August 2017 - For the second consecutive season it was Jose Mourinho's Man United side topping the table with three wins from three. Wins over West Ham, Swansea and Leicester had the Stretford end faithful dreaming of glory early on. Man City and Huddersfield finished the month just two points off the pace. Liverpool also started with two wins from three - they went into the international break on the back of a four-nil hiding of Arsenal at Anfield. New signing Mo Salah scored two in August - I think he'll be one to keep an eye out for this season ; ) Tottenham struggled at their temporary home Wembley - losing at home to Chelsea and being pinned back by a late equaliser by Burnley.

Our first monthly competition of the season saw four people tied for first place on 118 points - Brian Prendergast, Graham Goodwin, Pat Walsh and Ralph Goodwin shared the first monthly prize of the season.... 		 


Arsenal Fan TV opens strongly ....
     
September 2017 - Gavin Morgan won the second monthly prize of the season with a score of 180 points. He had 9 points to spare over Philip Jordan and Sean Moloney who shared second place.

On the pitch, Man City roared into life scoring 17 goals without reply in victories over Liverpool, Watford, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. Man United were doing their best to stay in touch with the sides sharing top spot at the end of the month. Spurs had moved up to third in the table after Harry Kane notched six goals in the month.

The Sack Race had an early winner this season as Frank de Boer was fired by Crystal Palace after four defeats and no goals scored in the opening weeks of the season. A young up and coming manager by the name of Roy Hodgson would come in to the steady the ship.... 		 


Laying down a title marker....
     
October 2017 - Man United's title challenge floundered in October. A nil-all draw at Anfield followed by defeat at Huddersfield saw Jose Mourinho enter siege mentality mode. Man City finished the month five points clear at the top after another three wins including a seven-two hammering of Stoke.

Arsene Wenger celebrated his 800th game in charge of Arsenal against Swansea. Aaron Ramsey scored a winner as the Gunners came from behind to ensure the celebrations didn't fall flat. Crystal Palace picked up their first win of the season beating Chelsea at Selhurst Park.

Karl Boland was the winner of the October competition. His score of 146 points was good enough to win the monthly prize by ten points from Anastas Popov and Jack Draper... 		 


Pressure? What pressure?....
     
November 2017 - Man City's relegation worries were eased by the end of the month as they moved onto 40 points from 42 after a late winner from Raheem Sterling at home to Southampton. They finished the month eight points clear of local rivals Man United. A poor run of results saw Everton turn to Sam Allardyce in their hour of need. Promising a brand of total football, intricate passing and all the KFC gravy they could handle, his reign got off to a great start with a four-nil win in the Moyes Derby at home to West Ham.

After sharing top spot in August, Pat Walsh held off the challenge of Ralph Goodwin to win November's monthly prize. There were just ten points between the top two at the month end. Eamon Fox finished another three points back in third place. 		 


You can't keep a good Sam down....
     
December 2017 - The league was as good as over as Man City held a fourteen point lead at the turn of the year. Defeat in the Manchester Derby and dropped points over Christmas against Leicester, Burnley and Southampton left Jose Mourinho as sick as the proverbial parrot. Harry Kane scored a hat-trick against Southampton on St Stephen's Day to make it 39 league goals in the calendar year - breaking Alan Shearer's longstanding record. Game of the month was arguably at the Emirates where Arsenal and Liverpool shared six points. A good run of form saw reigning champions Chelsea move into second place.

Seven rounds of games saw Gavin Morgan stay the course and emerge victorious in December. He had five points to spare over Trevor Byrne in second place with Caroline Carroll finishing third... 		 


And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time....
     
January 2018 - Brian Mullen was our first monthly winner of 2018. He scored 181 points and had a comfortable fifteen point margin over Eamon Fox in second place. Aidan Scanlon was a point further back in third place with Jack Draper and Pat Jordan completing the top five for the month.

On the pitch Man City suffered their first of just two defeats in the league this season. A fifteen minute blitz in the second half saw Liverpool race into a four-one lead and they held out for the win despite the usual late defensive misdemeanours. The champions-elect had plenty of consolation in the form of a fifteen point lead on January 31st. Chelsea's defeat at home to Bournemouth on the last day of the month had the regining champions in serious danger of missing out on the top four. Watch this space.... 		 


