and continuing...
GROUP E
Misty Mountains- Despite some grumblings from the Moria team last year, because Durin's Bane was a ball-hog who may have caused the team's failure to make it out of group play, they were furious when news came he would return to Thangorodrim. The evil creatures are angry, which makes them dangerous, but this was an insanely difficult draw for them. They are up against a different, yet still defending Arda Cup champs Numenor, the defensive specialists Rivendell, and a highly-skilled, scary Melkor-led team from Utumno. Without their Balrog, they don't have the strength, skill, or guile, to win...sorry boys.
Numenor- Much has been made of Numenor losing Sauron, Ar Pharazon, and Tar Minastir, and fans fear this could lead to a decline in Numenor's performance. Obviously, being defending champs, if they don't repeat it will be a decline, but there's plenty of reason for optimism in Numenor this year as well. It was virtually impossible to score on Tar Atanamir last year, as they won every match (except the championship against Hithlum) by at least 2 goals. Ar Adunakhor at MF, showed scoring capability and he drops down to FW this year. Then, ba-da-dum Elros comes from Romenna where he was a stout GK, to be a MF and looks to fill the void offensively. They may have lost a step on the offensive, but defensively they will be as tough as ever, and no one is going to go up against Numenor and take the defending champs lightly.
Rivendell- Elrond's defenses are always of the highest quality. There will be a dog fight between 3 teams for 2 spots, so this will certainly be an exciting group to watch. Elrond has brought Boromir II back to Rivendell to be the primary scorer. This was an interesting move, because of Boromir's comments about hobbits (particularly bashing Bilbo for not retiring yet) last year on a popular radio show. However, it should be no surprise, for Elrond's house has always been a place of fellowship and forgiveness. He has written in the locker rooms "We will unite, or we will fall" and if Rivendell can advance Boromir will be the first rushing to Bilbo, to lift him high up on his shoulders.
Utumno- Melkor has taken full reigns of Utumno, but the critics have said this is only setting Melkor up to the trap of trying to do TOO much to win. Everyone knows you can't trust minions, if you want anything done properly you must do it yourself. Melkor is planning to laugh in the all the pundits' faces this year, pledging he will pretty much sit out during the friendlies. "I can play at full-speed any-time, any-day, I don't need warm-up. I will put up my 10-guys against any 11-man team and they will still win." Is Melkor seriously going to sit out of the friendlies and make Utumno play a man short just to prove a point to the critics?
GROUP F
Oh boy, another just impossible group to predict at this time. It's shaping up to be another dog fight between 3 teams for a much desired top-2 spot.
Bywater- The hobbits have stocked up on strong talent to put together a solid team. The only time the hobbits won anything was when Gandalf was on the team, and now Gandalf is back! The whole Shire was up all night partying when they heard the news that Gandalf would return, and not only that he brought Shadowfax, who was crucial in Edoras' stout defense last year. Gandalf did say that Saruman was still head of his order, and would look for his guidance, but most believe Gandalf was just playing political to appease Saruman who will be looking for the chance to rebound from the debacle with Isengard last year.
Lorien- certainly a talented defensive team, but not nearly as good as their Rivendell cousins, and Lorien's struggles are always on offense. Galadriel will keep Lorien in most of its matches, but ultimately it's a boring team, with not enough skill up front to contend with the other 3 teams of the group. There are grumblings from Lorien fans that Galadriel has to get over her feud with Feanor. There were strong rumors Feanor was willing to come to Lorien for merely a lock of Galadriel's hair, but Galadriel refused. To quiet the fans' temper of her decision, she brought in several Entwives who are usually crowd pleasers.
Thangorodrim- Wow do they look scary...3 dragons, a balrog, and 2 werewolves. They will attack constantly, and Carcharoth improved as GK for Angband as the tournament progressed. They took 3rd place last year and obviously have hopes of bettering that result. They have the power and talent to do it, but are also prone to costly defensive mistakes. If a team can match Thangorodrim's fire-power (easier said than done, of course) the defense and Carcharoth will crumble.
Valimar- Lost a lot of it's scoring ability when Melkor and Tilion left, but Manwe has come from Taniquetil to take over for Valimar and provide a real leader the entire team will support. Last year there were questions over whether Melkor or Namo was in control of the team, with Manwe taking over they won't have that problem. The knock on Manwe-led teams, however, is he believes the will of Eru determines the winner, and that is terribly poor mindset in a competition-driven sport like soccer. And Valimar will definitely face stiff competition from Bywater and Thangorodrim, who will be looking to knock the mighty Valar from their thrones.
