Picklive: The future of Fantasy Football?

I first stumbled upon Picklive when it was under its previous moniker, Football3s.com, after reading about it in a magazine article or forum (don't ask me where that article/forum post is, because I plain can't remember!) but noticed it had been re-branded as Picklive in time for the 2010 World Cup.

[caption id="attachment_105" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Future: Could sites like Picklive be the future of football betting and fantasy football?"][/caption]

The basic idea of Picklive is simple, it's a way of combining fantasy football, with betting, with your own forecasting of the game.  Often used in conjunction with live televised games, Picklive enables you to pick 3 players for a 7 and a half minute period (they've also recently released a full 90 minute version of the game too, more on that later), with 3 potential substitutes to use too. Those chosen players then score points, in a fantasy football-esque way, but in a much more live, real-time environment.  For example a simple completed pass nets your player 1 point, whereas a goal would get them 20.  However, where there is a positive, there is a negative.  If your player was to fail a pass they'd lose 1 point, if they were to get sent off they'd lose 20 points.  Full details of the scoring can be found here.

Over the 7 and a half minute period the points accumulate up and at the end come the spoils! This is where the betting element comes into play.  Picklive offers two main types of game "mode".  Classic and Big Game.

Classic mode consists of 7 and a half minute games, with the aforementioned scoring, and requires a £1 stake on entering.  The game will not start with less than 6 players, and once at least 6 have joined within the given time limit the game begins.  This accumulated stake is then spread among the podium finishers, who come first, second and third.  First place gets 70% of the pot, second gets 20% and third gets 10%.  There's a maximum of 25 players in the room too, so a win could win you up to £13 just by showing "you know your stuff".  25% of the pot is taken as a rake, but the Picklive staff need a salary after all!

The Big Game mode is something I haven't dabbled in yet, but do intend to.  It's £2 entry as opposed to £1 and the game lasts the full 90 minutes.  Same scoring rules apply, and same win percentages apply for first, second and third.  However, there is no restriction in how many people can join in and those lovely folks at Picklive also add an extra £10 to the pot.  There's a lot more foresight required in this version and it truly does mirror fantasy football but with a much more accurate and detailed view of the whole game instead of the standard "2 points for staying on the field for 90 minutes" malarky.

[caption id="attachment_106" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Choices, choices: The main Picklive user interface"][/caption]

In addition to the standard game modes, there are also weekly promotions ran.  "Cardiff Wednesday" (where "we make nothing and are blindly giving away all of our money in the pursuit of promotion." - which certainly gave Swansea fans like me a chuckle) see's the person who scores the top cumulative score across all Picklive games on a Wednesday wins a tidy little pot of their rakes from the nights games.  Plus, there's a weekly jackpot for the cumulative highest score over all games in one week, often totalling over £100 mark - not bad for £1 entry.

So, is it the future of Fantasy Football?  It may well be.  It certainly is a great addition to the match day experience when you're watching from home, it gets a good bit of banter going especially when your player pops up from nowhere with a goal and you get the classic "told you so" moment.  Even if this scoring system was implemented into the more popular fantasy football games, it would definitely make a difference on some players scores no doubt.

Another interesting aspect is that it truly shows you who is working on the field and who isn't, or rather who isn't being given the chance to work.  Once you see certain players amassing huge amounts of points due to the amounts of passes, interceptions or tackles they make in a game, it really shows you how good a game they had.

I've seen the site develop a fair bit over the past few months and it certainly seems to be going places. If this article has got you interested, head over to their site and sign up, especially now as they're offering a £5 bonus!

The Second Chance Saloon

Coventry City have confirmed the signing of jailbird Marlon King on a one-year contract.  King had been training with Coventry ever since his release from prison in late July 2010.  He will no doubt be an unpopular figure in the eyes of Coventry's opposing fans, but should he be given his second chance? And what do Coventry's fans themselves think of him joining the Sky Blues?

[caption id="attachment_88" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Return of the King: Marlon King has joined Coventry on a one-year contract after his jail sentence. (Getty Images)"][/caption]

King has a history of offences littering his CV, dating as far back as 1997 ranging from violent crimes to motoring offences, once receiving a 18-month sentence, which was reduced to 9, for one of the aforementioned motoring offences.  So should someone like King be given another chance? Debatably not just his second chance but maybe his third or fourth.

It takes some bravery for Aidy Boothroyd, who managed King in his most successful spell at Watford, to take him on at Coventry but you cannot deny his ability on the pitch.  When Boothroyd was at Watford with King, he managed almost a goal every other game, scoring 36 league goals from 81 league games and also earning the golden boot in their play-off winning season in 2005/06.  So, ability-wise this surely can't be a risky deal?  King's confidence should certainly be hit in light of recent events however this may not be the case in respect to his previous convictions, not necessarily a quality you want from your player though.

