IMPORTANT NOTE: These rules are the same as those used last season,
only the confidence ratings component has been simplified.
Where to send your predictions
Early and Multiple Predictions
This is the third season that I will be running the prediction league for the mailing list. Previous seasons details can be found elsewhere on the site, however each person is only as good as their last prediction.
The basis idea is to send your prediction to me, of the half time score, and full time result (possibly with how confident you feel about the result) and I'l l do the rest.
Explanations of everything follow, they look more complex than they actually are, but I've tried to explain everything in detail so that people can see what's going on.
Are awarded for the following:
I am running two competitions as per last year: The main competitions is the one for total points gained across the season. The second (the sort of Coca-Cola Cup) is for the average number of points gained from the games you enter, the idea behind this being that people who subscribe to the mailing list once the season is underway will be able to put in late entries. For the average game there will be a minimum requirement that you have predicted entries for at least 7 game -- hopefully more than a sixth of the season -- this predicts someone correctly predicting a single nil-nil game and averaging an unbeatable 100 points.
The current champions and therefore the people to beat are:
| Totals Competition | Pl | HT | FT | TOT |
Averages Competition |
PL | HT | FT | TOT | ||
1  Kieran_Hunter |
1 Daniel_Needlestone |
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| 2 Graham_Parley |
2 Petros_Demetriou |
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| 3 David Clark |
3 |
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Both competitions have the ultimate prize. If you successfully master the ability to predict Chelsea results, you will no longer feel as stressed as the rest of us while watching the games. You will know that when we lead one-nil with ten minutes to go, that we are not going to lose 1-2.
You will also have the abillity to gloat on the list (see last years winners below) and generally feel smug.
I'm going to be strict about the format in which the entries are sent, changing the order of between 30 & 80 predictions each game to match the spreadsheet can take no small amount of time. I'm afraid I'll bounce back messages that don't fit the pattern - sorry to be a pain but its 10 seconds for you and 10 hours (over the year for me)
Predictions need to reach me before the game begins, that means given the inevitable delays that the mail system here at Plymouth will build into the system, the DEADLINE for POSTING is TWO HOURS before kick-off.
All predictions should be mail directly to me
and not sent to the list (don't worry if you ace the game, I'll let everyone know how *lucky* you were).
Either reply to the reminder that I'll send to the list before most games, or use the following header
[PREDICTION LEAGUE] vs. Opponents
where Opponents is the name of the opposition.
The format for the entry is as follows (always Chelsea first, even in away games)
Your_Name CFC-HT Opponents-HT CFC-FT Opponents-FT Confidence-Rating
So I think we'll lead one nil at half time, and win three one, and I'm 70% sure of that I'll be right. (more on the confidence rating below)
Therefore my entry for the game on Sunday would read
Andy_Morley 1 0 3 1 75%
or I might think we'll lose one nil in the last minute and enter
Andy_Morley 0 0 0 1 59%
ie. name (underscore) name (space) Chelsea score at half time (space) opponents score at half time (space) chelsea full time score (space) opponents score at full time (space) confidence rating result
So I think we'll lead one nil at half time, and win three one, and I'm 70% sure of that I'll be right. (more on the confidence rating below).
As bizarre as this may sound, last year people actually wanted to continue to enter the league when they went on holiday and therefore I do allow people to send in predictions well in advance of the games. However to maintain my sanity, and avoid having people say, "urr Gianlucca is injured can I change my five-nil prediction against Leicester to three-nil" please only send predictions no earlier than two days before the game, unless you are going away.
If you want to predict the next three results, please do so in THREE seperate messages.
ie.
[PREDICTION LEAGUE] vs. Liverpool
[PREDICTION LEAGUE] vs. Nottingham Forest
[PREDICTION LEAGUE] vs. Derby County
Two years agosomeone jokingly suggested that I was actually going to use the data in some way or other for some psychological study. It got me thinking. What I'd like this year is for people to enter a confidence rating alongside their prediction, that indicates how confident they feel that the result that they have entered will be correct.
I will still allow people to enter, if they don't include a confidence rating, its just that I want to have the possibility of gaining some useful data from the spreadsheets. And if I need to increase resources at any point to accomodate the data, its easier if I can claim a work connection.
It is important to note - that you DO NOT need to enter confidence rating, the game will run even if nobody enters the ratings, and that NO points will be awarded on the basis of the ratings. However, I'm asking you to participate so that I might analyse the responses. Any use of the data will be anonymous, and when I produce a research paper from it, anyone who has participated will be entitled to a copy of the paper.
By including confidence ratings after the prediction, you will be considered to have given your consent for me to use the data.
These are posted to the list, and are also posted at this site, game by game.
That's about it, other than to say good luck. Its a bit of fun, and the bottom line is send the prediction to me, of the half time score, and full time result (possibly with how confident you feel about the result) and I'l l do the rest.
If anyone has any questions, mail me and I'll get back to you.
