fantasy teams (Team A and Team B) play each other.
The Team A players score 5 goals (2 of them are game-winners), get 5 DP, 10 FPP and +4. The Team A goalkeeper gets 4 GP and wins, but it's not an SO.
The Team B players score 3 goals (2 of them are game-winners, and 1 is a game-tying one). They get 6 DP, 11 FPP and -2. The Team B goalkeeper gets 3 GP, wins and earns an SO.
Let's count the stats category-by-category:
1.G. Team A has 5 goals, Team B has 3. Winner: A.
2.GWG. Team A has 2 game-winning goals, Team B also has 2. Draw.
3.GTG. Team A has no game-tying goals, Team B has 1. Winner: B.
4.DP. Team A has 5 DP, Team B has 6. Winner: B.
5.FPP. Team A has 10 FPP, Team B has 11. Winner: B.
6.+/-. Team A has +4, Team B has -2. Winner: A.
7.GP. Team A has 4 GP, Team B has 3. Winner: A.
8.GW. Team A has 1 W, Team B also has 1. Draw.
9.SO. Team A has no shutouts, Team B has 1. Winner: B.
Thus, Team A won three categories (G, +/-, GP), while Team B won four (GTG, DP, FPP, SO).
Which means Team B won by the score of 4-3.
CONCLUSION
That's pretty much it. The rest is just details: how many team can play in a fantasy tournament (I think no more than 20), how to organize a schedule, where to get the official information on players' positions and the real-life match details... All this can be discussed. The main thing is to get enough managers who would want to play using the above-mentioned format.