Just 2 days to go and after 40 games and a possible 120 points we go into the final 8 games with the leader on just 37 points.
The previous 10 games proved very difficult for almost everyone, with very little scoring throughout the entrants. In fact the Spain draw was only predicted by Skip Schultz and Theresa Phillips and the Portugal draw saw just Jenny Mussell profit from it with 3 points.
Now, going into the final 8 games, it is so close a competition that there are so many still in with a chance which is great and will probably go down to the last seconds of the last 2 games, one of which I suspect some of you will NOT be cheering an England win. How dare you !!!
BIG NEWS is that long term Competition leader Lindsey McKenzie has finally been caught........................
That has been an epic battle at Imperial and Bonnie has now put the gauntlet down and hopes to motor past her rival.Keeping up the pressure on those 2 is Abbie Curtis on 34 points and Steve Parish on 32. Skip Schultz has leaped up there on 31 points and keeps his name in the mix. The others are too well in with a chance with a possible 24 points available to notch.
The big battle at LImagrain sees long term leader jet off on holiday probably not knowing that Alan Paterson has finally caught her and they both lie third overall on 36 points with closest rival Jenny Mussell on a very respectable 30 points and again still in with a chance.
Carol Harper keeps her name in the fray at the top on 32 points as MD Brian slips further back on 27 points and it looks like she will have to go solo once more unless Brian switches his baton for a "Magic wand".
Heidi Bradley leads the England Athletics crew with some excellent scoring , leaving John Harris now 2 points behind . Heidi now shares 33 points with Band Chairman Rob West.
At 8Hair it's Chris who leads the way and on 32 points has opened 5 point gap over Diane to keep his chances of top spot overall well alive. Come on Vicki there's still time as she sits on 16 points.
Philip Smith heads their clan and on 35 points is right up amongst the overall leaders. He is now being pressed by Sam and John who both share 31 points.
Ollie Swallow has opened a 5 point gap over Sister Leanne with his 27 points.
Still everything to play for and still very interesting .I certainly wouldn't like to make any predictions for the overall result as my own "unofficial" sheet reads 32 points so far. What is good is the fact that from a possible 120 points so far the leader has 37 points and with 24 points left to play for EVERY single person can still win the whole Competition. Crazy but true!
Table with 8 games remaining.
Lindsey McKenzie 37
Bonnie Wilson 37
Debbie Regan 36
Alan Paterson 36
Philip Smith 35
Abbie Curtis 34
Heidi Bradley 33
Rob West 33
Chris Dicotteo 32
Carol Harper 32
Jim Masterton 32
Steve Parish 32
John Harris 31
John Smith 31
Don Souter 31
Sam Smith 31
Skip Schultz 31
Jenny Mussell 30
Paul Smith 30
M Foster Smith 28
Diane Dicotteo 27
Chris Maurier 27
Ollie Swallow 27
Brian Harper 27
Gareth Bland 27
Steve Skinner 27
Theresa Philips 27
Chris Mallender 27
Madeline 27
Callie Nolan 26
John Nolan 26
Iaan Wilson 26
Andrew Blades 25
Frank Maurier 25
P Dolby 25
Daniel Smith 24
Alfie Washington 24
Gina Boakes 24
Dave Bass 24
Roxanna Britton 24
Richard Jones 24
Chris Lefler 23
Helen Souter 23
Tracey Burns 23
Rob Gallant 22
Leanne Swallow 22
Richard Nunn 22
Keiron 21
Emma Hurst 21
Jimmy Browne 21
Rachel Plaskitt 21
Ali Lefler 20
Jenny Cobley 20
Kala 20
Malisa Brewill 19
Tim Lefler 19
Angie Coddington 18
D Dolby 18
Jacob Spender 18
Vicki 8Hair 16
Things are really hotting up now, and not just the weather, as we enter the last 14 fixtures.
Just as Portugal and Spain are just about to kick off in today's earlier games a 94th minute winner by Saudi Arabia scuppered a few result predictions and the table could have read so much different.
The biggest battle continues at Imperial and Lindsey McKenzie continues to lead the whole Competition on 34 points,however it's all the girls making the headlines as Bonnie Wilson leaps up to 33 points and Abbie Curtis snapping on 32 points. Jim Masterton lies on 30 points closely followed by Steve Parish on 28 points and Skip Schultz finding his rhythm right up there on 27 points, one point ahead of Gareth Bland.
In the other hot battle at Limagrain Debbie Regan has been finally caught by the productive Alan Paterson and not only do they share 32 points but they also share equal 3rd place overall. Jenny Mussell keeps amongst it on 24 points and now just one point in front of Dave Bass. Tracey Burns keeps them in her sights on 22 points and pulls away from Rachel Plaskitt on 17 points.
