Season Nineteen Schedule (Rough Copy)

January 23rd - Transfer window between seasons is closed. Clan roster and Pre Season Team Sheets will be requested. (Longer has been given so that the website can be done in full and the making of the pre season games)

January 27th - Pre season games will be released. Opponants are anonymous until the time of games are released.

February 10th - Fixture Set One is released.

As usual the rest of the schedule after the above date is not really known until i know exactly who is and who is not in the league. That part of the schedule will be released when i know how it is going to be.

This season again no matter how many teams make it through there will be one division, many have stated that they like the one division and it does make for a longer season which a lot of people also want.

You may also notice that this is very similar to the FBL schedule that was posted and that is because it is the same. This works out better for me as does the FBL work better for Jema. This won't be changed so please if you have an opinion on it keep it to yourself.

More information about rules to be added also. These will be noted when i have had time to change them on the website.

Looking good

There's a problem here though. At the moment, if I'm in a top team then I would love a default, because we'll probably win 14-1 or 15-0 because all players from top teams make loads of effort and send it in. That's what happened here. We got a 14-1. Professionals got 44-1 in 3 defaults. They're all correct decisions, but they are decisive for the league.

So if we try to limit the default score, we have to be careful not to make it profitable to let a game go to default. If it's a close game and I know that the maximum default score is 6-9 (or 0-9 or whatever), then I could be tempted to let a crucial game against banana go to default rather than getting spanked 13-2 or worse.

That's why if the default is clearly one side's fault (what would currently be 14-1 or 15-0 scores) should be reduced to the average score of that player or the average score of the games in the fixture (whichever is higher).
I haven't thought through further cases yet, but I feel this would be more fair than 15-0 every time...

If its a close game but your opponent's maximum available default score is 9 you must be losing the game already anyway so its in your favour in a particular game to get it played.

Granted in the bigger picture of an overall table for a season there could be a slightly different consideration.

The only way I potentially see around that might be to have special dispensation to deal with any act clearly aimed at manipulating the rules to gain an unfair advantage.

However in my opinion you still have an improvement on the current way which is surely what this is all about. You aren't going to get it perfect but you try and make it better and learn.

I am sure if there was a fair way of dealing with defaults then it would be used, however, there are so many frames in FCL to take into account, it is hard to judge what would constitute a fair cut off point.

I have managed to devise a fair(ish) system in FBL but I am fortunate in there only being 6 points to award. If we tried to apply the same system to FCL it simply wouldn't work due to the high frame content.

I suggested ages ago that if a game is not played then no points should be awarded, I mean why should a clan be rewarded for not completing a game, but that was dismissed rapidly.

I do not think there is a perfect way to deal with defaults and the system we have just now is probably the best we can do - a selection of players from various clans reading through submitted information and predict as they see fit, then taking majority of average scores.

i see where your coming from now chris, at first i thought you meant like 9-6 for each default (even when opponent submits no info) however you still lose a possible 6 points

What if a player got banned and the team had no sufficient sub? It would be unfair lol.

It's swings and roundabouts though. What happened if Snooker Squad had the 44-1 default and Pro's only had a 14-1. Snooker Squad would have won the league. It was just fortunate for it to happen to the other clan. I'm a neutral here, as I couldnt have cared less if either team won the league as I played for both this season. So long as Chips n Gravy wins it next season who cares...8x8?

I am worried that I am not explaining myself clearly - that bit above wouldnt change.

An example game

Team A v Team B

Game 1 7 - 8
Game 2 5 - 10
Game 3 10 - 5
Game 4 7 - 8
Game 5 7 - 8
Game 6 8 - 7
Game 7 6 - 9
Game 8 unplayed

Current score is 50 - 55

Average frames per game - Team A = 7 (rounded down)
Team B = 8 (rounded up)

Before any consideration of default information the maximum score for each side is 7 and 8 respectively.

Now if Team B is completely at fault and Team A have made every effort the default score is 7 - 0 (not 15 - 0). Conversely if it is the other way round the default score is 0 - 8. Scores can be anything between those two depending on the information provided and considered.

Another example of a more one-sided game...

Team A v Team B

Game 1 10 - 5
Game 2 13 - 2
Game 3 unplayed
Game 4 7 - 8
Game 5 9 - 6
Game 6 11 - 4
Game 7 12 - 3
Game 8 unplayed

Current score is 62 - 28

Average frames per game - Team A = 10 (rounded down)
Team B = 5 (rounded up)

Again, before any consideration of default information the maximum score for each side is 10 and 5 respectively.

Your maximum available default is influenced by your team mates play and the position of the overall fixture but its still down to each team and the default panel to decide how many of those points get awarded.

Rule Change

This rule has been implemented on the hidden website that will be released when the cup finals in both leagues are over.

1.4 Player transfers

After the transfer window has closed, the team roster for the season must be submitted to the League Runner to be registered. From this point on wards no player may transfer to another clan until the mid-season transfer window.

