Every match in Round 2

was a shutout. 8-0, 4-0, 5-0, 1-0, 4-0, 4-0, 1-0, 4-0. Odd...

The WOP Picks the Winners: Season 29

Since there are no actual World Cup matches on this morning, I have time to make a few predictions about our Season 29 B-Cup campaign. I don't know about you guys, but I have to say that Hattrick becomes a little, dare I say boring, when a World Cup is actually going on. I mean, when the worlds actual best players are playing in the actual World Cup, playing actual football....well, then, all this virtual stuff seems a little silly. Oh my god, did I just say that? Onward.....

Group A
God I hope Ellwood stays in his Cup long enough for Sea Lane and Brooklyn to advance. Who needs Ellwood in the 2nd Round anyway! I'm predicting that to happen nonetheless. Anfield and Presidents follow in the 4th and 5th spots respectively. THE BIG MATCH: Ellwood vs. Brooklyn in Round 5.

Group B
This Group is tough to call but I'm going with Dirty and Bonafide to advance. They are in safe and secure spots in their series and have a little to burn in the Cup. Delta will miss out by a hair. Reefs and Monmoutch follow respectively. THE BIG MATCH: Bonafide vs. Delta in Round 1.

Group C
I don't know but this really feels like the Group of Death to me. Every single team has a legitimate chance to advance in this group. It's virtually impossible to call, but I'm going with Le Tigre and Maidstone. With Legio and Wind just barely missing. It's ridiculous for me to pick KCU in last but that's what I'm doing.
Ah well.....THE BIG MATCH: Stones vs Legio in Round 2.

Group D
Now I hate to say it, but this Group feels like the Group of Life. I see only ONE team with a legitimate chance to advance here and even that team is a tossup. This Group is wide open so I'm going with Avs and Freaks to advance in a battle of futility. THE SMALL MATCH: 'Pus vs Freaks in Round 5.

(I know I'm going to catch hell for that but it's all just a literary device, you know.)

BONUS EXTRA SPECIAL WORLD CUP PREDICTION:

Endland vs. Sweden: 1-1 Draw.
Good luck to you Swedes and English out there today. I gotta say, the Swede supporters are a little better looking....

PS: Where is Wales in this World Cup?

GAME ON: Groups and Fixtures Posted

OK, groups and fixtures are posted to the Cupmanager page. Please issue challenges starting tomorrow.

Points to remember:

1. The team listed FIRST for the fixture on the Cupmanager page is responsible for choosing the venue and issuing the challenge.

2. Group matches are NEUTRAL SITE and NORMAL RULES.

3. Everyone has one bye week in group play, i.e. a week in which you do not play. Group A is arranged so Ellwood has a bye in its first week, which gives them another chance to get kicked out of the Wales Cup.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. Good luck to all.

Sweden 0-0 Trinidad

What a match! Sympathies to our Swedish friends here, but still, that was about as exciting as a scoreless draw can be.

For the record, this sort of match also is an example of why American fans get so frustrated when we hear people use the argument like "Oh, you Yanks always qualify for the Cup because most of the teams in your region are so small and bad anyway." If the last 5 years of international football have taught anything, it's that the difference among all national teams is a lot less than it used to be. Trinidad finished fourth in our region and had to win a two-leg playoff against Bahrain to get to the Cup to begin with.

Success!

I have finally sorted out the problem I had with embedding the Hattrick theme tune (Divine Raise a Hand) on the intro page. I also included a little control box in the top left corner so you can mute it etc should you ever get fed up of it... yeah, right! :P

I think it's much better than Eye of the Tiger ;)

If you don't think much to that piece of music you could have this one instead: Hattrick

Let me know what you all think :)

CUP STATUS UPDATE

Aside from the fact that Jeff has gone completely nutters, please note that Ellwood is the only team left standing in national cup play. (Shocking!) You are free to schedule a friendly for the coming week (i.e. June 13-14). B-Cup play will begin the following week, i.e. June 20-21. Groups will be posted to the Cupmanager page soon.


Through Round 7.

Still Alive (...and holding us back)
Ellwood

Done and ready to rumble!
Monmouth Town
Avalanche
Ratz
KCU
System
Sea Lane
Bonafide
Tigers
Anfield
Direwolf
Freaks
Legio
Maidstone
Presidents
Delta
Reefs
Saltopus
Wind
Brooklyn FC

He's Gone Mad!!

I just can't stop myself! I have spent my final evening of freedom (before having to go back to work) creating these Top Trumps monstrosities for you all to laugh at... or play with, throw darts at, etc etc etc ;)

Sadly, I have to admit, that I don't know all of your real names so that is why they may not appear on your card. If you can update me then I will update the cards :)

Click the link in the menu, print them off, back them onto card if you like, laminate them, emboss them with gold leaf... whatever you like!

You know you have arrived when you have your own top trumps card ;)

Have fun!

EDIT: I cannot believe I forgot to do any backings for the cards... this has been rectified and you can now download card backs from the Top Trumps page (page 4 on the menu). My most sincere apologies for this major gaff!

EDIT2: Bah, I thought I had spotted all the typos! Three cards have some incorrect information on them (Second row on page 2). As I am presently at work there is not much I can do about it but I will correct the error when I get home... apologies for any trauma caused to Maria for making her think she had won the US National Cup ;P

Mission Impossible

Congratz ro all who have contributed to the 'BCup Arena Charity'. This is the result... Direwolf have completed this natty stadium from the contributions YOU have made. Many thanks to you all :)

Housekeeping

I have updated the 'introduction to the cup' page for the new season and have included almost everyone's team badge. Unfortunately I cannot seem to view Anfield's badge and Sea Lane do not have one on their team page so they are not represented on the intro page. If you guys could email me a copy of your badges then that would be appreciated.

I haven't done a plea for contributions for a while so I will make one here. If anyone wants their team page on this site updated or would like me to create/host one for them then please do let me know and I will get right on it!

On the intro page I have embedded the Hattrick theme song so it should play whilst you view it... sadly nothing plays for me when I view it. Whilst I suspect this is a problem with my computer I cannot be sure so if someone could tell me if they can hear the song when they view the intro page then I would appreciate it :)

My holiday is just about over now so the creative juices may stop flowing for a while... but you never know ;)

See where you are playing!

To avoid all that nasty scouting business I have created a guide to all the stadiums in the BCup. You will find them under 'Venues' on the menu on the right... enjoy!

PS all historical 'facts' on the guide were taken from groundskeepers and bar staff at the ground in question, no responsibility for any incorrect information is accepted by this reviewer :P

The Behemoth Awakes

Hello, everyone, my name is Jeff. Some of you may remember that I used to post on this site and update stats and stuff. Well I'm back!

I have updated the Team Strength listings (found on menu on the right) but for interest I have left the old stats on there for comparison... the older stats were compiled last August so you can see how far you have come in nearly a year. In some cases it is a backwards step, in others a giant leap for Welshkind!!

Biggest shock of all... Presidents no longer have the weakest team in the competition!

Shock! Horror!

Anfield IF have the oldest team by some margin, and Saltopus have the most players!

Ellwood is shockingly strong, however, we may just have to hand Dan the Brooky Cup and go take up golf or something!

Good luck to all in the coming season of play.

Enter The Wop? ;)