Canucks4Ever
Well-Known Member
GN have flipped back on top of the standings as week after week goes by with no clear idea of where all these teams will end up come February. Not sure things are likely to get any clearer any time soon. Perhaps a favourites or favourites will emerge over the coming weeks, but, the way things are going, I would not expect have an idea of who will be fighting it out for top spot any time before mid-November.
Completely Baseless Predictions - Week 7
Binger's Army v Romania
The Army get the free hit this week against woeful Romania. It is now up to 20 goals against and no points through five games after a 3-1 loss to Chinter last week. Even Binger's with the lowest goals for tally in the league (yes, that's right, even less than Romania themselves) must be salivating at this one to pad the stats. I doubt it will be off the charts numbers, but surely this will be straight forward for the Army. I certainly cannot see a midweek kickoff doing anything to improve Romania's outlook. Not much to analyze here.
Columbus v Westside
In days gone by this was a heavyweight Premier battle. Alas, those tilts are certainly in the past now as these two clubs look to shake off what could be best described as "groggy" starts to their respective seasons. Interestingly, presuming Binger's win on Wednesday, recently relegated Westside will find them in tenth place going into this one on Friday night, hovering just above the drop zone. Truthfully though, they are still closer to the top of the league than the bottom and I am sure are still considering a promotion push and not even considering a relegation battle. The Westsiders have the joint best defensive record in the league, so that will serve them well as it is most often the teams that cannot keep the ball out of their net who end up going down, as this group was made acutely aware of last season. Their problem is, of course, that they are struggling to score at the moment. They are clearly giving themselves a chance to win every game with their tidy defending though, so it is likely just a matter of the goals finally starting to come, which they will hope is sooner rather than later. Columbus are unbeaten since the opening week of the season which, despite only resulting in nine points over five weeks, has to be considered top form the way Division 1 is trending so far this year. To be honest, their overall form is not dissimilar to their opponents this week, one need only swap a win for a draw. Both teams hanging around in games, neither overpowering anyone. I would say this has draw written all over it.
Club Inter EDC v Burnaby Selects White Eagles
White Eagles appear to be on a march up the table at the minute. Most importantly, unlike the rest of the league they seem to be avoiding drawing games and this has allowed them to rise to a tie for second place with Coquitlam. As if the case in point, The former Serbians have got there with a record of four wins and two losses, while Metro Ford have three wins and three draws while technically being undefeated. If you are playing to win games you can afford the occasional loss, because the points make up for it. If you are just out trying not to lose, you will tend to drop the points anyway as you go through ties. Now that is of course not infallible logic by any means, but I do think that kind of outlook will serve White Eagles well, especially with other teams in the division seemingly leaning towards the other mantra. Burnaby's problem continues to be the fact that they give up several goals, which is fine when they are scoring their way out of trouble themselves, but it caught up with them last season and they seem to have avoiding addressing the problem a month and a half into this year. EDC got a charity win over Romania last week to go with the surprise win they pulled off against GN the week before. A two game winning streak makes them the form side in this division coming into this week, so look out for a wave of Italian influenced South American confidence. Still, if their overall form has shown anything through six weeks it is that they will be looking at a lower mid-table finish this season. If White Eagles are serious about being a top team this season, they will make sure they win this game.
NorVan Storm v Coquitlam Metro Ford Lupi
Despite being held to a draw last week by Rino's, Metro Ford have clearly proven that they are among the cream of a wholly average crop this season in Division 1. Sitting undefeated, in second place, on 12 points is a great return for the newly promoted side and the stats are slowly starting to bear this out as well. Erik Morden and Eric Dove now sit in second and tied for third in league scoring with four and three goals respectively. It was another nearly moment for NorVan last week as they chalked up their third loss by a single goal already this year. It would seem that in the big moments of matches they just cannot come out on the right side at the minute. As I repeat nearly every week, Lupi do not lose very often and that is hardly the sort of resume winless NorVan need to be staring down this week. Expect another close game, but based on the North Shore boys repeated inability to deliver when they game is on the line, I'll have to tip the Tri-Cities boys in this one.
