At first glance it's a mystery to rival anything Sherlock Holmes came up against, but once absorbed and understood, the PlayTheGame scoring system leaves players wondering how they could ever have considered using anything else. For the benefit of those encountering it for the first time, we reproduce Nick Szczepanik's masterful explanation as published in our guide to the game.
- Goalkeepers and defenders score points in five categories: Clean sheets, goals/assists, defence, average goals against and team points. Defence combines interceptions, catches, blocks, saves and successful passes. Average goals against reflects the number of goals per 90-minute game the player’s team concedes while he is on the pitch. So that if David James plays the full 90 minutes of a 2-0 defeat, his average goals per game score is 2. If he keeps a clean sheet in his next game, his average drops to 1. If he concedes a goal in the first half of his next game and is substituted at half-time, the arithmetic gets more complicated - luckily the website does the calculations for you. (1.2, in case you haven’t worked it out.) Points represents the number of points gained by the team in any match in which the player appears. So if he is brought on as a 94th-minute substitute to waste time with the team leading 1-0 and does not even touch the ball, he still collects three points.
- Midfield players and forwards also score in five categories: Goals, assists, successful passes, average goals for and points. The average goals for stat reflects goals scored while the player is on the field, again prorated over 90 minutes. The points stat works in the same way as for defenders and goalkeepers.
- Your league position depends on how well your players perform in the ten categories compared with the performances of the players belonging to the other managers in your league. Teams are ranked from first to last in each category. Points are then awarded according to the order in each category and added to determine an overall score and league rank. In a 20-team league, if a manager is leading in clean sheets, he/she is granted 20 points: second in clean sheets, 19 points, etc, down to 1 point for the manager who has the fewest clean sheets. The manager’s overall score is determined by adding the points in each category.
- After every match day, the cumulative scoring stats (clean sheets, goals, etc) for each player are added to each manager’s running totals, and the running totals in the two average categories are recalculated.
- With games being played on a daily basis, team point totals are subject to fluctuation throughout the season. Naturally, the swings will be much more volatile early in the season. So if your forwards go goal-crazy on Saturday, August 11, the opening day of the season, you could well find that you are top of your league’s goals category on Sunday morning, which adds 20 points to your team total. But if another manager’s forwards do even better during Sunday’s games, on Monday morning your goals score will have dropped to 19. Even late in the season, a team's overall score may rise several points one day as a result of tremendous output by their starting lineup - or drop because of a record-setting day by an opponent’s team. As in the real-life Barclays Premier League, your team may be good - but the others might be even better ...
Comments (55)
Hi.
How do you select your 14 players?
Posted by Cliff Wilson | August 10, 2007 2:39 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 14:39
Dear Cliff Wilson - You choose the 14 players that will be eligible to score points in the game via the Your Team page where you can use the dropdowns to place players in one of the 14 scoring positions or the six bench slots.
In order to do this you will need to have joined a league and had the player allocation run.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at playthegame@timesonline.co.uk if you need any more help.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 10, 2007 3:53 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 15:53
Hi, just a quick question. If a player starts a Premier League game, but in my fantasy team he is only listed as a sub...does he still score full points? Thanks for all your help so far. :-)
Posted by G.K | August 10, 2007 7:59 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 19:59
GK - In PlayTheGame, 14 players can score points (the starting 11 and three subs) so to answer your question, yes a player listed as a sub will score points (provided his Premier League team is playing and he plays in the game).
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 10, 2007 8:30 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 20:30
Does the game track the number of times a position has been played or do managers have to do that themselves?
Also, when a manager drops a player and wishes to add an unallocated player are other managers notified?
Posted by Jay | August 11, 2007 12:41 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 00:41
Jay - The game does indeed track the number of times each position has been played and this will be displayed on your team screen shortly. We are aware of the importance of this function but have experienced some unexpected difficulties in placing it on the site.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 6:46 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 06:46
Can someone please clear up the number of times a player can be selected?
How can you change team selection from a Saturday to a Sunday throughout the season if you are only allowed 38 games in any position?
