Dela wins the week as Candace takes back top spot

Captaining Jackson helps Dela win Manager of the Week, Ryan climbs three places after playing his Wildcard, and Tineka wins October’s award despite losing the league lead.

The league table

#	TEAM / MANAGER	GW9 NET	TOTAL	MOVE
1	CVD FC Candace Van Damme	63	566	▲1
2	TB ABCDEFC Tineka Bishop	58	562	▼1
3	PC clarkys cloggers Paul Clark	50	534	▲1
4	This is the Wirtz! Ivo Ferreira	45	533	▼1
5	Green Street United Rob Ayres	60	526	—
6	RH Red Djed Redemption Ryan Hindle	64	511	▲3
7	sendmetocoventry Ian Goodison-Powell	47	511	▼1
8	Park the Bus Hailey Hindle	55	510	▼1
9	DA The Balon D'orgus Dela Avle	73	504	▲1
10	Boo Tottenham Aubrey Hindle	37	490	▼2
11	Mikel Arteta's Army Peter Mossad	51	477	—
12	AFC Kincardine Steve Fletcher	39	418	—
13	Devastators FC Angelo Pavia	69	348	—
14	PP Vermilion Bird Portia Pavia	35	305	—

GW9 scores and weekly honours are net of transfer hits. Ivo’s four-point hit is deducted once; every other manager’s gross and net scores are identical. Totals and positions follow the official league table.

Candace returns to the top; Dela steals the show

Candace Van Damme has taken the league lead back from Tineka Bishop, turning last week’s one-point deficit into a four-point advantage. CVD FC lead Tineka Bishop’s ABCDEFC by four points, 566 to 562. Candace scored 63 this week to Tineka’s 58. Four points is hardly a comfortable lead, but it is enough to enjoy the view until the next deadline.

Candace’s goalkeeper and defence did much of the work: Verbruggen, Konsa and De Cuyper supplied thirty points between them. Rogers added nine in midfield, while new signing Evanilson arrived with nine and the good manners to contribute immediately. Mitchell supplied three from the bench when Guéhi did not play. Candace also left eighteen points on the bench: seven from Kelleher, six from Calafiori and five from Belloumi. Even the reserves had something to say.

The week belongs to Dela Avle, though: 73 without a chip or a hit. The Balon D’orgus moves from tenth to ninth, winning the week despite gaining only one place in the overall table. Dela bought N. Jackson and gave him the armband; Jackson returned eighteen points as captain, compared with four for those who captained Haaland. Van Hecke added fifteen, while Konsa came off the bench for the absent Guéhi and contributed ten. Dela’s captain had plenty of help; this was not one good decision dragging ten passengers behind it.

Manager Spotlight: Ryan’s Wildcard lifts him three places — with 28 points left on the bench

Ryan Hindle’s Wildcard has Red Djed Redemption moving again. A 64-point week lifts Ryan from ninth to sixth, the biggest climb in the league. Rogers, N. Jackson and De Cuyper scored nine each, while Ryan’s four starting defenders contributed twenty-seven between them. After last week’s minus-two return from vice-captain Palmer, this result is rather more suitable for framing.

Then there is the bench. Konsa, Evanilson, Kinsky and Tonali supplied twenty-eight points left on the bench. That earns Bench of Shame and a strong recommendation to check which eleven players are actually being invited onto the pitch. Those points could not all simply be added to Ryan’s total: bringing a substitute into the starting eleven means leaving someone else out, and only one goalkeeper can play. A large coat will not get a second keeper past the officials.

Ryan made nine transfers using his Wildcard, so none cost him any points. Ryan and Ian Goodison-Powell now both have 511 overall, with the official table placing Ryan sixth and Ian seventh. Hailey Hindle is only a point behind them. The middle of this league is beginning to resemble the doorway of a crowded pub.

Captaincy: Jackson’s eighteen beats Haaland’s four

Dela and Angelo Pavia share Captain Fantastic with eighteen each from N. Jackson. Both bought Jackson to replace João Pedro and selected him as captain. His points were doubled as planned; neither needed the vice-captain to take over.

Eleven managers captained Haaland and received four. Portia Pavia chose Isak and received the same. Choosing Jackson as captain was worth fourteen points more than either Haaland or Isak. Angelo’s strong week was about more than the armband, though: Angelo still needed Fofana’s eleven, Palmer and Rice’s eight apiece, and useful help from his substitutes.

Angelo’s 69 was the league’s second-best score. Devastators FC remains thirteenth, but he is now seventy points behind Steve in twelfth and forty-three ahead of Portia in fourteenth. Tarkowski and Gibbs-White replaced the absent Rashford and Tielemans, adding eight points between them. A good bench can rescue a team; it does not always need to embarrass its owner.