Meanwhile , in the 8 Hair Salon Chris has the bragging rights with his 28 points, keeping him amongst the Competition leaders, and Diane is still in the frame with 26 points. Vicki needs to turn the tide with her 14 point haul.
John Harris continues to lead the England Athletics team on 30 points but Heidi Bradley is breathing heavily down his neck on 29 points so will he give up the baton I wander? Chris Mallender sits on 22 points with Emma Hurst on 20.
Rob West will not want to return from his holiday as his score has rocketed and now sits on 31 points, right up there with the leaders. One point behind him is Don Souter who now leads Wife Helen by 8 points.
Another great battle, this time in the Smith household, sees John and Philip up in the heights of the Leaders on 30 points a piece , closely followed by Sam and M Foster Smith on 25 points. Madeline continues to make good progress on 23 points a point in front of Daniel.
Chris Lefler leads Lefler Towers on 20 points whilst Father Tim toys with Wife Ali both on 16 points after Tim seemed to have finally made his move, although they are both 1 point ahead of Jimmy.
John Nolan has finally caught Callie and they both share 24 points whilst Kala has 18 and sandwiched between those is Keiron on 20.
Gina Boakes continues to play cat and mouse with Iaan Wilson as they again swap places with Iaan now on 24 and Gina on 23.
Ollie Swallow has opened up a 6 point gap over Sister Leanne and he now sits on 26.
Rob Gallant is 1 point ahead of Richard Jones with his 22 point haul whilst Richard Nunn sits on 20.
Jenny Cobley has overtaken Malisa Brewill on 19 and 18 points respectively.
MD Brian Harper has cut into Wife Carol's lead and a very close battle gets very interesting once more with 28 and 25 points respectively.
Chris Maurier leads Brother Frank by just 2 points now on 26.
Thursday Night sees the final 2 games of the Competition with England in action in one of them.
As I will be at Band Practice and then an early start on Friday morning until 6pm the Final result may be revealed on Friday Evening/Saturday morning.
Good luck to everyone !
TABLE NOT including Portugal or Spain results.
Lindsey McKenzie 34
Bonnie Wilson 33
Debbie Regan 32
Abbie Curtis 32
Alan Paterson 32
Rob West 31
John Harris 30
Philip Smith 30
John Smith 30
Don Souter 30
Jim Masterton 30
Heidi Bradley 29
Carol Harper 28
Chris Dicotteo 28
Steve Parish 28
Skip Schultz 27
Diane Dicotteo 26
Chris Maurier 26
Paul Smith 26
Ollie Swallow 26
Brian Harper 25
M Foster Smith 25
Sam Smith 25
Jenny Mussell 24
Callie Nolan 24
John Nolan 24
Iaan Wilson 24
Andrew Blades 24
Frank Maurier 24
Gareth Bland 24
Gina Boakes 23
Steve Skinner 23
Dave Bass 23
Madeline 23
Daniel Smith 22
Tracey Burns 22
Chris Mallender 22
Rob Gallant 22
Helen Souter 22
Richard Jones 21
Emma Hurst 20
Leanne Swallow 20
Chris Lefler 20
Richard Nunn 20
Alfie Washington 19
Jenny Cobley 19
Theresa Philips 19
P Dolby 19
Kala 18
Malisa Brewill 18
Roxanna Britton 18
Rachel Plaskitt 17
D Dolby 17
Ali Lefler 16
Tim Lefler 16
Angie Coddington 15
Jacob Spender 15
Jimmy Browne 15
Vicki 8Hair 14
When Leanne put England to win 5-0 against Panama in the band room I can't remember how many people were laughing at her. Well NOT ANY MORE! 5-0 at half time as I type!
With 29 games played and 19 remaining the Competition is really hotting up and not just in the ENGLAND camp. Lindsey McKenzie has lead the way for Imperial but Debbie Regan from Limagrain now shares top spot on 31 points.
Then, things get really interesting because no less than 37 others have 20 or more points to keep up the pressure and the growing interest.
Alan Paterson from Limagrain is now snapping at their heels on 30 points and then 5 people share 29 points with things changing with every game played.
Philip Smith on 29 points leads his household, closely followed by John on 27 and Sam and M Foster Smith on 24 points. Madeline has doubled her score since last count on 20 points to keep her in the running.
In the England Athletics entries John Harris and Emma Hurst share 29 points with Heidi Bradley shooting up to 28 points.