Posted by Michael | August 11, 2007 9:33 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 09:33
I've allocated a player who does'nt even play in the Premiership (Lee McCulloch) am I stuck with him or can I swap him if so how and when?
Posted by Neal | August 11, 2007 10:13 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 10:13
Quick query on out-of-contract players - how long do i have to wait before said selected players are eligible to play? And even though they're out-of-contract, is the transfer still subject to the rules of the notice-priority list? Cheers!
Posted by Mark | August 11, 2007 10:34 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 10:34
Dear Michael - A player can be selected as often as his owner likes though each of the 14 scoring positions can only be used a maximum of 38 times. Team selection changes between Saturday and Sunday will make sense from time to time because of two factors:
- very few players play all 38 of their team's Premier League matches creating room under the limit;
- some unfavourable matches (such as fixtures away to Manchester United and Chelsea for example) will be avoided creating mmore room under the limit.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 12:54 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 12:54
Neal - You are not stuck with any player on your squad. You can replace players you no longer want with out-of-contract players who do not belong to any team within your league. You can access these via the Add/Release page under the My Team navigation. However, please remember that all out-of-contract players are on notice for 48 hours following your player allocation.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 1:01 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 13:01
Mark - Out-of-contract players are on notice for 48 hours following your league's player allocation. Any claims made during that time will be subject to the notice priority though they will not be processed until the end of the 48-hour period. After the 48 hours have passed all out-of-contract players can be picked up immediately and are not subject to notice priority nor will they affect your notice priority rank. Players added from the out-of-contract list can be used in your team immediately.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 1:05 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 13:05
On match days is there an easy way to check on the actual team line-ups being played in the Premiership, so that fantasy managers can alter their teams prior to kick off and have as many eligible players in scoring positions. Or is it a case of just trying to trawl through the news sites and check TV and radio?
Posted by Gordon | August 11, 2007 1:30 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 13:30
Gordon - the game includes a news service and a listing of player injuries and suspensions but when it comes to line-up on the day, it is wise to use a live source (though the game news service will likely pick up the majority of this news) such as the Times Online live match tracker (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/live_match_tracker/).
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 3:22 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 15:22
How do you change the number of teams allocated to a league? I need to make less teams for my league, and its too late to get enough people.
Posted by Dan | August 11, 2007 3:29 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 15:29
Dan - Only creators of private leagues can change the number of teams the league is set for. To do so, go to the League page and click the Adjust settings blue link at the bottom of the page.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 4:44 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 16:44
Hi,
I'm pretty sure in everything that I've read that they don't, but is it the case that yellow or red cards have no affect on scoring?
Posted by Peter | August 11, 2007 7:04 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 19:04
Peter - Yellow and red cards do not have any effect on scoring beyond the fact that players who are shown a red card are sent off and thus unable to collect points in the scoring categories.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 8:25 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 20:25
If one of my active players is out injured, or is not selected, for one of his team's games and I do not move him to the bench, does this count towards the 38 game limit for his position?
Posted by Pete | August 11, 2007 8:34 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 20:34
Pete - In order for any of your players to be considered to have used one of the 38 position plays, they have to be in one of your 14 scoring positions AND have played in his match. Thus, if your player is in one of your 14 scoring positions but is out injured or does not get take part in his game, he does NOT count toward your 38 game per position limit.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 11, 2007 8:46 PM
Posted on August 11, 2007 20:46
Im the creator of the league yet i can not see the Adjust settings link. I saw other links but not that one. Is it possible that somehow it was adjusted automatically?
Posted by Dan | August 12, 2007 4:04 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 16:04
dose it matter what positions you put your players in?
Posted by finn hatherell | August 12, 2007 7:24 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 19:24
Hi,how often are the scores updated,is it after all the weekend's games are played or is it done daily,i ask as no scores have appeared as yet.
