The world's leading London pub-based fantasy football league
Manager: John
Nationality: England
Domestic club side: Headless Chickens
Tournament history: International debut
(Strike denotes player not travelling to tournament)
| Neuer, M | Germany | £15m |
| Heitinga, J | Holland | £8.5m |
| Wojtkowiak, G | Poland | £0.5m |
| Berezutski, A | Russia | £0.5m |
| Iniesta, A | Spain | £29m |
| De Rossi, D | Italy | £8m |
| Ribéry, F | France | £21m |
| Larsson, S | Sweden | £8.5m |
| Postiga, H | Portugal | £7.5m |
| Eduardo | Croatia | £0.5m |
| Total | £99.5m |
THE MAN at the centre of an illegal bidding scandal that rocked the Kenna this week has claimed he had been ‘naive’.
At Tuesday night’s Emmanuel Olisadebe auction ahead of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, the FC Testiculadewland manager was discovered to be deliberately trying to buy a second French player, Karim Benzema.
Under auction rules, the FCT manager would invoke the Titus Bramble Ruling – forfeiting Franck Ribery, the most expensive of his two Frenchmen.
It is thought the manager was attempting to free up funds late in the auction.
The practice, which has come to be known as ‘tactical Brambling’, caused outrage among fellow managers, who traditionally view the forfeit procedure as a punitive measure.
In a leaked email to Kenna HQ, the FCT manager said: “I was a bit naive, I honestly thought it’d be an acceptable thing to do at the time.
It was only my second auction and I’d seen Brambles flying here, there and everywhere. I thought if you were willing to take the Bramble then people would be okay with it.”
The reasoning is similar to that of Robbie Earle, who was implicated in a ticketing scandal at the 2010 World Cup.
The former Wimbledon striker claimed he’d been ‘naive’ when tickets he’d given to a friend ended up being used in a ambush marketing stunt at the group match between Denmark and Holland.
As a result, Earle lost his job at ITV Sport. The fate of the FCT manager hangs in the balance.
The Bramble player in his team for the forfeit Ribery, Alexandros Tziolis, has been cut from the Greek squad due to ample defensive-midfield cover.
“We’ve received an appeal from FC Testiculadew to replace the bubble and squeak. We’ve decided to put it to a vote. Managers are invited to choose what the fate of FCT should be,” read an official league statement.
Managers can vote below. The results will be confidential until they are revealed on Wednesday (6 June).
[polldaddy poll=6277059]
AN ETHICS committee is to be formed at Kenna HQ after last night’s controversial Olisadebe auction.
Two incidents of note relating to the Titus Bramble Ruling, where a manager forfeits an illegal player, caused heated confrontation, with the Horn of Africa manger threatening to resign halfway through proceedings.
Later in the evening, the FC Testiculadewland boss was found to be engaged in ‘tactical Brambling’ – knowingly attempting to buy an illegal player to free up funds from the one he would forfeit.
Despite working for on the case for almost 24 hours, Scotland Yard are still scratching their heads as to just where the spirit of Kenna has disappeared.
“Two incidents of note at the auction betrayed some truly unfit conduct from managers. The Kenna has always been a place of genteel manners and this type of histrionic or devious behaviour will not be tolerated,” said the Chairman in an official league statement.
“We will form a Kenna Ethics Committee to establish a managers’ code of conduct. We’re also looking to develop a ‘fit and proper persons test’, although looking around the table last night we shouldn’t make it too difficult,” continued the Chairman, who definitely didn’t fall asleep on the bus home and wake up in Enfield.
Full teams will be published soon.
Broadcasting the auction live on Twitter, the Kenna gained a grand total of two new followers.
“Controversy aside, we think the rest of the auction went rather well,” said the Chairman.
“Although interaction with the online community was limited, the tweets do provide an excellent chronicle of the evening.”
Live broadcasting the summer auction is to be decided pending review.
