The Rule Book: Second Edition

Fantacy Website

2 The fantacy website may be accessed at http://www.totalfantacy.net/

Fantacy Football League Administrator

3 The fantacy football league administrator shall be Kevin Roberts and he shall be required to:

3.1 Apply his time, effort and attention towards the routine maintenance of the fantacy website

3.2 To implement all requests (whether reasonable or unreasonable) in such timescales (whether realistic or unrealistic) arising in connection with the smooth and efficient administration of the fantacy football league as may be made of him from time to time by the managers, either of a routine nature as notified to him through the fantacy mailing list or of a non routine nature as may be decided upon at fantacy meetings.

Clubs

4 Clubs employ a team of players and are under the absolute control of their managers.

Pressroom

5 Each club shall operate a pressroom and offer copy, in whichsoever form as it may find appropriate, to the Fantacy Football League for incorporation into the fantacy website.

Fantacy Points

6 Fantacy points shall be awarded in accordance with teams' overall performances and each week those participating players shall acquire points for their clubs in the following amounts:

6.1 For each goal they score, all players shall receive five points.

6.2 For scoring an own goal, all players shall have deducted five points.

6.3 For receiving a red card, all players shall have deducted five points and for receiving a yellow card they shall have two points deducted (but if they receive two yellow cards in the same match they shall have deducted the five points for the resultant red card).

6.4 For being credited on www.soccernet.com as being the provider of an assist for a goal, all players shall be awarded one point (29.03.09 Big Ideas 2009/10).

6.5 For being the taker of a penalty and not scoring from it, all players shall be deducted two points and those two points shall be awarded to whichever goalkeeper(s) took to the field for the opposing team during the match (by being on the field of play at some point during the match regardless of whether the penalty is missed during such period) (08.08.10 Meeting Aug 8 2010).

6.6 Players shall also be awarded and deducted points in accordance with the position that they play in:

6.6.1 For operating in a goalkeeping capacity they shall, furthermore, be awarded points thus:

6.6.1.1 Six "boots on" points awarded for playing.

6.6.1.2 Three points deducted for failing to keep a clean sheet.

6.6.1.3 A further one point or half a point deducted for each further goal conceded playing at home or away respectively.

6.6.2 For operating in a defensive capacity they shall, furthermore, be awarded points thus:

6.6.2.1 Four "boots on" points for playing.

6.6.2.2 Two points deducted for failing to keep a clean sheet.

6.6.2.3 A further one point or half a point deducted for each further goal conceded playing at home or away respectively.

6.6.2.4 They shall be awarded one quarter of a point for each goal they assist (by being on the field of play at some point during the match regardless of whether the goal is scored during such period).

6.6.3 For operating in a midfield capacity they shall, furthermore, be awarded points thus:

6.6.3.1 One "boots on" point for playing.

6.6.3.2 Half a point or one quarter of a point deducted for each further goal conceded playing at home or away respectively.

6.6.3.3 They shall be awarded one point for each goal they assist (by being on the field of play at some point during the match regardless of whether the goal is scored during such period).

6.6.4 For operating in an attacking capacity they shall, furthermore, be awarded points thus:

6.6.4.1 They shall be awarded one point for each goal they assist (by being on the field of play at some point during the match regardless of whether the goal is scored during such period).

6.7 For the purposes of establishing fantacy points, the results, goal scorers, substitutes, assists, penalty misses and red and yellow cards as reported on www.soccernet.com shall be absolutely conclusive.

6.8 The allocation of Fantacy Points is summarised in tabular form in the Scoring System.

Trophies

7 Trophies shall be awarded to managers as representatives of their clubs for winning each of the competitions other than the Care in the Community Shield. Photographic representations may be viewed at http://www.totalfantacy.net/archives/images/trophies/.

