Hey, nice curves

A hypothesis was posted in Dec 2009, suggesting the league had broken up into three leagues within the league. Now we can see how this played out to the end of the season.

We can see that the three way division did keep a modicum of shape but became an idea which warped and began to collapse under the pressure of time. By the final week, the gaps became yawning and many teams ended up very isolated, devoid of competition or purpose, especially at the top and bottom.

The league does have a feminine, perfect ten kind of feel. The middle is tight while the top and bottom are voluptuos with luscious curves.

At the top, after the tight top 2 finish, teams became dramatically spread, providing two boobular peaks where the Ham, Baboons and Pangas ended up more than 100 points away from their nearest challenges from either side.

At the tight, hot, centre - 6th to 9th - there was not much room for waste (waist? heh heh) in the end and it was all to play for with 26 points separating the Smegg, Lemon, Coq and Conker.
The struggle of the Dandies resulted in them finding themselves the most marooned side of any, 393 from the Ramblers and 105 from the Conker. This kind of self-imposed alienation brings back memories of the proposed "No Ryan" league mooted a couple of seasons ago.

Rushmere Ramblers perch in the shade of the Dandies' extravagent backside escaping the ignominy of the last place peak they possessed before Christmas. This mantle has now been happily taken on by the Black Country Select XI.

Belgian Golden Shoe and Sporting Kansas tried to mirror the failings of Hull and Burnley, finishing very closely but essentially miles from safety. A shame to see a former champion fall so far but a warning to us all.

A game of two halves?

Graph allows you to compare your 1st and 2nd half performances. The two sets of data demonstrate how you performed against the average league score for each half of the season.

7 sides posted improved scores in the 2nd half with 6 of those having a positive difference to the mean. Rushmere Ramblers were the only side to improve their efforts but still score a negative difference total for the 2nd half.

Only one of the top 5 sides performed worse in the second half. Anaphylactic Ham showed consistency by performing marginally less well. The other 4 scored considerably higher. 4th and 5ths' second half scores were better than 1st and 2nds' first half scores. However, the strength of the two leaders' 2nd half results shows that even if the 4th and 5th places teams had performed even as well as their excellent 2nd half scores in the first half, they would still not have been competing for the top spot. 4th and 5th both performed considerably worse in the 1st half - the gulf in their 1st and 2nd scores more than any other teams in the top 11.

The 2nd half surge from Southern Dandies didn't quite live up to the hype, although it was impressive, with a 252 point improvement, but essentially this made little impact with such a deficit to recover (-162 in first half). This was the 3rd best improvement. 2nd best was Furtive Baboons with 261. The best second half improvement was by me with a +310 improvement. This may go someway to explaining this graph.

Poor results in the 1st half obviously impacted on the morale of lower placed teams with most teams placed 10th or below posting excessively poor scores in the 2nd half. Black County XI in particular took the biscuit and deserve very much to drink Shatner Bassoon's shoe (three words you don't often get to run together).

Comparing 1 and 2's performance with 6 and 7, can we deduce that people in relationships are more likely to get similar scores?

Week 16 differences

Closing in on the halfway point of the season, the gulf between top and bottom is cavernous, standing currently at 590 points. Closer analysis finds that there are groups of relative quality being developed within the league, and we find that three leagues within the league have been established. Analysis of the current gap between each team is presented at the gamutofwe. The graph demonstrates three dramatic peaks, marked by Furtive Baboon Incursions, Le Coq Sportif and Rushmere Ramblers. This suggests that the league is currently demarked into three groups: 1-3, 4-8, 9-13, and 14. In other words, whichever group you belong team, you are only under threat by teams within that group. There is a 166 pt gap between FBI and SB. There is a 102 gap between LL and CS. So, even if you can top your group, there is a long old slog to claw your way into the next strata. Rushmere Ramblers are so poor that they are marooned in a group of their own, adrift by 89 points. The question is, while the stats bare out the facts, do you choose to believe and accept this as the status quo?

The battle for 5th place

The battle for 5th place

Lampard v Fabregas

Anaphylactic Ham Points Lead