PlayTheGame

Hi, from the recent match for Glen Johnson (POR) & Danny Simpson (BLA). They appeares to be invloved in alot of mid field actions. Would they be considered to have a Mid position?

PTG - We have not awarded Glen Johnson any extra eligibility, but Danny Simpson has been awarded Midfield status.

I think this game is great, i am positively hooked and thriving on the format. I would have to agree with the flaw in the defensive scoring. Having Bosingwa, Agger and Evra in my side I am always going to get my fair share of assists and goals. however it seems unfair that defenders from Fulham and West Ham are scoring better simply because their teams are being bombarded every week and forced into making more tackles and clearances. do you think this is right. Was it your idea to make managers have a blend of good defenders, and defenders that are simply in the action for lesser teams. It seems to me that only judging a defender by his tackles and clearances is unfair, how about successful passes in the oppositions half too ? cheers

PTG - Thanks for your comments. Obviously we will not be changing the scoring system mid season, but will bear in mind the thoughts when considering any changes to scoring for next season.

Can i just ask why Ashley Young didn't get the assist from Saturdays game versus Arsenal? It was from his corner the Gael Clichy put into his own net to give Aston Villa the lead, can just clarify why Ashley Young didn't get the assist for this please?

PTG - As stated in the game rules, no assists are awarded for own goals.

Thanks for the comprehensive explanation on Defender scoring. Does this mean that if a goalkeeper makes a blinding save and puts the ball out for a corner he does not earn defensive points as possession is retained by attacking team (with their corner)?

PTG - This would be classed as a 'Save' and therefore would be awarded defensive points

Please be a bit quicker/more up to date in showing/removing the highlights when players are either injured or fit to play after injury, as this is often incorrect at kick off time.

PTG - The injury news is not updated on a real time basis and is only there as an indicator of player availability. As mentioned before in this blog the only way to be 100% sure that your players are fit and selected is through a dedicated resource such as the Times Online match tracker http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/live_match_tracker/ where all teams should be available 15 minutes before kick off and often earlier.

If you are away from your PC then Sky Sports Soccer Saturday programme or the BBC Score service also announce the teams as they are released in the run up to Kick-Off.

Re Alex's comments and lack of defensive tackles by top class defenders.
There are five defensive categories and you are missing out in one category - tackles.
You are happy with your goals / assists. You are also more likely to get clean sheets and therefore more points per game played. Minutes played may be equal.

As I see it you pays your money and takes your chances. That's what makes the game so good. Trying to balance your team across all categories.

RE: Alex Lambie's point:

I disagree, the fact that players from poorer teams can have an equal value to those of better teams due to the different scoring categories makes the game far more interesting.

In our league we have a couple of players wo have made no trasnfers or pick ups at all, have teams crammed with top four players anmd just play them every week. They are picking up easy win points, but those of us chopping and changing are keeping competitive, and may pass them by seasons end (as we're a few games played behind) by getting the most effective player game by game and making multiple changes.

Thanks for the clarification. Can i also add a recommendation for next year - drop the minutes played category (or maybe limit no of times managers can use a position each month)?
Managers who recycle squad to have a full team playing every Saturday and Sunday head to the top of leagues with bonuses from the minutes played category (as well as the others). Those who select their team depending on matches should expect to catch them towards the end of the season but your system favours early using up of positions.

PTG - Thanks for your comments, but limiting by month would not really be practical given the way the fixture list works. It is up to the individual managers to decide how they use the positional plays throughout the season, but a manager who uses a lot at the beginning of heh season, will see their advantage slip away as the season progresses.

Good excuse to reel out some cliches though...The league's not won by Christmas, It's a marathon not a sprint and it ain't over until the fat lady sings.

If i play Gareth Barry at left back in my team selection and he scores a goal on the day does that count as a defensive goal even if he plays the whole match in midfield.

PTG - If you are playing him as a defender then he will be scored as a defender regardless of where he plays on the pitch in the actual match.

Can you confirm if a player who is registered as able to play defence or midfield, such as Evra, Roe-coker, Barry, do they score defence points if I select them to play midfield? Similarly should they collect SP if I play them in defence? as the rules state that only defenders score SP.

PTG - For players who can play in Defence or Midfield, they will score points for your team in the position you have selected them. If you play Gareth Barry as a Left Back he will be scored as a defender. If you select him as a Left Midfielder he will score as a midfielder.

I have no problems with the defensive scoring, but I do have an issue with holding midfielders.

I think its a shame that players in the Makalele position like John Obi Mikel don't get to profit from cleansheets. They contribute to the defense as much as or more than most wing backs, even if they are technically a midfield player.

Any way for PTG to include a holding midfielder position which profits from both successful passes and cleansheets?

PTG - Interesting thoughts, but for the time being defensive and midfield categories will remain distinctly separate.

Hi there . for the last couple of months my total number of ptg points has pretty much stayed in the mid 80s and doesn't ever really go up or down by more than 3 points from week to week. In comparison, for the first month or so it was going up sometimes close to 20 points per week. Im quite confused as to why this is happening as im sure the results / player performances haven't really changed that much on average from the start of the season. For example , lately i've had what I would consider a good week where the majority of my picked players teams have won their games , plus i've got say around 5 goals / assists in that week and my ptg points don't really change much at all ( a couple of points at the most) . Any reason why this is happening?

Thanks heaps , i'm enjoying playing

PTG - PlayTheGame uses a scoring system known as rotisserie scoring. There are 10 categories on which your players are scored (5 defensive, 5 midfield/attack). For each of these scoring categories you are competing against all the other members of your league. You can see how you are performing in each category by looking at the 'League tables by category' page under the 'League' tab.

If you are in a 10 team league and you are top of all 10 scoring categories then you will have 100 points and this is the maximum points you can reach (the lowest would be 10 points). At the start of the season each of the scoring categories would be far more fluid than they are now. For example you may have scored 0 goals in the first 2 games of the season and would be bottom of the goal scoring category, but if two of your players scored a hatrick in the 3rd game of the season, and you went to the top of the scoring category you would jump from having 1 point to 10 points within that category.

The short answer is that each of the scoring categories will be far more stable by this point in the season and so a good weekend may only move you up a couple of places within a scoring category.

There must be a simple explanation? My score has dropped this week-end by 1.5 points from 54.5 to 53. But the statistics show my players garnered 21 points between them. Whats up with that?

PTG - As mentioned before on this blog, whether your points go up or down will not only depend on how your team performs, but how your team performs in relation to the other managers in the league. The best place to monitor this is on the 'League tables by category' page which is available under the 'League' tab. Here you will see your position in each of the 10 scoring categories in relation to the other managers in your league.