Competitions

8 The seven competitions comprising the season are:

8.1 the Premiership

8.2 the Challange Cup (also known as the FAntacy Cup)

8.3 the League Cup

8.4 the Dirty Bastard Boot (in the Bollocks)

8.5 the Golden Boot

8.6 the Care in the Community Shield

8.7 the Mug of the Year

Season

9 Each season shall commence with the playing of the Care in the Community Shield and end with the playing of the Challange Cup final and take in the entirety of all of the other competitions. The end of the season shall be celebrated by the mother of all parties, hosted by the winner of the Premiership.

Subscriptions

Prize money shall be derived from subscriptions payable by each of the managers to the treasurer of the fantacy football league.

10.1 Subscriptions must be paid by the second of the fantacy meetings in the season. Failure to do so will result in:

10.1.1 Offending clubs’ bank account shall be frozen.

10.1.2 They shall thereby be prevented from entering into any trade or purchase of players from the pool.

10.1.3 The sanctions contained within paragraph 10.1.1 and 10.1.2 shall be applied until such a time as the defect shall be remedied and such remedy notified by the treasurer to the fantacy website Fantacy mailing list.

10.2 The amount of subscriptions payable are as follows:

10.2.1 Waged - forty pounds

10.2.2 Unwaged - twenty-five pounds

10.2.3 If the subscriptions are paid on time as required by these rules then the following discounts shall be applied:

10.2.3.1 Waged - five pounds

10.2.3.2 Unwaged - nil

10.3 The fantacy football league administrator shall be exempted from the requirement to pay subscriptions completely.

10.4 Any new manager shall be entitled to claim a ten pound discount on his subscriptions for the period of his first season in charge of his club.

Punishable Breaches

45 The punishable breaches of the rules are as follows:

45.1 Fielding an illegal team. There are two ways in which an illegal team may be fielded:

45.1.1 Having, within a team, more than the legal limit of players from any one "real" team at Kickoff of a Gameweek, the sanction for which is that:

45.1.1.1 The league will ‘send to the stands’ whichever player will result in the lowest points total for the manager during that week. The league will send to the stands one player for each offence, each time maximising the loss of points. This is not necessarily the highest scoring of the offending players. In the case that fewer points are scored by playing all offending players, then all are played and whichever other player(s) in the team whose removal would maximise the loss of points shall be ‘sent to the stands’.

45.1.1.1.1 For clarity, ‘offending player’ in the context of paragraph 45.1.1.1 refers to any of the players from the real team whose legal limit has been exceeded.

45.1.1.1.2 ‘Sent to the stands’ means that any points scored by the player that week will not be counted for the purposes of allocating points to the team and he shall earn no gate receipts. He shall, however, receive a salary from his club.

(05.10.08 Scrapping the 3 player concession for the current season).

45.1.1.2 The sanctions contained within paragraph 45.1.1.1 shall be applied to each Gameweek that the illegal team is fielded until the manager has made his squad legal.

45.1.1.3 A ‘skull and crossbones’ shall be inscribed alongside the club’s name on the League Table, which shall remain there until the end of the season.

45.1.2 Having, within a team, more than the legal limit of players in a given position (goal, defence, midfield or attack) at Kickoff of a Gameweek, the sanction for which is that:

45.1.2.1 The league shall first make the team legal by ‘sending to the stands’ whichever player(s) in the position(s) that has/have too many players will result in the lowest points total for the manager during that week. The league will ‘send to the stands’ one player for each offending player, each time maximising the loss of points. The team will then compete in all competitions as usual.

45.1.2.1.1 ‘Sent to the stands’ means that any points scored by the player that week will not be counted for the purposes of allocating points to the team and he shall earn no gate receipts. He shall, however, receive a salary from his club.

45.1.2.2 All points awarded for winning or drawing in the Premiership will then be deducted from the club’s points total in the league table. Any points awarded for winning or drawing in the group stages of any cup competitions they may have competed in shall be deducted from the relevant group table. If the team competed in a knockout stage of a cup competition then they shall be deemed to have lost and their competitor will progress to the next round.

45.1.2.3 The Club shall be fined 1 million pounds of Fantacy Money.

45.1.2.4 The sanctions contained within paragraphs 45.1.2.1 to 45.1.2.3 shall be applied to each Gameweek that the illegal team is fielded until the manager has made his squad legal.

