IN MAY this year 14 intrepid souls gathered in a south London pub ahead of Euro 2012 to take part in a fantasy football auction.
With a budget of £100m, each manager had to buy 11 internationals who they thought would perform the best over three weeks in Poland and Ukraine.
The manager of the team with the most points at the end would claim the prestigious Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup, collecting a cash prize and the coveted, replica, unofficial Emmanuel Olisadebe Poland shirt.
Over four hours, exclusively broadcast live on Twitter, participants had to pick their team in a 4-4-2 formation which could not contain more than one player from each country.
Failure to adhere to these rules would lead to the dreaded Titus Bramble ruling – the illegal player is removed and replaced with a forfeit player.
Managers had to overcome the added challenge of British round culture. The Albert Arms enjoyed a brisk trade.
The auction became the most controversial in eight years with one manager threatening to resign half way through the evening and another found to be engaged in the heinous act of ‘tactical Brambling’ – deliberately buying an illegal player to give himself a financial advantage late on in proceedings.
The Eurosceptics manager went on to win the tournament after a thrilling final night in Kiev.
Ahead of the English Premier League season, beginning next month, managers will convene to take part in the traditional Kenna auction at another London pub.
The auction is due to be tweeted live @jeffkennaleague.
All photos were kindly taken by World of Tim 2.