THE WAITING is over and the day has come for 16 intrepid managers to take part in the very first fantasy football auction to be broadcast live on Twitter.
At 7pm tonight, in a pub not far from Elephant & Castle tube station in south London, the first player will be introduced to the bidding for the 2012 Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup.
From there the auction will roll on until every team contains a goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers – each of the 11 players hailing from a different nation.
Every manager will be hoping for glory and planning to avoid ignominy.
“The Olisabdebe promises to be the best auction yet. When a group of gentlemen met for the first ever auction seven years ago, none of them ever thought it would reach these heights. I wish every manager the best of luck,” said the Chairman.
A brief profile of each competitor can be found below, as well as the teams that failed to qualify and the final standings from the 2010 Doctor Khumalo World Cup.
1. Make Party (Eng) – Having won in South Africa two years ago at the helm of Nelson’s Column, the Make Party manager has the pedigree of international success. Claims this season’s rocky domestic form with Vasco De Beauvoir was down to it being a transitional year.
2. Chernobyl Forlov (Eng) – Came a very close second in 2010 managing South Afrikaans are Rasc1st Santander, and still in the Zurich appeal courts after the Fifa Technical Committee awarded every goal of the tournament to Nelson’s Column midfielder Wesley Sneijder. Will be looking to get one over Make Party. Disappointing in the league this season managing Hairy Fadjeetas.
3. Aston Birra (Cat) – Took a sabbatical from the domestic game this year to keep fresh for the summer. Hoping to better his run out in the Khumalo where his team Nottingham Miedo came a respectable third.
4. Just Put Warsaw (Cat) – Another Catalan doing well in 2010, come fourth with Where’s MaraVilla? Preparations marred by stuttering league campaign with Just Put Carles and Catalan public spat.
5. Bwing on the Euwos (Wal) – A consistent performer at domestic level, with one league title to his name managing Young Boys, the Welshman is yet to win silverware at international level. Mid-table finish at the helm of Paul Gadd’s U16s in 2010.
6. Utoya Island XI (Wal) – A mid-table manager at every level. Got the best of our Robin van Persie in the league at Judean Peoples’ Front this season. Resemblance to Anders Breivik unhelpful.
7. Just FEMEN (Sco) – Disastrous league campaign this season led to her sacking from Polonia Forsyth. Led Anyone But England in disappointing 2010 tournament. Needs to pull her kni… socks up.
8. Welease Wio! (Eng) – Also sacked earlier this month for leading The Dan Terry Seduction to relegation. Provided one of the comedy highlights of the 2010 auction by introducing Scott Chipperfield to the bidding. Probably reading up on useful fly halves, hurdlers and wicketkeeper-batsmen, if reading up at all.
9. The Horn of Africa (Som) – Growing tired of major tournaments hosted by countries with rac1st tendencies. Hopes to better his 2010 performance at the helm of RIP MJ. Impressive domestic season with Spartak Mogadishu.
10. Hoodyanika Bolokov (Eng) – Won the Claudio Caniggia 2006 World Cup, although its validity recently brought into question. Calamitous beginnings to 2010 when he bought an injured Samir Nasri at auction. Pikey Scum team finished mid-table this season.
11. Everybody Gdansk Now (Eng) – After seven years still looking for a trophy at any level. Led Newington Reds to third place in the league this season.
12. Testiculadewland (Eng) – Was so successful in his debut campaign with FC Testiculadew that an official league inquiry was launched two months before the end of the season. Can he become the second ever manager to win the triple?
13. Bunga Bunga Euro Tour (Eng) – Domestic cup runner up this season in charge of Headless Chickens.
14. Every Pole’s a Goal (Wal) – Mid-table domestic finish with Bala Rinas.
15. Doing the Poznan (Eng) – Mid-table domestic finish with Lurliners.
16. The Eurosceptics (Eng) – Mid-table domestic finish with Dynamo Charlton.
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STEWART Downing, Andy Carroll and Gareth Barry have all been earmarked as amongst the most average players taking part in the upcoming Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup.
