Competitions The Pieman 2025

[Northern Dogs]

In please dogwatch

 

[54Bulldog16]

I’ll take Darcy x 2, Naughton x 2 and McNeil thanks DW

 

[dogwatch]

The news you've all been waiting for: My modem arrived this morning by express delivery and I've hooked it up to a much faster service.



It's so fast that I know what you're going to say before you hit the "Post reply" button.

I will update the handicap table after the team is announced tonight.

 

[Foxman98]

In it to win it still haven't gotten over Roarke Smith stealing it from me in 2022

 

[dogwatch]

Every week I’m going to pick the top five. Darcy, Naughton, McNeil, West, Harmes this week.

It's an interesting strategy. chez_ferret did something similar to that last year and ran second after leading the comp for much of the year.

I did a hypothetical on last year's results using the 5 lowest handicapped players each week and it would have got a top 10 finish but not in the top 3.

Bear in mind that this year the Chump bonus has been reduced from 40% to 30% so it may marginally weaken the top 5 strategy.

Having said all that, this week's handicaps are pretty generous for the most likely goalkickers. Once it shakes out over the first couple of rounds you probably won't see the same generosity (it will instead extend to those further down the list). For instance last year the top 5 handicaps would typically add up to about 50-55 but this week they add up to 62.

For anyone interested, I do try to balance the handicaps so that if some players (who consistently kick goals) have their handicap cut then others will have their handicap increased. The way I calculate it is a bit complicated so I won't go into it again here.

It does become a challenge to get the balance when we don't name the final 23 until Friday night but the idea is you should be able to find value up and down the list every week.

And if I get the handicaps exactly right it should make Pieman selections a hard choice every single week!

 

[TempletonTheRat]

Hi DW back for another go.

Kennedy x 2
Davidson
Richards
English

 

[Foxman98]

Dolan x 2
Darcy x 1
McNeil x 1
Naughton x 1

 

[dogwatch]

Hi DW back for another go.

Kennedy x 2
Davidson
Richards
English

Welcome back. I'm taking that as Matt Kennedy. (Luke highly unlikely to be playing.)

 

[_Cerberus_]

Darcy, Davidson, English, Dolan, McNeil this week please

 

[manutd/dogs]

IN, thanks Dogwatch for your tireless efforts as always.

 

[TempletonTheRat]

Welcome back. I'm taking that as Matt Kennedy. (Luke highly unlikely to be playing.)

yes Matt thanks

 

[Floridog]

I'm in:
Darcy
Naughton
McNeil
Richards
English

 

[manutd/dogs]

Darce
Naughts
McNeil
Mennedy
Dolan

 

[theAthenian]

richards darcy Mcneil Dolan Dolan

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Darcy
Naughton
Dolan
Kennedy
English

 

[Buckingham]

Darcy
Naughts
Kennedy
Davidson
McNeil

 

[dogwatch]

 

[dogwatch]

Here's the cut down list of handicaps after the final 23 was named tonight.
Note that one of these 23 will be named the sub (and you can't have the sub in your Pieman team).

The sub usually comes from the named five man bench so it's likely it'll be one of Cleary, Gallagher, A Jones, McNeil or West.

 

[dogwatch]

Darcy x 2
Dolan x 2
Naughton

 

[dogwatch]

RandomDog goes for:

Harmes​

Richards​

Duryea​

M Kennedy​

Naughton​

 

[Sharkey66]

Libba X 3
Davidson
Jones

Thanks DW

 

[jaxie1]

I’m Back. DW Thanks for the effort
Darcy
Dolan
Davidson
Sanders
McNeil
Please.
Welcome all the new players

 

[Boyd oh Boyd]

Darcy, Naughton, West, Freijah, Dolan

 

[Zeno The Great]

Dolan
Davidson
M Kennedy
English
Naughton

 

[BulldogMuscle]

Darcy x 2
Dolan x 2
Davidson x 1