Arda Cup Football 2009

[Boromir88]

I would like to end with the 5 most over-rated players and my 5 sleeper choices of players. But first let me respond to Master Nogrendale who has done a thorough job on highlighting some more players who carried their team to strong performances.

I found it nearly impossible to try and mention every single person I wanted to for the under-rated group, and so felt I needed to narrow it down, which means several worthy people needed to be left out. Ultimately, I placed more weight on the expectations of the team and players than on points and that leads to a different list of under-rateds.

For example, Elros was one of players on my expanded list. However, the reasons he was left off the top-5 is even though Romenna made it to the first round of playoffs (like Minas Tirith) there was the higher expectation that Romenna would make it that far. I recall one, may two, phantasy owners choosing Minas Tirith to make it out of group play. Thus, I felt since Minas Tirith performed beyond expectations (more than Romenna) that stood in Boromir I's favor. With Gothmog, despite his performance, and being chosen by only a few owners, everyone predicted Gondolin would advance, and they didn't. Now, that does not mean Elros and Gothmog will not make it into my 'sleeper' group, as I define sleepers similar to under-rated, but for the underrated, I place more weight on expectations. And if a team/player is not getting recognition, plus is performing well above expectations, that is my concept of under-rated.

The point on Mardil was well taken, but Mardil was picked up by a few phantasy owners, where Boromir I was not. Plus in the crucial game against Moria, that is when Boromir I stepped up with an assist and a goal to put Minas Tirith through. Now, obviously because of Dor-Lomin's performance, and going beyond everyone's expectations Beleg is also a worthy candidate. Ultimately, there didn't seem to be a place to fit him though, Mirkwood was the biggest surprise team of the year, and Nazgul #6's performance in the Bronze match was top notch, he gave Mirkwood a fighting chance and played hard all match. Even if he received proper honors after the tournament, I thought he should still be included, simply because he finished 2nd among the MFs (only 4 points behind the leaders!), 1st among players rated with no-stars, and Mirkwood made big upsets off his boot.

Alright, now onto the over-rated, and this list I'm sure will cause an even bigger stir than the under-rated. My rationale for this list, is not just on the 'star' players who underperform when their team needs them, but also taking a look at the phantasy aspect and the number of owners who chose a certain player, but that player just did not come through.

Ultimately it's mostly a bunch of 2-stars who underperformed and their teams suffered

5. Ancalagon (Angband) - Ancalagon snuck on, because for the supposed star on the Angband team he did not have a good tournament. Some phantasy owners had him at the start, and Eomer stuck with him the entire way, but he was kept in check by most teams. Even though Angband won their Bronze match against Mirkwood, it was clear Scatha was the better dragon, as Ancalagon was pretty much a non-factor. Since Angband did take 3rd, Ancalagon was bailed out by the performance of his team mates. This dragon may see a change of scenery and Angband will need to move Ancalagon if they want to improve next year.

4. Saruman (Isengard) - Isengard might not have been expected to do much in the tournament, but their showing the entire tournament was pathetic. Saruman's power has decreased, and decreased far. He's lost his team, lost the sweet, yet terrible power of his voice and Isengard is a mess. Like I said, no one expected anything from Isengard, but they were the laughing stock in this years Cup, they were a joke. At least teams like Helms Deep and Amon Sul, who know they just didn't have the talent to compete, played hard and proud. Isengard showed nothing, Saruman showed nothing, they are a team in shambles.

3. Miriel (Tuna) - Here we go, how does someone with 26 pts and one of the best FWs make the over-rated list? I give credit to the phantasy owners in the beginning of the tournament for picking up this star-quality player. No one will tell you she is not one of the best, but that still doesn't mean she became fastly over-rated. As every phantasy owner, except Skip and Boro added Miriel to their roster.

What happened next? Tuna is knocked out 1st round against Mirkwood, and Miriel ends up with one measly goal. Miriel is like the A-Rod of soccer, she is expected to perform every week, and the day she overlooked Mirkwood, caused many many of the phantasy owners a super headache on what to do. Miriel might have scored 26 points, but look just looked for yourself, does she deserve all these accolades when her team underperformed, and she got a sore leg? Also, look who finished 1st and 2nd in the phantasy-league, yep it was the 2 owners who chose not to jump on the Miriel band-wagon (but as stated earlier, those two owners who had her from the beginning made a good selection and Miriel worked out). However she rose fast and high, but fell mighty hard. If she hadn't of scored so well, she'd probably be #1.

2. Durin's Bane (Moria) - was picked by some owners in the beginning but Moria had a lot of internal chaos, and Durin's Bane was one of the causes. Of course when you throw a Balrog in with a bunch of Dwarves and some other creatures and you're going to get problems. But Durin's Bane is a complete ball-hog, and everything has to be about him. When he's on his game Moria is tough to beat, but when he's not he can't trust teammates and his team suffers. Durin's Bane constant need for the ball led to many turnovers, and of course the internal fighting, led to Moria's early exit. 2-star player? Not someone who causes that much strife and doesn't perform.

1. Tom Bombadil (Bree) - several owners picked him at the start, and even held on to him for a while. Many phantasy-players chose Bree to advance and even that Tom Bombadil would lead in goals/points. This obviously did not happen. As Bree pretty much played as bad as Tom Bombadil's wardrobe selection. For a team with this talent, you wonder how they got embarassed, and then you realize...the pundits probably overrated them.

Sleeper players. For these picks I chose players who had not the best, but solid performances, and who are on teams which have potential to make it to the playoffs and beyond. Here are some of the players I think will make an impact next year, and the phantasy owners should keep an eye on to add them to their teams before the Miriel-effect happens.

It's a difficult list to judge, because if you pick a player who scored too many points, then owners will be looking to add them on their team early, but obviously you need to see some sort of potential talent to be a 'sleeper.'

5, Ungoliant (Valimar) - like Elros who has gone rather unnoticed, Ungoliant had an impressive showing this tournament. A solid goal-tender, behind a solid-defense can pick up a lot of points out there.

4. Gothmog (Gondolin) - I seriously put him on this list before Master Nogrendale's article, but we both agree he was a solid player for Gondolin, had they gotten past group play he would have been n the under-rated list. Gondolin will bounce back next year, their group drawing with Hithlum, and the surprise Minas Morgul was a tough one to be in.

3. Castamir (Minas Morgul) - picked up a modest 16 points (with 3 goals) and I like what Minas Morgul has shown, by playing against some of the best and showing they can win.

2. Eorl (Edoras) - Like Castamir, 3 goals and a modest 15 points. Edoras also showed put a bit of talent with excellent team play and good things can happen. Edoras may not have been in an offensively dominant group, but Eorl was the star FW of the group, and he is the catalyst of their attack, behind the young siblings.

1. Isildur (Arnor) - I believe he merely had 1 goal and 2 assists, and Araphor was the main threat for Arnor, but Arnor's going to be one of those scary teams no one will want to face. They are a team similar to Edoras and Dor-Lomin, they have some makings of a good team, play well together, and depending upon the draw Arnor could be the Dor-Lomin of this year. I chose Isildur over Araphor, because I think with Araphor's recognition, more owners will pick him up, and Isildur may be a steal.

At this point it is too early to entertain you with the sleeper teams. Lets see what free agency and trades bring, as well as the drawings for the groups and only then can we see potential sleeper teams

By Jim "Scoop" Johnstone
The Boro-blog