catch up, limited catch ups

[bully]

... ...suggest that teams should only be allowed to miss a certain amount of matchdays per season with maybe a points deduction for games missed over the season...miss a game loose points..
it makes the game more fair and a genuine way to test everybody on a level playing field on the same matchdays...also the season is less fragmented and the table always tells the full story...just a thought.....cheers

[lucky7]

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestion. This situation has always been a bit of a thorn with players in the past and was part of the reason for introducing the cup competitions in the early days which meant you had to pick each matchday as long as you remained involved.
Personally, I believe there is little to gain by skipping matchdays and that there is never an 'easy' set, so I would always advise people to pick as regular as possible, but for many different reasons certain people like to pick and choose matchdays.

At the moment, I'd prefer not to introduce any penalties for not picking to keep things simple, but I do understand your reasons for bringing it up. I think you have to try and think of it as an alternative tactic that sometimes pays off, but more often doesn't (in my opinion). For example, a lot of people got caught out in the (real) FA Cup games this season, picking 2 or more sets from those 'easy' looking fixtures, who would have thought the baggies would make it to Wembley.

[bully]

YEAH THATS COOL...ITS A GREAT GAME ANYWAY..PURE GENIUS....AND INDEED WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE BAGGIES WOULD BE IN A CUP SEMI....AND MORE TO THE POINT WHO WOULD WANT THEM THERE.................

[murf]

Have to say I agree there should be some limit. If only because the tables look a mess and you can never really tell where you are! Scrapping catchups in Set 20 was a good thing a few seasons back (as are the cups as discussed) but I think more should be done.

Maybe a compromise limit of 3 sets behind at any stage? If you miss a 4th set you get credited with 7 losses? - or a more complex one where you get 2 weeks (4 sets) to play each catch up.

Great game, just a suggestion to make it better (for me at least?!)

[lucky7]

Thanks for your comments murf.

I would prefer to steer clear of adding penalties for non pickers, but I agree that it would be nice to have people picking regularly giving the tables a more clearer look. Catching up and non picking has been discussed so many times before and there doesn't seem to be an easy/ideal solution for all.

I honestly don't think there is much to gain by being choosy, there will always be a few lucky people that manage to do well by it, but I doubt that tactic will work for them every season. How often do you think to yourself 'ah that was quite easy to pick 7' and then end up with an average score of about 13 or so? That's how it is for me anyway and I pick every matchday. A look back over the history of league and cup winners will show a lot of the eventual winners were those that picked regularly.

So in essence, I'm still not convinced that any further action is necessary.