Once a player has played for a clan in an FCL cup fixture, they are cup-tied and ineligible to play for any other clan in the same competition.

Attempts to get around the transfer rule will not be tolerated. Creating a new username will not mean you are entitled to join another clan, you will be subject to the same rules. Should you create a username and attempt to conceal your identity in order to bypass this rule, you will be banned from the League for one season.

Captains may remove inactive players at any time from their team, the removal must be confirmed by messaging the League Runner, and such players are not deemed free agents. Any inactive player that may become active again may be brought back into the same clan, subject to available space, and the change sent to the League Runner. Alternatively they may seek a transfer to a different clan during the mid-season transfer window or at the end of the season instead.

Rule Change

These rules has been implemented on the hidden website that will be released when the cup finals in both leagues are over.

5.1 Who can make substitutions and swaps

Only the Captain or Vice Captain of a clan can make substitutions and swaps, the only exception to this is deadline day, where anyone in the clan may make a substitution or swap to avoid a game going to default.

5.2 When can substitutions and swaps be made

Substitutions and swaps are not permitted during the first 7 days of the fixture after this they can be made at any time provided they are correctly reported on the appropriate thread. It is in the League Runners belief that a submitted team sheet should be used and not immediately tailored to better suit the draw of the games for a clan, in other words, it is in place to avoid match fixing.

Don't agree with the first change.
A captain can post permission for people to sub into games but you are taking control of the team away from the captain by allowing anyone to sub in on deadline day.
In some cases the other team has nobody online the whole fixture so why should a player who has been in the fixture for 13 days and trying to get it done be subbed out without any say so from their captain?
Why should your opponents get to avoid a top player the whole fixture then hassle another player into playing on deadline day?


2nd rule change I am 60/40 in favour of. There are a lot more genuine cases than there are match fixing an example being
player off 2 days when team sent in
player off 4 days when games released

Would be giving a sub early in this case to give as many days as possible to arrange.
In most cases we wouldnt sub in the first week anyway though and we've never had problems getting games done so can't see too big of an issue with it.

I actually never thought of the first part you said Lee but I totally agree. It's a catch 22 because we don't want any defaults, however we want as many frames as possible. Luckily for our team we're full of high class players so it wouldn't matter so much. Although, for Pro's, it's like subbing dvz our for Jay

continued...

As for the second part, I've always said to myself if you can't complete a game in a week there's something wrong with ya lol. Obviously, if it's down to your opponent's inactivity then that will lie with the league runners. It'll be their fault then

I do not think it is taking anything away from captains. Subs can only been made on deadline day in the event of the captain not being online to prevent games going to default. If you think a clan is deliberately avoiding playing a game to get an easy sub, report it to Jay.

Like you do, most clans try not to sub in the first week to attempt to get the games played that came out in the fixture release. However there have been complaints about subs being made too early to put in their better players against the oppositions better players.

The point is to encourage players to play the original match released. Subs should only be made in the event of a player being inactive, banned, deactivated or on deadline day for whatever reason players never got around to playing the match.

Surely captaincy is about more than being the one person who can make a sub, or who can designate who can make a sub and when. It must be about making sure your team knows what to do in certain circumstances.

If you as a Captain make it clear that no sub will be made based on circumstances as you see them, then it would be up to your team mates to follow through those instructions even if it causes a default and a slightly negative aspect to your team's default award. That's your choice as Captain.

But if you dont give such instructions or if your team do not follow your instructions then thats an internal matter to sort out not a League problem.

Having a situation where a sub cannot be made simply because a Captain is offline and has not posted any subbing permissions when there are other players available and willing to play is just plain daft.

To be fair though it wouldn't really prevent match fixing. All we have to do is wait a week then swap the games lol. So we're not achieving much by delaying it a week.
The only way you can do it is by cancelling swaps altogether. Put your 8 in, if they can't play the game then sub them out. You've got 8 subs you can use so why not???

its easier on defaults if you wait 7 days, lets say i draw kirk under normal circumstances i would ask my captain to sub me out but other clans may see it as match fixing especially if i was friends with kirk (won't likely happen) and used it as a ploy to get an easy game (again wouldn't happen).

waiting 7 days means the runners know i am at fault for not playing kirk so we lose points if its not played.

as for the games played in a week you need to bare in mind that most clans play in 3 leagues (4 for Snooker Squad) so the maximum games we can play in two weeks is 12, thats like a clan game a day. sometimes need to take work, timezones and other leagues into account.

For me personally i juggle between the two sites and try to focus on one league first then focus on the others (whichever is closest to deadline i focus on first).

Well aren't you special LOL

Such a strange, backwards way of looking at things! It's an internal matter if a team wants to make a sub or not!

If a captain wants people to be able to sub in they post permission...where is the problem there?!
It's a lot easier than having to message your whole team to tell them 'don't play game a because our player has been messed around for the whole fortnight but you can play game b if they have a sub in that one'

Why should a captain have to message all their players telling them where not to sub into games...I find that 'just plain daft' personally.

So basically with the new rules in place we've actually achieved.......