The three Englishmen join 12 others from across the continent to make up the Titus Bramble XV (full line up below).
All are expected to have little or no impact on the tournament, and will be employed as forfeit players for managers breaking rules in tomorrow night’s auction, due to be broadcast live on Twitter from 7pm.
“We’re delighted to announce the Titus Bramble XV for the auction, including, for the first time ever, two honourary VIP selections from the host nations. These fifteen players will replace anyone forfeit tomorrow night,” said the Chairman, before being escorted into a waiting car by sharp-suited, severe-looking men from the Vatican.
Grzegorsz Sandomierski (Pol) – Will have an excellent view of proceedings from the bench.
Behrang Safari (Swe) – A good defender relies on clean sheets and clean sheets are built upon team unity. With 22 men playing for the democratic monarchy of Sweden and one for the evil, Slavic autocracy of Emperor Zlatan, goal-shy Safari must surely be a wildcard at best.
Simon Kjaer (Den) – Recently named one of the worst signings in Serie A this season who ‘has consistently been tortured by quick attackers’, the Dane can only struggle against the speed and precision of German and Dutch forward play.
Per Mertesacker (Ger) – Surprising inclusion in a slick Teuton outfit considering his lumbering form and recent injury at club level.
Rolando (Por) – The poor man’s Ronaldo.
Nigel De Jong (Hol) – Nicknamed ‘The Lawnmower’ for his combative style of play, there’s more chance of De Jong being able to repair a Briggs & Stratton engine during a match than avoiding the book or finding his way onto the score sheet.
Alexandros Tziolis (Gre) – From Tziolis’ agent wikipedia: “He plays a ‘silent’ role in the game, and he tends to occupy the role of a deep-lying playmaker more than a defensive stopper. His crisp passing and physical strength are also positive aspects of his game.” The content of this summary is as doubtful as its syntax.
Keith Andrews (Ire) – Tournament highlights: booked against Croatia scything down Modric, booked against Spain upending Andres Iniesta, misses Italy game.
Stewart Downing (Eng) – No goals, no assists and spent most of the league season looking like a timid schoolboy on the ball, must be quaking at the prospect of playing in the bread basket of Soviet terror.
Andriy Voronin (Ukr) – On average, the Steppe’s answer to Tarzan scores a goal every 10 games for his country. Even if an unlikely Ukraine get to the final, he’s left with just over half a chance of netting one.
Georgios Samaras (Gre) – Thinks he’s Ronaldinho. Is not.
Andy Carroll (Eng) – striker – played really well for the last three games of the domestic campaign, but for the rest of the season has shown less talent than a Tuesday afternoon in Gateshead Weatherspoon’s.
Gareth Barry (Eng) – midfielder – Against a similar standard of opposition, but without the likes of David Silva and Yaya Touré a short pass away, Barry is in for another tournament ride bumpier than Fred West’s patio. Will be replaced by Jordan Henderson if injured.
Yulia Tymoshenko (Ukr) – Libera – The ‘Gas Princess’ may score as many goals as Bobby Sands this summer, but in international terms the PR value she brings to any outfit is welcome to Olisadebe managers who tend to lurch from one media disaster to another. At 51 still has the looks to alleviate the inevitable curse of squad boredom.
Pope Jean Paul II (Pol) – Goalkeeper – A regular between the sticks for his school and university sides, the former pontiff is the reason why there are so many top-level, Polish ‘keepers around. Spiritual contribution cannot be overlooked.
MANAGING a team in regular fantasy football contests offers little true variance.
Sitting at your computer and picking the same two strikers 100,000 others have, while the War Office reminds you it’s bin day tomorrow is unpreferred.
Having to then spend the tournament logging on to make transfers and, God forbid, ‘pick captains’, is quite frankly unacceptable.
In the Olisadebe auction, managers lock horns in that most competitive of arenas, the pub.