Posted by steve | August 12, 2007 7:58 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 19:58
Dan - If the adjust settings link is not visible and you are the creator of the league, you are either at the limit and within 24 hours of the allocation date or in a public league in which case ou would not e able to change the settings.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 12, 2007 8:49 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 20:49
Finn - Of course it matters which positions you put your players in though you do not need to worry too much about it as the game will not let you put the players in the wrong position. Also, remember that you only have 38 plays of each position so plan accordingly.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 12, 2007 8:51 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 20:51
Steve - The scores will be updated daily (overnight UK time). We encountered unexpected delays in the process on the first day but expect this to be a temporary problem.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 12, 2007 8:53 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 20:53
Quick question: is it possible at all to see the stats for the players on JUST my team? It seems rather ridiculous that it's not prominently displayed, so we can make easy decisions on who to bench.
Posted by dweld | August 12, 2007 10:08 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 22:08
Is there any way of seeing how each individual player in your team is scoring or can you only see your teams overall score?
Posted by Tom | August 12, 2007 10:42 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 22:42
Are the scores recalculated on each update so they replace the previous scores rather than being added to the previous score?
i.e. if you have 20 teams in your league, all teams at all times will have a total score between 10 and 200 points? Each match can potentially cause a team to move positions, and early on in the league, the positions (and scores) will be quite volatile since each new match day is a significant proportion of the current scores?
Posted by Paul | August 12, 2007 10:59 PM
Posted on August 12, 2007 22:59
Well the scoring is most certainly a Sherlock Holmes mystery to me so far. On the first weekend I ended up top of the GK/DEF stats and scored the 10 pts there and top of the MF/FOR tables and scored 10pts there. But, in the overall mail table I still only managed 3rd place. Hopefully by the end of the season I'll have it worked out and still finding the game as much fun.
Posted by Gk | August 13, 2007 12:19 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 00:19
1 If a defender comes off after eight nine minutes with the score nil nil and his team subsequently concede a goal, is he still credited with a clean sheet?
2. Presumably the actual position played by the player does not matter? i.e I put Eboue at right back in my team but when playing for arsenal he plays right midfield?
Posted by seb | August 13, 2007 12:31 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 00:31
Hi,
Will a players' position eligibility be updated during the season if he appears in a position that is different from the initial designation? If yes, is there a minimum appearance requirement for an additional position? Also, I have noticed that my team page lists all additional positions for my players, however I am unable to view ALL eligible positions for other players in my league. This restricts transfers between teams as it is difficult to make an offer without knowing whether a player on another team is listed at more than one position. Thank you for your time.
Joe
Posted by Joe | August 13, 2007 4:53 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 04:53
I had Roque Santa Cruz and Geovanni in my Saturday line ups and according to your scoring system they didn't score the goals they did.
Have the scores been updated properly?
Posted by Jay | August 13, 2007 9:11 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 09:11
How are the scores allocated after a midweek like this week when some teams aren't playing? About half of my players are from Liverpool and Arsenal who will not play this midweek. Do I just lose out this week, and win back the points when they play their postponed games? So I will score 0 in most columns this midweek, but will get 5s later in the season?
Posted by Al | August 13, 2007 10:09 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 10:09
I have Hleb and Van der Sar in my team but I don't think their scores have been included in the calculation of points within my league. How often are the points calculated? Am i right in thinking that, with 7 teams in our league, the maximum points you can score per week is 70?
Posted by Rob | August 13, 2007 10:57 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 10:57
If I put a player for example as RM but he plays a game as CM in real life do I still get all of the points that the player collects?
Posted by Jamie | August 13, 2007 11:51 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 11:51
If I have players "active" who are either injured or not selected (on subs bench but don't play or not in squad) - does this count as the position having been used? (e.g. if I only have one right back and he's injured and selected as active).
Also - where can I found out how many times a position (goalkeeper, centre back etc.)has been used?
Do I need to keep track of the fact I've played a right midfielder 37 times??!!
Posted by Jake Thomas | August 13, 2007 12:04 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 12:04
My Team Stats have been updated to take into account yesterdays (Sunday) games, but our league points have not been updated. Is this usual?
Posted by Lee | August 13, 2007 12:34 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 12:34
Are you having problems with the scoring system and any idea when they will be fixed?
e.g. Lampard's points seem to be showing double when you look him up as an individual but none of his points have yet counted towards my team totals.
