IOWFA 2015 Player Awards and Team of the Season!

Top Goalscorers
5th: Jordi Alba - 5 goals
4th: Kevin De Bruyne and Juan Cuadrado - 6 goals
3rd: Luis Suarez - 8 goals
2nd: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arjen Robben - 11 goals
1st: Neymar Jr - 12 goals

Highest Fantasy Football Rating
5th: Juan Cuadrado - 624 points
4th: Jordi Alba - 627 points
3rd: Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 645 points
2nd: Neymar Jr - 661 points
1st: Arjen Robben - 664 points

Lowest Fantasy Football Rating
5th: Jerome Boateng: 385 points
4th: Branislav Ivanovic - 380 points
3rd: Vincent Kompany - 375 points
2nd: Lionel Messi - 372 points
1st: Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribery, Xavi and Toni Kroos - 369 points

Most Captained
3rd: Gareth Bale, Radamel Falcao, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi - 1 team
2nd: Juan Cuadrado - 2 teams
1st: Arjen Robben and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 3 teams


Every year the IOWFA publishes a Team of the Season which showcases the best players who lit up the past tournament. This year 4 of the 5 teams participating managed to have at least one player in the Team suggesting a much closer contest, unlike last year which saw only two teams represented in the Team.

GK: Manuel Neuer - 614 
LB: Jordi Alba (Defender of the Season) - 627
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta - 573
CB: Gary Cahill - 569
RB: Lukas Piszczek - 571
LM: Neymar Jr (Top Scorer) - 661
CM: Juan Cuadrado - 624
CM: Eden Hazard - 613
RM: Arjen Robben (Player of the Season) - 664
ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Striker of the Season) - 645
ST: Luis Suarez - 573

IOWFA 2015: Review

Another year, another tournament. This year's IOWFA was a gripping affair from the first minute to the last. We entered the tournament unsure of a clear favourite or a clear 4th place. The twists and turns of the tournament meant that we were left with what was effectively a final between two strong teams.

The first defining result was when Ben Cameron's Stoke City side kicked off their campaign for a third successive IOWFA Title with a 3-1 victory over Columbus Crew managed by bitter rival Peter Hardman. This tipped the scales heavily in Cameron's favour and everyone knew that, without some divine intervention, the tournament would be Camerons for the third year on the trot.

Despite this setback for Peter Hardman, he went on to win his next 6 matches, scoring 35 goals and conceding 0. 

Early on his tournament, Fred Hardman, managing Real Madrid, had a decisive victory over Wigz, giving him high chances of St Cecilias Cup qualification, as well as an outside chance of the title. The follow up match between the two sides saw a 0-0 draw, but all the same, secured Fred a comfortable 3rd place.

At this stage in the tournament the odds were stacked up in Ben's favour for vicotry, but an exciting match sure to go down in IOWFA history saw Fred draw to Ben in a 4-4 thriller. This legendary performance by Fred blew open the whole tournament and allowed Peter to enter the last game against Ben, which effectively became the final.

The stage was set for a much hyped finale, which was to decide the winner of IOWFA 2015 however chances were few and far between. The match ended 1-0 to Peter - the only goal being a 30th minute penalty. Ben missed his own penalty in the 60th minute which meant he could not claw it back for the third consecutive tournament. Peter had won!

Another year, another tournament and as always we were not short of highs, lows, and heartbreak. The tournament had more twists and turns than the journey from Stockport to Ryde. The Chairman would like to extend his gratitude to all involved, including our sponsor, Wightlink Ferries, all the people at the White House and the IOWFA staff. Bring on next year!

OFFICIAL: Hardman to stay with Chelsea

Peter Hardman entered the history books late last night after signing a long term deal with Chelsea
He became the longest serving manager for one club the tournament has seen, expressing his joyfulness and gratitude in an interview yesterday "I couldnt imagine myself managing any other club, I love this club and I'm extremely grateful to not only the board for offering the contract but for the support the fans have given me over the past three years and i hope it will continue as we look to seal the St Cecilias cup, come december." It was also announced that they will spend their pre Season in Central and North America, travelling to the USA, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago.

IOWFA 2014 Player Awards and Team of the Season!

Ladies and Gents, the 2014 Tournament has been packed with action. There have been some heroes and some villains! So here are the player awards for this years tournament!

Top Goalscorers:
5th: Lionel Messi and Gary Cahill - 3 Goals
4th: Bastian Schweinsteiger - 4 Goals
3rd: Mario Gotze and Eden Hazard - 5 Goals
2nd: Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery - 7 Goals
1st: Luis Suarez - 17 Goals

Most Assists:
5th: Cesar Azpilicueta and Didier Drogba - 7 Assists
4th: Bastian Schweinsteiger - 9 Assists
3rd: Eden Hazard - 13 Assists
2nd: Arjen Robben - 14 Assists
1st: Franck Ribery - 19 Assists

Highest Fantasy Football Rating:
5th: Eden Hazard - 654
4th: Bastian Schweinsteiger - 660
3rd: Arjen Robben - 675
2nd: Franck Ribery - 678
1st: Luis Suarez - 693

Lowest Fantasy Football Rating:
5th: Thiago Silva - 480
4th: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Vincent Kompany - 470
3rd: Radamel Falcao - 468
2nd: Sergio Ramos - 460
1st: Gerard Pique - 416

Most Picked (Fantasy Football):
5th: Joe Hart - 6 Teams
4th: Luis Suarez - 7 Teams
3rd: Didier Drogba - 8 Teams
2nd: Cesar Azpilicueta - 9 Teams
1st: Osvaldo Alonso - 11 Teams (Every Team)

Most Captained (Fantasy Football):
3rd: Everyone Else
2nd: Franck Ribery - 2 Captaincies
1st: Luis Suarez - 4 Captaincies


The 2014 Tournament was a tournament dominated entirely by two teams, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. And it's not really a surprise to see that every single player in the first XI of the Team of the Season is from one of those two clubs! Here is the list of all of the players in the Team of the Season and their final fantasy football score!