We can't just look at Marlon King as the only "villain" in this area.  Other noticable names that have come under the public spotlight for their off the field antics and eventual jail time over the past decade include ex-West Brom striker Lee Hughes, ex-Plymouth goalkeeper Luke McCormick and Newcastle's Joey Barton.

[caption id="attachment_87" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Charged: Joey Barton, Luke McCormick and Lee Hughes have all served, or are serving, jail sentences."][/caption]

Lee Hughes has made a respectable return back into the public eye.  After being jailed for death by dangerous driving in August 2004 he was sentenced with six years in jail, eventually serving 3 years after his release in August 2007.  Whilst in prison he stayed with his football roots, playing games for Featherstone FC, a part-time side who make up part of the Staffordshire County Senior League.

Upon his release he was almost instantly signed up by Oldham Athletic, signing a two year contract at Boundary Park where he scored 25 goals in 55 appearences - keeping up his impressive scoring record of the days before his sentence.  Since then he has had a loan spell at Blackpool and secured a contract at now League One Notts County, signed under the 'Sven regime'.  Hughes was essentially one of the big names in that era for Notts County and absolutely excelled in League Two, scoring 30 goals and winning the golden boot for the 09/10 season.  Many County fans will no doubt have forgotten his troublesome past now and surely has been re-accepted back into society.

Joey Barton has a reputation of being a trouble-maker on and off the field.  The height of his misdemeanour's came in May 2008 where he was sentenced to 6 months in prison, however serving only just over 2 and a half months inside.  Other incidents Barton was involved in was during his time at Manchester City.  These include a training ground assault on former team-mate Ousmane Dabo and even going out as far as stubbing a cigar out in, reserve player, Jamie Tandy's eye.  Unlike Hughes, Barton has redeemed this trouble-maker side throughout his career.  However times might be changing with him taking a more conservative approach in Newcastle's return season to the Premier League - time will tell.

Lastly the case of former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick.  McCormick was breaking into the Argyle first-team squad, sharing and eventually gaining goalkeeping duties with existing first-teamer Romain Larrieu.  But in July 2008 his contract was cancelled after light of the events where he killed two children in a car crash.  There isn't much to say about McCormick's case, he was convicted with death by dangerous driving and DUI after pleading guilty and jailed for seven years and four months.  Thus far he has served over two years of the term, but will it be a case similar to the aforementioned players, and be released earlier?  And when he is released, will he perform similarly to Lee Hughes and make his way back into professional football in a respectable manner?  Both players were convicted for similar offences, but the decision will obviously be up to McCormick.

Health vs. Fitness in Modern Day Football

On September 13th 2010, former Celtic and Bristol City player Evander Sno suffered a suspected heart attack during an Ajax reserve game in Amsterdam.  Sno, thankfully, was resuscitated on the pitch and brought to a nearby hospital to recover.

[caption id="attachment_66" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Health scare: Evander Sno was revived after a heart-attack on the field. (Source: SNS Images)"][/caption]

After only 18 minutes on the field, Sno had collapsed and had to be given a defibrillator three times before he was fully revived.  Reserve team coach Albert van der Dussen said "He looked surprised to see so many people standing round him. I don't think Evander realised what was going on but everyone was greatly relieved when it was all over.

"The ambulance crew then took over and took him to hospital."

It'll be interesting to see how his career unfolds after this scare as surely doctors will encourage him to hang his boots up, which is such a shame as he seemed like such a prospect after coming through the ranks in Holland.

However, this isn't the first time that a professional footballer has been on the receiving end of a health scare and unfortunately many modern day footballers have been tragically lost due to unexpected heart attacks.

The big names that people may recognise who have been taken from us include Sevilla's Antonio Puerta, former West Ham United and Manchester City player Marc-Vivien Foé and Motherwell's Phil O'Donnell.  Another player who I would like to mention was a player from my supported team, Swansea City, and that is Besian Idrizaj.  Besian was only twenty-two years old, as was Puerta, which adds to the shock of their untimely deaths.  These players do not form the definitive list either, however one things seems common throughout a lot of these tragic events and that is the cause of death; often to do with the heart.

