This was possibly the lowest number of goals this week that we’ve had in Bladder Basher, and it has been a low scoring week to reflect this. I don’t think anyone score more than three or four, and many scored none. Bad news bears guys!

Head-To-Head

Gameweek 9

Nicklas Bent? Naah.. (Karl N.) vs. The Monolith FC (Chris G) 

A definite nailbiter in the first match this week. Evenly matched throughout, Karl got goals from Man City boys Sergio Aguero and David Silva and a clean sheet from right-back Danny Simpson, but The Monolith matched with a stolid Newcastle defense of keeper Krul and Steven Taylor, who suffered a broken nose. In the end it came down to the bonus points, and in the end it was Krul’s stunning show that stole the draw from Karl and meant victory for The Monolith, who go to a solid second place, with only points separating from the leader.

Dillinger (Ben L) vs. Human Abstract XI (Rahul M)

Ben’s goalless Dillinger were humbled by a brace from HA XI captain Robin Van Persie, and despite an assist from on form Gabriel Agbonlahor, and a couple of Newcastle clean sheets at the back, Rahul’s team continued their flying run.

WBF Flames FC (Tyler H) vs. Hell Yeah (Rafael R)

Tyler’s team returned to winning ways with a comfortable win over Hell Yeah thanks to high-scoring captain David Silva and Sergio Aguero’s goal once again. He also included both Taylors from what has proved to be a strong Newcastle back 5 this week, and although Ben fielded both Ryan Taylor and goalie Tim Krul, his lack of goals from an expensive and star-studded midfield proved his undoing.

Langland United (Craig T) vs. Vanpersieandfriends (Dan S)

Dan faced a second successive derby with bandmate Craig – which he blitzed thanks to his faith in captain and namesake Robin Van Persie, whose run of 25 goals in 26 league games this year continued with two in this matchup, which was compounded by David Silva’s own, along with assists from the Spaniard, two from Chris Brunt and one from big man at the back Chris Samba. Dan’s was one of the best scores of the week, and Craig was unable to keep the pace without any goals and that same assist from Samba. Boasting rights once again to Dan.

Kirellah (Erik H) vs. The Wankahoozanes (Tree Beard)

Erik kept faith with the fourth member of Newcastle’s defense Fabricio Coloccini for a clean sheet, but Tim Howard, despite making three saves, couldn’t match his score last week. Fellow American Clint Dempsey assisted on goal, but Tree Beard’s inclusion of David Silva undoubtedly won him the tie.

WE HATE LEEDS (Jon W) vs. Orsaeth United (Kevin Z)

Jon is on fine form now, with Van Persie and Coloccini paying dividends for the Leeds haters. The Taylors and Silva weren’t enough to stem the tide of orange and black, and Jon grabbed another deserved win.

 Average vs. Triangle United (Jaime G)

How the mighty have fallen! Absentee manager Jaime was most likely on holiday again, and allowed his team to dip under the average by one measly point – but that’s all it takes!

The Average team are now in a fairly solid third place, having leap-frogged Hell Yeah and Triangle United. Some sharp decisions need to be made to regain some pride; can it be done?

All of this leaves us with the table as follows:

+-	#	Team	W	D	L	+	Pts
	1	Human Abstract XI	7	0	2	439	21
	2	The Monolith FC	7	0	2	428	21
	3	Average	6	0	3	401	18
	4	Hell Yeah	6	0	3	377	18
	5	Triangle united	5	0	4	441	15
	6	WBF Flames FC	5	0	4	431	15
	7	Nicklas Bent? Naah..	5	0	4	420	15
	8	Vanpersieandfriends	5	0	4	415	15
	9	Langland Utd	4	0	5	377	12
	10	The Wankahoozanes	4	0	5	326	12
	11	WE HATE LEEDS	3	0	6	321	9
	12	Dillinger	2	0	7	317	6
	13	Orsaeth United	2	0	7	312	6
	14	Kirellah	2	0	7	264	6

The fixtures for the next gameweek are as follows:

Classic

	1	FC Bayern Bru	Scott Morris	60	480
	2	Waxing Gibbons	Justin Shead	29	473
	3	JFC FC	Graham Coulter	46	467
	4	Gary Glitter’s U16s	Chris Morris	46	450
	5	Triangle united	Jaime Gamble	35	441
	6	Human Abstract XI	Rahul Menon	44	439
	7	WBF Flames FC	Tyler Hendricks	53	431
	8	The Monolith FC	Chris Grenville	40	428
	9	Nicklas Bent? Naah..	karl nessworthy	39	420
	10	Vanpersieandfriends	Dan Stokes	55	415
	11	Youwangedmyship	Steve Boden	48	414
	12	Langland Utd	Craig Taylor	21	377
	13	Hell Yeah	Rafael Rojas	29	377
	14	The Wankahoozanes	Tree Beard	33	326
	15	WE HATE LEEDS	Jon Weatherill	47	321
	16	Dillinger	Ben Ludlow	34	317
	17	Orsaeth United	Kevin Zecchel	33	312
	18	Los Increibles	Luis Tenorio	39	300
	19	#Winning	Will Windlay	12	290
	20	Riff FC	Jorge Valverth	16	189

FC Bayern Bru take the top spot once again, with most teams slipping. Oh dear!

If this sounds like your particular ball made out of a urinary gland, entries are open for gameweek 10, with new teams and changes to current players’ teams allowed up until 11:30am GMT on October 29th.

That’s all for Gameweek 9. You can still enter the classic league by going here, signing up and entering the following code in the league section: 425145-118189

See you next week folks!

– CG