Arda Cup Football 2009

[Boromir88]

Wow, such a hot streak of predictions comes to a swift, and brutally wrong end in the final two games. I'm at a loss for words on what happened...whoulda thunk? Although, I can't be too disappointed as both matches were a joy to read through and witness. I don't think anyone would tell you the 4 best teams were not represented on the field. None of them were there by some fluke, or divine grace, they each played an amazing tournament from beginning to end. The teams were so even, matches so well played, it could have gone either way. The best thing about the Arda Cup, is the teams played all the games out on the field, and we have a proven, single champion. There aint any Eru-Vista plugging numbers into a formula to crown a champion. Armenolos won for being the most complete team all tournament.

So, this will be my last entry until the next time, and how I would like to end, is to give you some of the under-rated and over-rated players from the tournament.

Let me start with the under-rated, because typically I find more suspense, interest (and disagreement), in the over-rated group.

There are many different arguments as to what does 'under-rated' actually mean, and who is under-rated? What I mean by it is a combination of the player's performance (as well as how they were expected to perform - '*' rating), how that impacted his/her teams performance, how many phantasy owners had the player on their team, and of course how much recognition (awards/all-tournament teams) did the player receive.

Without further ado, the 5 most under-rated players of the 2009 Arda Cup:

5. mormwolf (TIG) - early on he was picked by some phantasy owners to be their keeper. TIG drastically underperformed in this tournament, they did not fulfill their expectations, but it was not due to goal keeping. Earlier in the year I called morm 'swiss cheese,' but didn't take into account the fact that TIG was where all the teams strengths were offense. He had to face some of the deadliest FWs and on top of that TIGs defense was no help to mormwolf. The only reason the games were close were because of him, and if it wasn't for his many spectacular saves TIG may not have even made it out of group play.

4. Nazgul #6 (Mirkwood) - No *'s and received the 2nd most points out of all the MFs. Also of all the 'Zero *' he received the most points. On a team that has Scatha, Thranduil, and Legolas, it's easy to look past a random Nazgul. He is so under-rated no one can tell us his name...really! I'm not joking! Few phantasy owners had him (and some only added him in the last couple matches), and no one had him from start to finish and he was the star performer of the Mirkwood team. He is #4 because of course, for his performance he is getting on some all-star tournament teams and deserves it.

3. Boromir I (Minas Tirith) - In group play he was one of the best, picking up an assist in each of his 3 matches and a key goal in the final game against Moria to advance Minas Tirith to the playoffs. When Aragorn is on your team (who is himself a fine player, and one of the best motivators) it's easy to get overlooked, and that's what happened to Boromir I. No one had him on their phantasy team and of course he has not received any special honors, nor has any *s. But I doubt he'd complain too much, being happy with Minas Tirith's performance, and wanting to prove they are better than how they played against the mighty Valar. If a mish-mash of races from Mirkwood can beat 'em you can bet Aragorn will have his guys ready come next Arda Cup. This will be a surprise team to watch.

2. Ar Pharazon (Armenolos) - He was one of the best FWs when it mattered the most, and he was definitely the best when Armenolos needed it the most in the championship game. He was expected to lead his team, but no one predicted Armenolos (or Ar Pharazon) to accomplish so much. 29 phantasy points and only 2 phantasy owners owned Ar Pharazon. He received a Finals MVP award but was snubbed from the all-star tournament teams.

1. The Witch-King (Minas Morgul) - It was close between Ar Pharazon and the Wiki, Ar Pharazon had 11 more phantasy points, and only one *. However, Ar Pharazon also had a solid defense, great goal tending, and the assist-master Sauron on his team. Armenolos may not have won without Ar Pharazon as a piece, but they still would have been a solid team and competed for the title.

Minas Morgul would be no where without it's captain, The Witch-King. When no one predicted Minas Morgul to come out of group play, they did, and only one person predicted they would beat Edoras in the 1st round. Minas Morgul made it to the Final 8 teams, they have no representatives in any of the tournament teams. Edoras has more representatives and The Wiki beat 'em! To cap it off, not one of the phantasy owners, ever had The Witch-King on their team. Minas Morgul played way above expectations in group play (even tying Hithlum! - in that game the Wiki had an assist and the game-tying goal!) and got farther than anyone imagined The ignorant back that's been turned on not only The Wiki, but the Minas Morgul team, by everyone in the soccer community is a travesty. The Witch-King's only arguably bad game was in the playoffs against Armenolos, look what Armenolos accompished? And pinning the Wiki against his master, that was just cruel. That is why The Wiki is taking home the top under-rated player honors.

Congradulations to all of you, and now you know this means you are no longer officially under-rated. Once you are recognized for being underrated it ends immediately as everyone then notices...'Wow you have been underrated' and we will be expecting more from you in the future.

By Jim "Scoop" Johnstone
The Boro-Blog

[Nogrod]

A journalist from the AKM, Ugr Nogrendale, made these following comments in his blog after reading the latest Boro-blog and the MESPN News by phantom.

I do strongly agree with Boro-blogger with mormwolf and the Witch-King being undervalued and under-awarded. They were men - well a Nazgûl and a Werewolf - but anyway ones whom their teams stood or fell with.

And Boromir I was also a decent player if not so good Boro-blogger tells us. Maybe it's just the name-sake issue?

But talking about players really not appreciated...


Now how come no-one brought forwards the performance of Elros of Romenna? MESPN News went to hail Elrond of Eregion with his 81% saving percentage - but Elros had the same percent from 26 shots against his goal where Elrond only had to catch 21 shots. Brothers or not, but to my eyes Elros is the number one of them.

From the defenders I'd like to bring forth the whole Valimar defence. The official AKM Dream Team only awarded Alatar with questionable arguments when they should have payed heed also to the performances of Pallando and Balrog #3. Happily the MESPN News gave the honour to the latter. But looking at their 2,8 point average for a game one thinks they were really forgotten just because their team didn't advance...

Also it should be said that beside Felarof and Shadowfax also Frealaf and Elfwine did a remarkable job with this wonder of no goals given in the group phase - and only letting two goals in the whole tournament. They just didn't score or assist but they made their job of keeping their goal untouched.

Also Celebrimbor and Gandalf should be remembered. They held the Eregion defences together with the help of Elrond. But without them Elrond's savings percentage would have been much lower - and here I'm referring to my earlier judgement between Elrond and Elros: Elrond only had to catch 21 shots while Elros needed to catch 26. So which defence was the better one helping the goalie the more?

With the midfielders I'd agree with at least Tilion and Arwen (with phantom of MESPN News). They were just value of their weight in gold for their teams.

But whereas Boro-blog brings forwards Boromir I from Minas Tirith, why doesn't he think of Mardil from the same team making as many points Boromir did - but as a midfielder who has to think of defence at the same time?

Or why is Glaurung left without a mention? Or phantomwolf? Both made a difference in their respective teams - and it would be a plain truism to say that either the team Nargothrond or the team TIG would have been gotten as far as they did without them.

For the forwards it's just unbearable that Gothmog of Gondolin hasn't been mentioned! He had the amazing ratio of scoring (4,66 pts. per game) in the whole tournament but where is the praise for him? Now why leave him behind if not because of racial prejudices?

And even if I do agree with Boro-blogger about the Witch King being one who should be awarded I'd also cherish Beleg of Dor Lomin without whom the mighty and indispensable Túrin would be just a shadow of what he is!

And as a last bet I'd say Azôg of Moria has been probably the least remarked player in the whole tournament. In his three games he made a goal in two and assisted one in the third. A nice buy for a team lacking of efficiency the next year?

[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