A great battle continues at Imperial with leader Lindsey McKenzie on 31 being pressed all the way with Jim Masterton and Abbie Curtis now sharing 29 points, Bonnie Wilson on 28, Steve Parish on 26 and then Skip Schultz, Andrew Blades, Steve Skinner, and Angie Coddington all sharing 22 points.
Chairman Rob West has had a great few days and he too has 29 points.
Carol Harper keeps amongst the leaders on 27 points leaving MD Brian still 5 points adrift on 22 points. One point ahead of Carol sees Band Sargent Don Souter on 28 points, nine points ahead of Wife Helen.
Diane and Chris at 8 Hair Salon keep themselves in a great position on 24 points a piece whilst Vicki moves up to 14 points.
Chris Maurier on 25 points leads Brother Frank on 20 points whilst Rob Gallant drums up 21 points.
Gina Boaks on 21 points leads friend Iaan Wilson by one point whilst Malisa Brewill shares 17 points with Jenny Cobley.
Chris Lefler and Jimmy Browne on 17 points lead their clan but as I said before beware of Tim as he has started to make his move and will try to pick them off one by one.First victim to fall is Wife Ali on 14 as Tim now shares 15 points with Chris.
Callie heads her home on 22 points with Dad John 2 points behind and Mum kala now 7 points behind with Keiron on 17 points.
Things getting very interesting and some great battles continuing and still everything to play for.
Bye for now back to ENGLAND second half!
After 20 games and a possible 60 points Lindsey McKenzie from Imperial continues to set the pace on 25 points after another batch of difficult to predict games, taking her correct score total to 6.
Debbie Regan at Limagrain has also hit 6 correct scores to take her overall score to 24 points whilst John Harris from England Athletics only has 5 correct scores but also shares 24 points.
Overall it is still a very close contest with everyone still in with a good chance and 28 games to go. An awful amount of work still to get through but I will do my utmost to keep you posted. Nowhere in the world could you get this amount of entertainment for this price.
There is a great battle developing in the Smith household with Philip on 22 and John breathing down his neck on 20 points.Just behind them is M Foster Smith on 18 points closely followed by Sam, who we wish a speedy recovery, on 16 points.Again things can take a dramatic turn but at the moment they lead their clan and keep in the mix amongst the overall leaders. Madeline holds a respectable 10 points.
Chris Maurier on 18 points has opened a 5 point gap over Brother Frank on 13 after being on level pegging at the last count which proves how quick the tide can turn.
In the 8 Hair salon Chris and Diane are keeping themselves up amongst it and have permed their way to 16 points a piece so honours even at the moment with Vicki not quite making the cut on 11 points. Come on Vicki sharpen those scissors!
A good section score for Heidi doubles her score to an impressive 18 points and could well give John Harris on 24 points a good run for his money.
The Imperial battle sees Competition leader Lindsey McKenzie consistently performing but closest rival Jim Masterton has narrowed the gap and sits on 17 points, closely followed by Steve Skinner and Abbie Curtis on 16, Steve Parish on 14, and percussionist Skip Scultz drumming up his 13 points and hoping to up the beat as we enter the second third of the contest.
Meanwhile, Debbie Regan continues to sort the wheat from the chaff at Limagrain with a second placed overall top score of 24 points. A productive Alan Paterson has bagged 18 points and Dave Bass is not just milling around on 15 points. Jenny Mussell shares the 15 point mark with her analysis and not far behind are Tracey Burns on 13 points and Rachael Plaskitt on 12. Again another close battle which can go a number of ways..........or will it be Au Revoir.
Richard Jones is making steady progress with his consistent 18 points, two points ahead of Alfie Washington and 7 points ahead of Jacob Spencer.
Ollie Swallow still leads Sister Leanne by 1 point with 16 points and 15 respectively.
MD Brian Harper falls further behind Wife Carol who looks like going " Solo" with her mighty 20 point haul, leaving Brian some catching up to do on 15 points so he won't be blowing his trumpet for at least another week. Come on Brian the whole nation is behind you! Thanks for bringing in the brass Brian but barges are better! { Sounds like a quote by Eric Cantona}
I can see Chairman Rob West booking another holiday quite soon because since he went away his scoring has dramatically increased and after a slow start he now sits on 15 points.
Don Souter has had his lead cut by Wife Helen, on 11, but following Rangers he is used to that and can hopefully build on his 16 points.
Rob Gallant is still searching for the melody and sits on 12 points but can up the beat within a heartbeat.
Gina Boakes continues to make steady progress on 13 points and is a point behind friend Iaan Wilson.
Jenny, come back soon we all love you , Cobley has hit a dry patch on 10 points as has Riichard Nunn on 9 points, 2 points behind Malisa Brewill on 11 points
Chris and Jimmy lead the Lefler Towers on 11 points, closely followed by Ali on 10 points, whilst Tim continues to lead them all into a false sense of security on 6 points before he makes his move to outgun them.