Posted by Graham | August 13, 2007 1:11 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 13:11
Is there any way that you can see how many points a player has scored for your team, or can you only see the total number of points a team has?
Posted by Dave | August 13, 2007 1:18 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 13:18
so can i score more points if i play stevn gerrard in cm instead of forward?
Posted by finn hatherell | August 13, 2007 2:11 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 14:11
Hi
Is there still an issue with scores updating? Our league still only shows scores from Saturday.
Cheers
Richard
Posted by Richard Chadwick | August 13, 2007 2:56 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 14:56
Dweld, Tom - You can indeed see the stats of just the players on your team and thus make decisions on who to bench. To do so, click the Team Stats link under My Team in the navigation.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:15 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:15
Paul - The scoring of PlayTheGame is recalculated on a daily basis. As you point out these are rather volatile in the early days but each team in a 20-team league will have a score between 20 and 200 points.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:18 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:18
Seb -
1. If a defender comes off after a few minutes with the score nil - nil and his team subsequently concede a goal, the defender is not credited with a clean sheet (though he would have added the number of minutes he was on the pitch to his AGA total thus lowering the value of this category). In other words, in order for a defender to be credited with a clean sheet, his team must have finished the game with a clean sheet.
2. A player's actual position does not matter in that only the positions listed within the game matter when it comes to setting your team. Of course PlayTheGame aims to be a realistic fantasy game and as such will add to a player's fantasy position eligibility to reflect what actually happens in the game. However, as is illustrated by the Eboue example, there are limits here because we cannot add Midfield and Forward eligibility to a defender as the two groups score in different categories. As such, we will add additional defensive categories to defenders and likewise additional midfield and forward eligibility to forwards and midfield players.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:28 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:28
Joe - Players' position eligibility will be updated throughout the season to reflect the real game but only within a player's band so other defensive positions will be added to defenders and midfield and forward positions to midfield players and forwards.
As for the display of additional positions to all managers within a league, this is something we will adress shortly.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:46 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:46
Jay, Rob, Lee, Graham, Richard - To quote a subsequent post here: "We are aware of several scoring issues that plagued some PlayTheGame leagues on Monday morning. These have now been rectified and we are happy to assure all of our players that the integrity of our scoring mechanism has been restored."
Apologies.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:52 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:52
Al - Each position within PlayTheGame is limited to 38 plays, regardless of which player actually does the playing in them. As such if your team is made up of players not playing on a particular day, you will still have a chance to use your allotted 38 plays at a later date.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:55 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:55
Jamie - If a player is eligible in multiple positions within the game, he will score points for PTG managers in any of them regardless of where he actually plays in the fixture in question.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 5:58 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 17:58
Jake - Players who are in any of your team's active slots will only count as having played from a position limit perspective if they actually play.
These limits of 38 plays per position will be tracked on your My Team page shortly so you will not need to keep track of how many times each position has been used.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 6:01 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 18:01
Dave - You can see the number of points a player has scored on the player profile page. Click the players name on any screen to access it.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 6:07 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 18:07
Finn - Playing Steven Gerrard in a midfield slot as opposed to a forward slot will have no bearing on how many points he scores for your team. However, it is worthwhile to consider where he is more valuable. The fact that it is easier to replace a player with his stats in a forward slot suggests that he is probably best utilised in the midfield for the purposes of PlayTheGame.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 6:11 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 18:11
Richard, Alex - The scoring issues plaguing the game have been rectified and the majority of leagues will have seen this though a small percentage may be lagging behind as the system works through all of the leagues. This should now be complete for all leagues.
Posted by PlayTheGame Admin | August 13, 2007 6:14 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 18:14
Hi,
i don't know if this is right but you selected the team for me so it wasn't so good?
Is this right?
Posted by ben | August 13, 2007 6:14 PM
Posted on August 13, 2007 18:14
Hi,
Do the subs have 38 allocated slots as well?
Posted by richard | August 14, 2007 11:57 AM
Posted on August 14, 2007 11:57