Rino's Fury v Vancouver Greencaps
The 'Caps were put in their place by a fairly average (at least to this point in the season) Columbus side last week by a 3-1 margin. After a bright start perhaps that "new division smell" is starting to wear off for the newly promoted side as they confront the reality of playing teams that are experienced at this level, week in and week out. Greencaps will certainly give any side a run for their money any day of the week, but after a grueling promotion campaign in Division 2 and a bright start that has already seen them put decent daylight between themselves and the drop zone, they could be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas and exhaling just slightly. Rino's are slogging along just fine, picking up points as they go, the latest being off of top of the league Coquitlam. These two teams match up fairly well, with their blue collar work ethic interspersed with one or two game breakers. This ones probably a toss up, but I'll take Rino's based on that potential Greencaps relaxation effect.
Burnaby Metro Athletic v GN Sporting
This one is the MOTW with GN Sporting back on top of the table, occupying a perch that Metro would very much like to have back. After losign to EDC and relinquishing top spot, GN responded with a win over Binger's. The 1-0 result was hardly convincing of championship credentials, but it was a character bounce back and a situation where they found a way to win again a plucky, veteran side. Meanwhile, Metro were held to an uninspiring 0-0 against Westside and have not won for three weeks. For a team that started the campaign 3-0-0 and certainly has promotion ambitions, this form is unsettling. That being said, because the rest of the league has failed to take advantage of Burnaby's poor form to distance them from the pack, they can gain back much of what they have lost with a win this week. Surely that is plenty motivating inside the Metro dressing room. For all their impressive results, GN are still tough to buy as real contenders because of their history of collapse. The loss to an average at best Inter side, who were winless at the time, does little to allay those concerns. A win this week, however, would certainly cause the league to sit up and take notice. It would also be the first real hammer blow to Metro's title aspirations as they would sit five points back of GN and likely four back of at least one other team. The door is open here to finally start stratifying the table in Division 1 and for the leaders to begin to breakaway. Based on GN's history though, as well as the league as a whole so far this season, I'll believe it when I see it. I think a very motivated Burnaby side ensures that we have a different name on top of the table next week once more.
Completely Baseless Predictions - Week 7
Binger's Army v Romania
The Army get the free hit this week against woeful Romania. It is now up to 20 goals against and no points through five games after a 3-1 loss to Chinter last week. Even Binger's with the lowest goals for tally in the league (yes, that's right, even less than Romania themselves) must be salivating at this one to pad the stats. I doubt it will be off the charts numbers, but surely this will be straight forward for the Army. I certainly cannot see a midweek kickoff doing anything to improve Romania's outlook. Not much to analyze here.
Columbus v Westside
In days gone by this was a heavyweight Premier battle. Alas, those tilts are certainly in the past now as these two clubs look to shake off what could be best described as "groggy" starts to their respective seasons. Interestingly, presuming Binger's win on Wednesday, recently relegated Westside will find them in tenth place going into this one on Friday night, hovering just above the drop zone. Truthfully though, they are still closer to the top of the league than the bottom and I am sure are still considering a promotion push and not even considering a relegation battle. The Westsiders have the joint best defensive record in the league, so that will serve them well as it is most often the teams that cannot keep the ball out of their net who end up going down, as this group was made acutely aware of last season. Their problem is, of course, that they are struggling to score at the moment. They are clearly giving themselves a chance to win every game with their tidy defending though, so it is likely just a matter of the goals finally starting to come, which they will hope is sooner rather than later. Columbus are unbeaten since the opening week of the season which, despite only resulting in nine points over five weeks, has to be considered top form the way Division 1 is trending so far this year. To be honest, their overall form is not dissimilar to their opponents this week, one need only swap a win for a draw. Both teams hanging around in games, neither overpowering anyone. I would say this has draw written all over it.