Transfers: Van Hecke delivers; Ivo pays the only four-point hit

Rob Ayres wins Transfer Gambler after replacing Norton-Cuffy with Van Hecke. Van Hecke scored fifteen this week; Norton-Cuffy scored one. The transfer cost Rob no points. The incoming player outscored the outgoing player by fourteen points — a signing worth keeping the receipt for. That compares the two players’ scores, rather than claiming Rob’s whole team would definitely have scored fourteen fewer without the move.

Candace and Clarky both bought Evanilson for a nine-point return; their outgoing players, Kusi-Asare and João Pedro respectively, scored zero. Hailey replaced Wissa and Semenyo with Evanilson and Tavernier. Her two new players scored twelve between them; the two she sold scored one. Neither transfer cost her points. Those purchases helped Park the Bus to 55, although Ryan’s surge pushed Hailey down to eighth.

Ivo Ferreira was the only manager to take a transfer hit. He bought Evanilson and Tavernier, who scored twelve between them, and sold João Pedro and B. Fernandes, who scored two. The four-point hit is already accounted for in his 45 points after deducting the hit from his team’s 49. This is the Wirtz! slips behind Clarky into fourth, just one point off third. Ivo also left sixteen points on the bench, including nine from De Cuyper. The transfers helped; choosing the starting eleven offered another opportunity.

The chasing pack: Clarky returns to third; Rob holds fifth

After last week’s lowest score and Pork Chop award, Clarky has recovered to third place. His 50 takes clarkys cloggers to 534, with Evanilson and De Cuyper supplying eighteen between them and Palmer adding eight. A welcome recovery, although he remains thirty-two points behind Candace. The trophy-polishing appointment can wait.

Green Street United holds fifth after a 60-point week. New signing Van Hecke led Rob’s scoring, with useful contributions from Kelleher, Palmer and E. Le Fée. Rob left only one point on the bench, so there was little to regret there. His captain Haaland’s four points were less inspiring. GSU sits seven behind Ivo and forty behind Candace. Rob played no chip in GW09; he used his Wildcard the previous week.

Ian’s 47 leaves sendmetocoventry seventh, level on points with Ryan. De Cuyper and Evanilson supplied eighteen points between them, while Gvardiol came off the bench for the absent Schuster. Buying Isak brought two points in place of João Pedro’s zero: useful, but hardly grounds for closing the high street for a parade.

Peter Mossad’s Mikel Arteta’s Army stays eleventh with 51. De Cuyper, Rogers and Havertz each returned nine, and Diop’s two came off the bench for João Pedro. Peter made no transfers and used no chip. Sometimes a quiet week is simply a quiet week; not every team sheet needs a parliamentary inquiry.

At the other end: Portia gets the Chop

Portia takes the Pork Chop with 35, two fewer than Aubrey Hindle. Vermilion Bird’s Gabriel and Tarkowski supplied twelve between them, but captain Isak and new arrival Marmoush contributed only six combined. Portia left seven points on the bench, far fewer than Ryan or Tineka. Her main problem was low scores from the players who started, rather than a bench full of missed opportunities.

Aubrey’s Boo Tottenham falls from eighth to tenth after 37. De Cuyper and Barry supplied eighteen; the other nine players whose points counted managed nineteen between them, including Haaland’s doubled captain score. There were no transfers and no hit to turn into an alibi. The biggest fall award is Aubrey’s alone this week.

Steve Fletcher remains twelfth on 418 after scoring 39. Rice and De Cuyper supplied seventeen, but new signing Mbeumo scored just one point; the player he replaced, Semenyo, scored zero. Bogle came on for João Pedro with another single point. Steve’s remaining bench players scored zero: at least the bench cannot be summoned as a witness for the prosecution.

Tineka also left a sizeable score on the bench: eleven from Verbruggen and ten from Konsa, twenty-one in total. Meanwhile, Van Hecke’s fifteen and Thiago’s nine helped the starting side to 58. The defending champion has lost first place in the league, but finishes October with the Manager of the Month award.

GW09 honours board

October belongs to Tineka

Tineka Bishop is October Manager of the Month with 254 net points. Candace finishes second on 245, nine behind, and Rob third on 242. GW06 through GW09 are now complete; the provisional label can finally be put away.

Tineka’s monthly sequence was 47, 79, 70 and 58. That is a prize earned across four deadlines, not decided by whoever happened to win the final weekend. All fourteen current league managers have a score for each of those gameweeks. The month follows the Ontario date of each deadline, so GW09 belongs to October even though its final matches were played in November. Transfer hits are deducted once.

November starts with Candace four points clear of Tineka, Clarky one ahead of Ivo, and Ryan and Ian level on 511 with Hailey just one point behind. Dela has shown how much a strong captain’s score can change a week. Ryan has shown that buying good players is only half the job — you still have to pick the right starting eleven. The bench does not get its own league position.