GROUP G
Doriath- Thingol has changed it up this year, by adding some offensive talent to an already strong Melian-run defense. Gondolin is the group's early favorite, but this one is wide-open and anyone's for the taking. The overall defensive strategy is pretty weak, forcing Melian to usually have to turn away lots of shots. She's capable of meeting any challenge, but no one can rely that much on a goalie, even one as good as Melian. The good news is, Thingol promises to relieve some pressure by playing more balanced and attacking more, but only the matches will tell how successful he will be.
Gondolin- The early favorites, but they were strong favorites to make it out of group play last year, and wound up not making the playoffs. It was a huge disappointment to Gondolin fans, and some say Turgon left his Hidden City out of shame for Gondolin's failure last year. Gothmog has also left to join his master Melkor, and many of its lords went to a new Vinyamar team. So, Gondolin is looking quite different from last year, and fans hope the many changes will bring Gondolin better success. They look to have made smart moves, as Eol and Maeglin have been an unexpectedly good duo, and Aredhel has come from Hithlum. They are just as strong defensively by adding Thorondor, Asfaloth, and Rochallar, as well as Huor who made big saves for Dor-Lomin the previous year.
Gondor- Defense first for Gondor, but there's a lot of good talent up front. Not just Beruthiel, who has been a part of past successful tournament teams, and Gondor is clearly banking she can bring the same to them. However, the Good Steward and Eldacar are also skilled goal-scorers. Mardil believes Gondor matches up well with everyone in their group (including Gondolin) and that's probably not too far from the truth. (And no, I'm not being payed by my employers to make any outrageously false claims.
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Wold- last year Treebeard was on the diverse Mirkwood team who lost to Angband in the 3rd place match. Mirkwood surprised a lot of people, and gave many phantasy owners severe migraines. Treebeard thinks he has put together the right mix of diversity to create a new competitive team from the Wold. It may not be hasty either, to believe him. The Ents are capable of stopping any of the offenses they will face in this group, the question will be about scoring. For Treebeard also knows Mirkwood was the surprise team because of talent of their three FWs, so he will surely be hard at work during the friendlies to come up with a wise offensive scheme.
GROUP H
We started the groups with 4 impressive defensive teams, and the last group has the most potent offenses. This will be a highly-entertaining group, and the poor defenses of all the teams will be constantly (and mostly fruitlessly) running all over up with opposing FWs.
Dol Guldur- Wherever the Wiki goes, the Wiki brings with him a winner. Two years ago, pundits doubted how he could take over for Mordor when Sauron departed, but he did and got Mordor to the playoffs. Last year no one had Minas Morgul making it out of a group with Hithlum and Gondolin, but they did and even made ot to the quarter-finals. Sauron is obviously confident that he can leave the Wiki on his own to continue a good soccer tradition from Mordor. The major question for Dol Guldur will be their untested defense, by adding the two spiders, and Oropher who is a mediocre GK at best. Their defense will definitely be tested right at the start in this group. The Witch-King is not trouble "I played even with Feanor and his mighty Hithlum team last year! If Tirion scores 4, I'll put up 5!"
Havens- traditionally Olwe's teams are more flash than substance. He looked to address that weakness by adding three stout Numenoreans, who will not be easy to push around. However, he has decided to focus their talent on the offense, and leaving the fleet-footed, yet rather weak Elves to handle defensive duties. In the style of this group, Olwe may finally have a team who can make it out of group play.
Minas Anor- A capable threat offensively, but the likely the weakest threat in this group. Although the sturdy Stewards of Gondor will not back down from any opponent. Ecthelion II was a tower for Minas Tirith at GK last year, and he has worked hard to improve this year. A work ethic that will definitely pay off against the talent FWs from the other teams. Simply because they are not as flashy as the other teams, there's a lot of experience and strength out of Minas Anor, and they should not be taken lightly.
Tirion- probably the team with the most talk, because everyone knows the scoring potential of Miriel, Finwe, and Nerdanel. Now, they add Feanor! How can any defense stop them! Some question Feanor's attitude and overall team spirit, however returning to Tirion has always been right below winning an Arda Cup, and now he believes he can kill two birds with one stone. There was much love, before the match a few years ago when Feanor met his mother and father as opponents, I'm sure there will be no problems now that he is on the same team. Miriel had a lot of pressure on her to score, and probably a reason she tired out in the loss to Mirkwood, now that pressure will be shared by her son, and Tirion expects to go all the way.