Club Inter EDC v Burnaby Selects White Eagles
White Eagles appear to be on a march up the table at the minute. Most importantly, unlike the rest of the league they seem to be avoiding drawing games and this has allowed them to rise to a tie for second place with Coquitlam. As if the case in point, The former Serbians have got there with a record of four wins and two losses, while Metro Ford have three wins and three draws while technically being undefeated. If you are playing to win games you can afford the occasional loss, because the points make up for it. If you are just out trying not to lose, you will tend to drop the points anyway as you go through ties. Now that is of course not infallible logic by any means, but I do think that kind of outlook will serve White Eagles well, especially with other teams in the division seemingly leaning towards the other mantra. Burnaby's problem continues to be the fact that they give up several goals, which is fine when they are scoring their way out of trouble themselves, but it caught up with them last season and they seem to have avoiding addressing the problem a month and a half into this year. EDC got a charity win over Romania last week to go with the surprise win they pulled off against GN the week before. A two game winning streak makes them the form side in this division coming into this week, so look out for a wave of Italian influenced South American confidence. Still, if their overall form has shown anything through six weeks it is that they will be looking at a lower mid-table finish this season. If White Eagles are serious about being a top team this season, they will make sure they win this game.
NorVan Storm v Coquitlam Metro Ford Lupi
Despite being held to a draw last week by Rino's, Metro Ford have clearly proven that they are among the cream of a wholly average crop this season in Division 1. Sitting undefeated, in second place, on 12 points is a great return for the newly promoted side and the stats are slowly starting to bear this out as well. Erik Morden and Eric Dove now sit in second and tied for third in league scoring with four and three goals respectively. It was another nearly moment for NorVan last week as they chalked up their third loss by a single goal already this year. It would seem that in the big moments of matches they just cannot come out on the right side at the minute. As I repeat nearly every week, Lupi do not lose very often and that is hardly the sort of resume winless NorVan need to be staring down this week. Expect another close game, but based on the North Shore boys repeated inability to deliver when they game is on the line, I'll have to tip the Tri-Cities boys in this one.
Rino's Fury v Vancouver Greencaps
The 'Caps were put in their place by a fairly average (at least to this point in the season) Columbus side last week by a 3-1 margin. After a bright start perhaps that "new division smell" is starting to wear off for the newly promoted side as they confront the reality of playing teams that are experienced at this level, week in and week out. Greencaps will certainly give any side a run for their money any day of the week, but after a grueling promotion campaign in Division 2 and a bright start that has already seen them put decent daylight between themselves and the drop zone, they could be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas and exhaling just slightly. Rino's are slogging along just fine, picking up points as they go, the latest being off of top of the league Coquitlam. These two teams match up fairly well, with their blue collar work ethic interspersed with one or two game breakers. This ones probably a toss up, but I'll take Rino's based on that potential Greencaps relaxation effect.
Burnaby Metro Athletic v GN Sporting
This one is the MOTW with GN Sporting back on top of the table, occupying a perch that Metro would very much like to have back. After losign to EDC and relinquishing top spot, GN responded with a win over Binger's. The 1-0 result was hardly convincing of championship credentials, but it was a character bounce back and a situation where they found a way to win again a plucky, veteran side. Meanwhile, Metro were held to an uninspiring 0-0 against Westside and have not won for three weeks. For a team that started the campaign 3-0-0 and certainly has promotion ambitions, this form is unsettling. That being said, because the rest of the league has failed to take advantage of Burnaby's poor form to distance them from the pack, they can gain back much of what they have lost with a win this week. Surely that is plenty motivating inside the Metro dressing room. For all their impressive results, GN are still tough to buy as real contenders because of their history of collapse. The loss to an average at best Inter side, who were winless at the time, does little to allay those concerns. A win this week, however, would certainly cause the league to sit up and take notice. It would also be the first real hammer blow to Metro's title aspirations as they would sit five points back of GN and likely four back of at least one other team. The door is open here to finally start stratifying the table in Division 1 and for the leaders to begin to breakaway. Based on GN's history though, as well as the league as a whole so far this season, I'll believe it when I see it. I think a very motivated Burnaby side ensures that we have a different name on top of the table next week once more.