[caption id="attachment_69" align="aligncenter" width="609" caption="Tragic: Puerta, Foé and Idrizaj all died of sudden heart conditions during their playing careers before they reached their 30s."][/caption]

We would think that fantastic athletes like the players we watch week in week out would be medically sound, but that is not the case.  Heart Specialist Stewart Hillis who works for the SFA in Scotland has outlined the requirement of cardiac screenings for players due to the increased speed and intensity of the game and the training sessions they take part in.  "You can be fit but you might not be healthy" Hillis added.  It's a shocking revelation to the general public to realise even some of the fittest people in sport can be at risk to health scares like this.

In a paper titled "Causes and Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes" by Massimiliano Bianco, Sante Bucari and Paolo Zeppilli, published by the International Boxing Association, the causes of these incidents are investigated.  The conditions are categorised as exercise-related sudden death or ESD and are described as unexpected and witnessed sudden cardiac arrest occuring within 1 hour from an exercise bout in an apparently healthy person. The paper also lists the most frequent heart diseases attributed to these conditions.  They include Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Foé's diagnosed condition) and Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (Puerta's diagnosed condition).  They conclude the same sentiments of Hillis - that athletes should be encouraged, if not forced, for cardio screenings to detect these conditions as they can often be concealed rather than overt.

The awareness of this will no doubt be increased due to the well known names suffering - proving that even at the very top, no one is invincible.

Our best wishes go out to Evander Sno for a speedy recovery, and to the friends and family of all of those who have suffered a loss by ESD.

Saint Adkins for Southampton?

Southampton have appointed former Scunthorpe United boss Nigel Adkins as Alan Pardew's successor.  The deal which was originally reported to have broken down was confirmed on Sunday, with Southampton offering the 45-year old a three year contract at St Mary's, but will he get the Saints marching?

[caption id="attachment_42" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nigel Adkins: New Saint on the Block (Getty Images)"][/caption]

So, who is Nigel Adkins?  Fans from outside of the Football League may not recognised the name and he is certainly a lower profile manager than Pardew, but by no means does that imply he isn't up to the challenge.  Joining Scunthorpe originally as a physio in 1996 after a managerial spell at Welsh side Bangor City, he was appointed as caretaker manager in the light of Brian Laws departing Scunthorpe for Sheffield Wednesday in the tail-end of 2006 and was appointed permanently.  The step up from physio to manager was certainly a big one, but Adkins adapted to the role like a fish to water.  Scunthorpe gained promotion to the Championship in his first season as Champions, winning the league a clear six points above Bristol City.  The unexpected success of Adkins was recognised by the fans, who created one of the chants of the season in - "Who needs Mourinho, we've got our Physio".

In the following season the Iron were relegated back to League One but yet again bounced straight back into the Championship via the play-offs under Adkins' wing. Scunthorpe cemented their place in the Championship in the 09/10 season, avoiding relegation to the expense of Sheffield Wednesday.  His style of football has been admired by many, turning Scunthorpe into a good footballing side, keeping the ball on the ground with a free flowing, attacking style.  Dispite finishing 20th, they managed to score 62 goals last season - to put that into context, 5th place Leicester City scored 61, 7th placed Swansea City scored 40 and 8th placed Sheffield United scored 62 also.  They formed a lethal partnership up front in the shape of Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes, unfortunately both players moved on at the end of the season with Hayes moving to Championship rivals Preston and Hooper taking the hop across the border to Celtic.  With strikers like League One top scorer Ricky Lambert and ex-Spurs man Lee Barnard at new team Southampton, Adkins will surely be looking to get the most out of the two.

Without their former strikeforce, Scunthorpe have still shown their worth in the top tier of the Football League, however the departure of Adkins will definitely affect their changes of staying up for another season.

[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pardew: Should he have been sacked? (Getty Images)"][/caption]

But was this change necessary?  Nigel Adkins will certainly bring attacking prowess to the Saints, but should Pardew have been up for the chop in the first place?  The dismissal came at a very peculiar time too, not after a disappointing draw... not after a shocking loss... not after losing the dressing room... but after a very convincing 4-0 away win against Bristol Rovers.  But maybe they had a bad record before this win?  Well there were two losses: one to Premier League Bolton in the League Cup, one to Championship-relegated Plymouth on the opening day and a 1-1 draw at home to Leyton Orient.  A slow start for sure, maybe a little too slow for chairman Nicola Cortese and co.

Southampton were touted to be up there with the promotion contenders and maybe it wasn't the best of starts, but sacking such an established manager like Alan Pardew, a manager who almost steered Southampton into the play-off spots despite their 10 point deduction at the start of last season?  He definitely should've been given more time, and since his departure, Southampton have suffered two losses against Swindon, including a 3-0 loss that knocked the holders out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and a loss against Rochdale.  3 games.  0 points.  6 goals conceded.  0 goals scored.  So should Pardew have left?  Questionable.  Very Questionable.

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