IT SEEMS like only yesterday that we were calculating last season’s final totals, but in the blink of an eye, pre-season has begun – and that can only mean one thing. Yes, Fantasy Non-League is back for 2013-14!
As players up and down the country prepare for the start of the new season, we at FNL Towers have also been hard at work getting ready for another ten-month rollercoaster ride in the higher echelons of the Non-League game.
Once again, Fantasy Non-League costs just £5 to enter and entry deadline for this year is noon, Saturday August 31.
And you can scoop our first prize of £2,000 with other prizes of £500 for the runner-up, £300 for third and £200 for fourth.
There are Manager of the Month prizes of £100 and £50. Plus £100 for the bottom team. All in all, a prize pool of almost £5,000.
If you are brave enough to enter the competition before it starts on August 10 you will receive an early entry bonus of 200 points, although that will not count towards the first Manager of the Month award which, once again this year, encompasses both August and September.
In total there will be eight Manager of the Month awards leading up to April 2014 with a cash prize on offer for the top four at the end of the season.
As there will also be a prize for finishing bottom of the pile, why not enter two teams?
Every year I like to make a few changes to the competition and this season is no different with no fewer than four alterations coming into play this time round.
They are: 1. This season the FNL set up will be the same as last season with seven leagues in total. You will need to pick one team from each of the sub-sections in each of the seven leagues making 21 teams in total. This year, though, you must pick a further three teams, to come from any league, making a total of 24 teams in total.
2. It was brought to my attention last season that teams that competing in the Play-Offs ended up with nearly as many points as the actual League winners. So it has been decided that Play-Offs will be treated as league games with no bonus points added. Also, the End of Season League Leaders bonus will be increased to 200 points.
3. If your team win a game and get a clean sheet you will be awarded five bonus points for the clean sheet. Nil-nil draws do not count.
4. The club at the bottom of each league at the end of each month will receive a minus 25-point penalty. This will aid those of you who are trying to finish bottom.
RULES FOR FNL 2013-14
1. You will need to choose three teams from each of the seven leagues (21 in total). Please remember each league is split into three sub sections, you must pick one team from each in all seven leagues. You need to choose a further three teams and they can come from any of the seven leagues, you can even pick all three from one league if you so wish. Also, if you wish, you can pick five substitute teams, but these teams must be on your entry form.
2. Points allocation: Those awarded in all seven leagues are as follows: League & Cup games: Home win = 10pts + goals; Away win = 20pts + goals, Home Draw = 2pts + goals, Away Draw = 4pts + goals. Every goal scored is one point, but only if your team wins or draws, while five points are awarded if your teams scores four or more. It’s also five points for every clean sheet kept (only if the game is won) and two-legged ties count as two separate games. Twenty-five points are also awarded to teams who reach the FA Cup 1st round proper and each round beyond, similarly for teams who reach the quarter-finals and each round beyond in all the other cup competitions. At the end of each month, up to and including April 2014, the team leading each of the seven leagues will be awarded 25 points. The team at the bottom of each league will be deducted 25 points. Play-Off games will be treated as normal league games with no bonus points awarded. League champions will be awarded 200 points with cup winners earning 150 for the FA Trophy and 100 for others. These bonuses, however, will be added only if you picked the winners at the beginning of the season and did not substitute them in. The bottom team will be awarded minus-100 points, again if the team have been selected from the start.
3. The following leagues and cup competitions will be involved in this season’s Fantasy Non-League: Conference Premier – FA Cup and FA Trophy; Conference North – FA Cup and FA Trophy, Conference South – FA Cup and FA Trophy; Evo-Stik Northern Premier, FA Cup, FA Trophy and League Challenge Cup; Ryman Premier – FA Cup, FA Trophy and Ryman League Cup; Calor League Southern Premier – FA Cup, FA Trophy and Southern League Cup; The Mixture – FA Cup, FA Trophy, Southern League Cup, Ryman League Cup and League Challenge Cup.
4. Finally, on the subject of substitutions, five can be named on your FNL 2013/14 entry forms and out of those five you can use up to three. Again this season there will be only one substitution window and that will be during the month of December 2013 with your selected changes taking effect from Wednesday January 1, 2014. Details on how to use your substitutions will be released nearer the time.
Good luck!
To enter, simply print out the PDF below and follow the instructions
When will you be showing the teams points and so on?
Once the season is fully underway across all the divisions that are including in the competition – most likely in two to three weeks time.
Still no updates and we’re far enough into the season now, surely!