45.1.2.5 A ‘skull and crossbones’ shall be inscribed alongside the club’s name on the League Table, which shall remain there until the end of the season.

(Meeting February 2012, 21.02.12)

45.2 Being overdrawn, the sanction for which is that:

45.2.1 All points awarded for winning or drawing in the Premiership shall be deducted from the club’s points total in the league table. Any points awarded for winning or drawing in the group stages of any cup competitions they may have competed in shall be deducted from the relevant group table. If the team competed in a knockout stage of a cup competition then they shall be deemed to have lost and their competitor will progress to the next round.

45.2.2 The Club shall be fined 1 million pounds of Fantacy Money.

45.2.3 The sanctions contained within paragraphs 45.2.1 to 45.2.2 shall be applied to each Gameweek that the illegal team is fielded until the manager has made his squad legal.

45.2.4 A ‘skull and crossbones’ shall be inscribed alongside the club’s name on the League Table, which shall remain there until the end of the season.

Fantacy Meetings

47 Fantacy meetings are the preferred forum for conducting all business relating to the fantacy football league and the only forum for amending the rules. They can also be used for the purchase of players from the Pool, transfer of players between managers and the purchase of LTG’s, as well as any other business or discussion that is deemed appropriate.

47.1 Meetings shall be conducted through the medium of Internet Messenger or some similar internet messaging system that allows for the recording of dialogue between managers as text.

47.1.1 This text shall be saved by one of the participating managers at the end of the meeting and posted to the Fantacy Football email group and shall constitute the minutes of the meeting.

47.2 A meeting shall be deemed to have been convened when a minimum of two managers are in attendance and in dialogue through the medium of Internet Messenger. From this point, until the minutes are saved, it will be possible to conduct transactions and make decisions through the process of voting, that shall be considered valid and the will of the League. It is deemed good form to allow a reasonable amount of time for any managers to arrive who, through the Fantacy Football email group, have previously expressed an intention to attend.

47.3 Meetings may be convened at any time but shall take place on five occasions each season.: For guidance, the recommended dates are as follows:

47.3.1 On the date that the Community Shield is played in the "real world", the Opening Meeting shall be hosted by the manager of the bottom finishing of the clubs in the previous season

47.3.2 On a date during the month of October, hosted by the manager of BSE Eindhoven at the Cow Barn

47.3.3 On a date during the month of December, hosted by a volunteer.

47.3.4 On a date during the month of February, hosted by whichsoever manager has been the winner of the League Cup.

47.3.5 On the first weekend in April (the April Fools’ meeting), hosted by whichsoever manager is the current leader of the Dirty Bastard Boot (in the Bollocks) trophy.

(02.04.11 Meeting April 2011)

47.4 The precise date and time of the meeting will be agreed by consensus through the medium of the Fantacy Football Email Group, in order to facilitate the attendance of as many managers as possible. All dates are variable except those of the Opening Meeting and the April Fools’ Meeting.

47.4.1 The usual time for meetings to start is 1200GMT on a Sunday but this can be varied if there is a clear consensus, as determined through the Fantacy Football Email Group, that it should be otherwise and the host is in agreement.

47.4.2 The Opening Meeting and the April Fools’ Meeting shall be held on the dates specified above, at 1200GMT, unless there is a clear consensus, as determined through the Fantacy Football Email Group, that it should be otherwise and the host is in agreement. If one manager objects to variation of the date and time of either of these two meetings then the meeting must be held at the aforesaid date and time. The reason for this is to allow managers to plan around these dates, to facilitate their attendance at these two most important meetings.

47.5 The role of the host is to make the final decision on the date and time of the meeting, within the parameters set out in sections 47.3 and 47.4, and to provide hospitality to whichever managers wish to attend the meeting in person at the host’s home stadium.

47.6 The usual protocol for the format of the meeting is to follow the following agenda:

47.6.1 The meeting is opened by dealing with any Agenda Items that have been raised in advance of the meeting on the Meeting Spreadsheet. Agenda items usually take the form of proposals for changes to the rules and there is a procedure in place which explains how this is to be conducted.