Manuel Neuer: 593
Cesar Azpilecueta: 610
Gary Cahill: 616
Jerome Boateng: 593
David Alaba: 640
Franck Ribery: 678
Bastian Schweinsteiger: 660
Eden Hazard: 654
Arjen Robben: 675
Luis Saurez: 693
Didier Drogba: 611

2014 Season - Ben Cameron's Predictions

This is the first of a set of predictions from the managers in the tournament. We're going to get a few of the managers to predict some of the results and some of the awards.

This is Ben Cameron's Predictions.

FC Bayern 6 - 0 Real Madrid
Chelsea 8 - 0 Barcelona
Man City 2 - 4 FC Bayern
Barcelona 1 - 6 Man City
Real Madrid 0 - 4 Chelsea
FC Bayern 5 - 0 Barcelona
Chelsea 6 - 2 Real Madrid
Man City 2 - 3 Chelsea
Barcelona 1 - 12 FC Bayern
Real Madrid 2 - 2 Man City
FC Bayern 2 - 2 Chelsea
Chelsea 2 - 0 Man City
Man City 3 - 1 Real Madrid
Barcelona 0 - 9 Chelsea
Real Madrid 1 - 1 Barcelona
FC Bayern 2 - 0 Man City
Chelsea 2 - 1 FC Bayern
Man City 4 - 0 Barcelona
Barcelona 1 - 3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid 2 - 9 FC Bayern

Top Goalscorer: Luis Suarez
Most Assists: Franck Ribery

Golden Glove: Petr Cech

What ever happened to Rick Trimble?

Former IOWFA and Manchester United legend, Rick Trimble will not be participating in this year's competition, prompting the organisers to draft in Brian with Barcelona at the last minute. After intensive training from last years champion Benedict Cameron, Brian has just reached a level which the organisers deemed worthy of a place in the tournament.

The question still remains: Where is Rick Trimble and what is he doing now? Here are the IOWFA's top 7 theories...

 

7. Disappeared in a protest to sack David Moyes last April
Rumour has it that Rick Trimble was seen carrying a large "MOYES OUT" banner in the crowd at Old Trafford , but reports suggest he never came out...

6. Suffered from Food Poisoning, caused by jarred Frankfurters
There was a large amount of evidence suggesting that after missing out on the title at last year's tournament, Rick decided to drown his sorrows in the jar of frankfurters as his second place prize earlier that evening.

5. Disappeared in the Peruvian Jungle whilst training for the Manchester Liberation Army 
It has long been known that Rick is a passionate believer in the Rights of Mancunians and has recently been recruited by the paramilitary force. Reports from local fishermen indicate that he was in the jungle training in the art of guerrilla warfare with his comrades. Rick never returned...

4. Got lost in the Park
...

3. Kidnapped by Somalian pirates and started his own African tribe
After coming second last year, Rick supposedly went on a worldwide cruise to re-evaluate his life. However, when sailing along the east-African coast, a band of Somalian pirates attempted to hijack the vessel and kidnapped Rick and brought him back to Somalia. Rick apparently liked rural Somalia so much he decided to stay and start his own tribe of which he is chief.

2. After a wavey night at a Pyong Yang nightclub, Rick befriended Kim Jong Un and is now his right hand man
Rumours in Manchester suggest he was exiled from his home city after failing to bring home an IOWFA title two years on the trot. A long time friend of Rick, Kim Jong Dave heard about Rick's predicament and invited him to live with him in North Korea. Pyong Yang officials claim that at a party one night Rick met the supreme dictator, Kim Jong Un and after a few beers the two of them became great friends. They are said to have many shared interests such as nuclear warfare, Gavin And Stacey, dictatorship and the life of Alan Titchmarsh.

1. Found refuge in a convent after missing his Wightlink ferry home
The day after the IOWFA competition of April 2013, Rick was set to sail home on the St Clare but due to complications at Priory Bay he was late and the ferry set sail without him. Locals testify to having seen him sleeping rough in the IOW wilderness. But some claim that he soon found refuge under roof of the local convent. Reports from inside St Ceclia's itself indicate that in his post-IOWFA desperation he found God and will soon take his vows as a nun.

 

REPORTED SIGHTINGS OF RICK

 

A Club-by-Club guide to the 2014 Season - Manchester City

This ever improving side from Manchester will come into this competition as potential outsiders for the title after many impressive performances against Peter Hardman's Chelsea leading up to the tournament. With arguably the two greatest centre backs in world football at their disposal, Vincent Kompany and Thiago Silva and an attack built around Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, stopping these lot will be a much tougher task than expected.

The Manager - Frederick Hardman
Frederick's greatest asset this season will be experience. He's been training hard with Peter Hardman in the pre-season and has been playing longer than both William and Edward Cameron. He'll be looking to better his fourth place finish last season and might even be aiming at a top two position. It's ambitious but ambition is exactly what this lad needs to succeed! A surprise draw against his brother last year and a set of strong Winter friendlies it's not completely out of the question for him to challenge for the title, although he's definitely an outsider.

Transfers
Italian legend Stephan El Shaarawy has been recruited into the ranks of this very strong Manchester City side alongside should add some creativity to the midfield but the big name signing is without a doubt Thiago Silva who is expected to add strength and stability to the already strong defence!

Predicted Finish - 3rd
They have a great side, and would be disappointed with anything lower than 3rd but should be aiming at even higher. It'll be tough for him but he definitely has the potential to pull off some big results against Ben Cameron and maybe even Peter Hardman. Let's see how he does!