There goes the unbeaten record....
     
February 2018 - Man City won the first sileverware of the season beating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final at the end of the month. They finished February thirteen points clear of Man United in second place. United finished the month with a vital two-one victory at home to Chelsea - Jesse Lingaard scored the winner as Jose Mourinho's new side came from behind to beat his old side. That result saw Chelsea drop out of the top four. A four-one victory over West Ham on the final weekend of the month saw Liverpool climb to second place with the threesome of Salah, Firmino and Mane moving onto a combined total of 103 goals for the season. The days of Mario Balotelli and Ricky Lambert seemed a distant memory at last....

Chelsea fan Liam Geraghty ensured it wouldn't be a trophyless season for the Blues by winning in February. Aidan White was just five points back in second place with Sean O'Mairtin in third place.... 		 


Messi Lingaard as he's known round Salford....
     
March 2018 - Dave McGinley returned to the winners enclosure taking first prize in April. His score of 164 points was just three better than Pat Jordan in second place. Brendan Maguire finished a further two points back with Paul Moore and Eamon Fox completing the top five for March.

Man City's title procession was nearing an end. By March 31st they were just one victory away from confirming their title win. Man United, Liverpool and Tottenham were closing in on the Champions League places with Chelsea and Arsenal struggling in the run in. Mo Salah was heading towards the golden boot, helped by a four goal haul against Watford on St Patricks Day. The new Juan Cuadrado indeed.... 		 


The Egyptian king....
     
April 2018 - Despite losing the Manchester Derby by the odd goal in five, Man City's title win was confirmed on April 15th when Man United lost at home to West Brom. The Baggies did their best to avoid relegation in April. Alan Pardew collected his P45, replaced by Darren Moore. They then went on to collect eight points from twelve available. Arsene Wenger announced he would be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season - six defeats from six on the road in 2018 ensured the Emirates faithful and the cast of Arsenal Fan TV wouldn't be upset over that decision.

Con McSweeney, the pride of Cork, won the April competition with a score of 160 points. Karl Boland was second just four points behind the winner. The top five for April was completed by Dave McGinley, Frank McSweeney and Eamon Fox. 		 


The decisive moment....
     
May 2018 - With the title long decided, the focus of the last couple of weeks of the season was on the relegation battle. Stoke's ten year stay in the top division came to an end after defeat at Crystal Palace. Swansea's defeat at home to Southampton saw their relegation confirmed. That result also confirmed West Brom's demotion despite a late rally. Champions Man City broke the 100 point barrier with an injury time winner from Gabriel Jesus at Southampton on the last day. Liverpool took the last Champions League spot with a four-nil victory over Brighton. Man United finished second with Tottenham third. Chelsea finished fifth but beat Man United in the FA Cup Final to earn some consolation from a disappointing campaign.

A sprint finish to the season saw Frank McSweeney and Gary McGurk share the May prize with 111 points each. Joe Behan, Gerry Draper and Chris Keohan finished in the top five for the month too. 		 


Record breakers....
     
Overall 2017-2018 - Pat Walsh finished as our champion after a hard-fought campaign. He went to the top of the leaderboard on March 11th and held top spot until the finish. Jonathan Fox mounted a late rally but had to settle for second place, sixteen points behind our winner. Karl Boland finished in third place with Dave McGinley and Anastas Popov completing the top five for the season.

It's interesting looking back over the season to see who else was in contention at different times - Sean Moloney, Gavin Morgan, Philip Jordan, Ralph Goodwin and Brian Prendergast all topped the leaderboard during the season. They'll all be hoping to go one better as we head into the 2018-2019 season.... 		 


Worthy winners....
     
World Cup 2018 - At the end of the regular season came the World Cup in Russia. No post-season break for the site as we had 57 people signed up for our competition. France picked up the trophy after a four-two win over Croatia in the final in Moscow on July 15th.

Kris Stainton topped the leaderboard on the third day of the competition and managed to see off all challengers and emerge victorious. He finished ten points clear of Trevor Byrne in second place. Damien Martin, Philip Jordan and Niall Carroll all finished in the top five after another excellent competition. 		 


World champions....