TABLE READS:
| Lindsey McKenzie | 25 |
| John Harris | 24 |
| Debbie Regan | 24 |
| Philip Smith | 22 |
| John Smith | 20 |
| Carol Harper | 20 |
| M Foster Smith | 18 |
| Heidi Bradley | 18 |
| Alan Paterson | 18 |
| Richard Jones | 18 |
| Chris Maurier | 18 |
| Paul Smith | 17 |
| Jim Masterton | 17 |
| Ollie Swallow | 16 |
| Sam Smith | 16 |
| Alfie Washington | 16 |
| Don Souter | 16 |
| Abbie Curtis | 16 |
| Steve Skinner | 16 |
| Diane Dicotteo | 16 |
| Chris Dicotteo | 16 |
| Leanne Swallow | 15 |
| Brian Harper | 15 |
| Jenny Mussell | 15 |
| Dave Bass | 15 |
| Rob West | 15 |
| Steve Parish | 15 |
| Iaan Wilson | 14 |
| Roxanna Britton | 14 |
| Callie Nolan | 14 |
| Andrew Blades | 14 |
| Bonnie Wilson | 14 |
| Emma Hurst | 13 |
| Gina Boakes | 13 |
| Daniel Smith | 13 |
| P Dolby | 13 |
| Frank Maurier | 13 |
| Tracey Burns | 13 |
| Chris Mallender | 13 |
| John Nolan | 13 |
| Skip Schultz | 13 |
| Gareth Bland | 12 |
| Rob Gallant | 12 |
| Theresa Philips | 12 |
| Malisa Brewill | 11 |
| Chris Lefler | 11 |
| Jimmy Browne | 11 |
| Jacob Spender | 11 |
| Kala | 11 |
| Helen Souter | 1 |
| Vicki 8Hair | 11 |
| Jenny Cobley | 10 |
| Ali Lefler | 10 |
| Chris Lefler | 10 |
| Madeline | 10 |
| Richard Nunn | 9 |
| Angie Coddington | 9 |
| Keiron | 9 |
| D Dolby | 7 |
| Tim Lefler | 6 |
14 games through and a possible 42 points up for grabs it's Lindsey McKenzie still leading the pack with 20 points.
Sunday proved to be the toughest test so far and 2 "Shock" results saw bookies favourites Brasil held to a draw by the Swiss which was actually predicted by 3 people whilst another 3 predicted a draw.
Possibly the biggest shock of the tournament so far saw the Mexicans hassle the Germans for 90 minutes and come away with a 1-0 win and was by no means a fluke on their overall performance.
As usual England left it very late to snatch victory but could hit a massive stumbling block when they meet the impressive Belgians ,who thrashed Panama 3-0 with one of the goals of the tournament so far from Dries Mertens. Hopefully England will also thrash Panama and go into their final Group game on level pegging with the Belgians.
VAR love it or hate it, England hate it after some shocking decisions ignored during their game, but Sweden can thank it for their penalty decision which would have been missed and gave them a 1-0 victory over Korea.
Back to the in Competition battles Lindsey McKenzie continues to set the pace at Imperial with 20 points and leads the overall Competition.Her closest rival there is Steve Skinner on 13 points closely followed by Steve Parish on 12 points and Bonnie Wilson on 11.
Second overall in the Comp is Debbie Regan on 18 points and she leads the way at Limagrain with Alan Paterson not too far behind on 13 and as I said before Dave Bass can move when he wants to and 8 points from those last 6 games now brings him right up there on 10. Jenny Mussell on 10 points too closely followed by Tracey Burns and Rachael Plaskitt on 9 points.
Third overall saw John Harris from England Athletics had a great day on Monday to bring his score to 17 points whilst his counterparts all share 9 points each.
Fourth overall sees Carol Harper on 16 points, 4 points ahead of hubby Brian who won't be blowing bubbles as he will be more "Spitting feathers". Come on Brian we are rooting for you!
Equal Fourth sees Philip Smith lead the household with John Smith close on 14 points.
Sixth placed Chris Maurier on 15 points leads brother Frank by 5 points
Despite Leanne Swallow being one of the very few to predict the Brazil result Brother Ollie leapfrogs her overall score by a single point on 12.
In the 8 Hair Salon battle Diane leads on 11 in a very close battle with Chris on 10 and Vicki on 6.
Ali and Chris Lefler both lead their household on 7 points with Dad Jimmy on 6.
Still a long way to go and things can change so quickly but good luck to everyone and again Thanks for your support for a great cause.