Once the auction’s over, managers are free to enjoy the tournament in the patented Ruud Gullit ‘bars and discotheques’ style.
For the uninitiated, here an idiot’s guide to the rules:
The second rule in particular makes the Olisadebe ultimately challenging. Buying a bottom-drawer player from a top team is folly.
Going around the table, each gaffer takes it in turns to introduce a player to the bidding. The auction ends when every team is filled.
The Olisadebe ‘Brambles’ will be announced next week.
Looking below at the top performers from the last international tournament, the Doctor Khumalo 2010 World Cup, the immediate thought is: what the bejabbers was someone up to spending £31.5m on a holding midfielder like Schweinsteiger?
During a domestic season, steady Eddies like Bastian ‘Pig-overseer’, making regular appearances and nicking the odd goal can be useful.
But in tournament football, where an absolute maximum of six games awaits, the only successful midfielders are those scoring just as many goals as their striking counterparts (Wesley Sneijder).
Forwards regularly finding the net and back fives from organised teams picking up clean sheets offer the best return on investment.
Creative wing backs getting assists and goals, while their side keeps clean sheets, are a handy addition.
The second thing you’ll notice from the table is that some household names went for chicken feed. There are three reasons for this:
|
Name |
Position |
Country |
Points |
Auction price |
|
Thomas Muller |
Striker |
Germany |
42 |
£0.5m |
|
Wesley Sniejder |
Midfielder |
Netherlands |
40 |
£36m |
|
David Villa |
Striker |
Spain |
39 |
£0.5m |
|
Iker Casillas |
Goalkeeper |
Spain |
35 |
£0.5m |
|
Gerard Pique |
Defender |
Spain |
33 |
£22m |
|
Carlos Puyol |
Defender |
Spain |
33 |
£1m |
|
Sergio Ramos |
Defender |
Spain |
28 |
£1m |
|
Mesut Ozil |
Midfielder |
Germany |
26 |
£0.5m |
|
Miroslav Klose |
Striker |
Germany |
25 |
£7m |
|
Manuel Neuer |
Goalkeeper |
Germany |
24 |
£0.5m |
|
Phillipe Lahm |
Defender |
Germany |
22 |
£13.5m |
|
Arne Friedrich |
Defender |
Germany |
22 |
£1m |
|
Arjen Robben |
Midfielder |
Netherlands |
21 |
£15m |
|
Bastian Schweinsteiger |
Midfielder |
Germany |
21 |
£31.5m |
|
Andres Iniesta |
Midfielder |
Spain |
20 |
£19m |
|
Giovanni van Bronckhorst |
Defender |
Netherlands |
20 |
£5m |
Look out for more news and features about the Olisadebe in the build up to the auction.
KUDOS, riches and glazed-over, gyrating, Slav human traffic leggier than a recent Scott Parker performance have long been the trappings of international success, but the Olisadebe offers that little bit extra.
Not only will the victor trouser £100 in cash, but they will become the proud owner of an unofficial, replica Emmanuel Olisadebe Poland shirt.
“Gained at no great expense, the shirt is almost exactly like the one, like the one worn by Emmanuel during his prolific spell for Poland. Any manager would be thrilled to hang the shirt in pride of place, so long as they can overlook the superficial damage,” said the Chairman, before returning to a heated telephone call about unkept promises with a storage solutions company.
Second place will land £50 while third will scoop £20.
The manager ending with the top individual points scorer in their team will also have something smile about.
“This tournament we’re offering a whopping £60 for player of the tournament. We hope it’ll bring out some big bids on the auction night,” said the Chairman.
Look out for more news and features about the Olisadebe in the build up to the auction.
First: £100 and the unofficial, replica Emmanuel Olisadebe Poland shirt (with superficial damage)
Second: £50
Third: £20
Top individual player score: £60
THE EMMANUEL Olisadebe European Cup auction is to be broadcast live on Twitter, organisers announced today.
Lot-by-lot updates of the fantasy football competition, based on Euro 2012, will be tweeted on Tuesday (29 May) from 7pm.
A total of 16 managers will battle it out in a mystery pub in south London.
The contest is a ‘ties-off’ international tournament in a similar format to domestic club contest the Jeff Kenna League.
The Kenna HQ Chairman said: “The live tweet is an excellent way to showcase to the world how fantasy football competitions should be played.
“The Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup auction, like the Kenna auction, is a face-to-face contest of knowledge and footballing acumen in an informal atmosphere. During the roller coaster, four-hour event participants experience the full range of emotions, although they mostly fluctuate between schadenfreude and humiliation.
“Picking captains and making transfers every week may be a good way for the big newspapers to drive up traffic to their websites and increase advertising revenue, but we’re convinced the auction format is the true test of fantasy footballing skill.
“Once the auction is done, entrants are left to wholeheartedly drink in every second of Euro 2012 in the patented Ruud Gullit ‘bars and discotheques’ style.”
Look out for more news and features about the Olisadebe here in the build up to the auction.
KENNA HQ launched plans for this summer’s European Cup by announcing the search for the ‘perfect’ London pub to hold the auction.
Set for the evening of Thursday 31 May, the auction will involve no more than 16 managers battling it out for honours in the newly-named 2012 Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup.
Speaking from an ornamental fountain in the Middle East, the Kenna Chairman said: “We like our football auctions with a pint, and by pint I mean a pint of beer, so we’re looking for a central London pub with an upstairs bit or sort of funtion room we can use for an evening.
“We’ve used a few other adequate venues in the past, but we still haven’t found the perfect pub. We need an area where 16 managers can sit around a table with a steady flow of draft premium lager and without competing for noise with the uninitiated.
“If you know a pub that meets the criteria get in touch.”
The criteria
Please send suggestions to [email protected] or tweet @jeffkennaleague using #bestlondonpub
Kenna HQ announced the name of the competition as the 2012 Emmanuel Olisadebe European Cup.
The Chairman said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have Emmanuel as our figurehead. His 11 goals in 25 appearances for Poland made him the stand-out candidate.
“Being an organisation proud of its diversity, we hope to use the tournament as an opportunity to highlight all that is multicultural about Poland, Ukraine and football itself; just like FIFA are doing with the 2022 Qatar World Cup.”
The competition will be limited to 16 teams. In the event that more managers wish to pick up the gauntlet, entry preference will be given to managers in the following order:
Despite the lack of seating there was no standing on ceremony at Friday’s auction.
Once the bidding was underway 30 players were sold in record time.
The high stakes of the Kenna aside early, managers were left to indulge in the comparatively risk-averse diversion of Leicester Square’s Empire Casino.
“An excellent turnout and a very professional operation indeed. Thank you to managers for making it such a memorable evening,” said the Chairman, trying to piece together events the next day from a wad of crumpled receipts in his wallet.
As is always the case after a transfer window, some new signings have jumped at the opportunity of a fresh start to take the game by the throat, while others…
Smash and grab raid of the window has to go to the Spartak Mogadishu boss, who picked up Papiss Demba Rodney Cisse for £500k.
“Yarrr! He be a fine vassal,” said the Spartak gaffer in a feudal moment.
Full teams and this week’s points will be available later in the week.
|
£15m |
Ox-Chamberlain, A | Young Boys |
| Pogrebnyak, P | Headless Chickens | |
|
£14m |
Sagna, B | Lokomotiv Leeds |
|
£13m |
Cisse, D | Pikey Scum |
|
£12m |
Pienaar, S | Bala Rinas |
| Pennant, J | Thieving Magpies | |
|
£11m |
Morison, S | Headless Chickens |
| Graham, D | Spartak Mogadishu | |
| Cahill, T | Newington Reds | |
|
£10m |
The Yak | Bala Rinas |