47.6.2 The meeting then moves onto Business which involves players already under contract with a club or in the Pool.

47.6.3 The meeting then usually ends with business that involves other players i.e. LTG’s.

47.6.4 In the context of a Fantacy Football Meeting, the term ‘business’ refers to the buying and selling of players, either between managers or between managers and the Pool. This includes the buying and selling of LTG’s.

Procedure for proposing and enacting changes to the rules

49 The Procedure for proposing, ratifying and enacting changes to the rules is as follows:

49.1 At least seven days prior to each meeting, the Fantacy Football League Administrator, or his delegate, shall make available to all managers, through the medium of Googledocs or some similar document sharing service, a spreadsheet that shall make it possible to:

49.1.1 Record proposed changes to The Rules with any options that are to be voted upon. There shall also be a facility for managers to record their vote in respect of each option.

49.1.2 Record business conducted during the course of the meeting.

49.2 Any manager who wishes to propose a change to the rules shall first put their suggestion into an email and post it to the Fantacy Football Email Group for general discussion.

49.3 If their appears to be some merit to the proposal, the proposer, or his delegate, will insert the Proposal, including any options that are to be voted upon, into the Fantacy Football Meeting Spreadsheet in preparation for the next Fantacy Football Meeting. This must be done at least seven days in advance of the scheduled date of the Meeting.

49.4 The Proposal will be debated and voted upon at the meeting. Votes may be cast in advance of the meeting on the spreadsheet.

49.4.1 All votes, whether cast before or during the meeting, must be registered on the relevant spreadsheet in order to be counted.

49.4.1.1 If the proposal has been raised in the aforementioned manner then a majority of the managers in attendance at the meeting plus any managers who have cast their vote in advance on the spreadsheet must vote ‘yes’ in order for the proposal to be agreed.

49.4.1.2 If the proposal has been entered onto the spreadsheet less than seven days in advance of the meeting then a majority of all managers in the league must vote ‘yes’ for the proposal to be agreed (i.e. at least seven votes in favour).

49.4.2 The vote must be concluded at the meeting since this is the only forum at which changes to the rules can be made.

49.5 If the vote at the meeting results in a change to the rules, the proposer, or his delegate, will summarise, in the form of a Rule, the outcome of the vote and post it to the Fantacy Football Email Group with an 'object by' date of seven days ahead of the date it was posted.

49.5.1 If no objections to the wording are raised it will be assumed that the rule, as written, represents a true reflection of the wishes of the meeting and the rule shall be deemed ratified. The proposer, or his delegate, will enter it into the Rule Book in the appropriate position.

49.5.2 If there are objections to the wording of the rule then all parties should try to resolve any differences through dialogue on the email group.

49.5.2.1 If these objections can be resolved at any time within a fourteen day resolution period, the rule shall be deemed ratified as a true reflection of the wishes of the meeting. The proposer, or his delegate, will enter it into the Rule Book in the appropriate position.

49.5.2.2 If there is no resolution within fourteen days the rule change shall be abandoned and a new proposal will have to be put forward to the next meeting to allow full clarification and further voting if necessary.

49.6 Alongside the new rule shall be entered three dates: the date the rule was agreed (meeting date, with reference [including link] to the relevant spreadsheet), the date it was entered into the Rule Book and the date that it will be enacted.

49.7 The enactment date shall be the date that the rule was entered into the Rule Book, unless the meeting voted and agreed that the rule should be enacted at some other time (e.g. at the beginning of the next season). Exceptionally, the meeting may vote to enact the rule with immediate effect but this should be avoided because there can be no ratification prior to implementation and a rule shall be in force that does not exist in the Rule Book.

49.8 Ratification timescales can be varied only if the meeting votes to do so at the time of agreeing the rule.

49.9 If the new rule replaces an already existing rule, it shall be entered immediately below the already existing rule which shall be 'greyed out', not deleted, so that the changes can be tracked and the Rule Book will represent a complete record of all rules that exist now and have ever existed.

49.10 The Rule Book shall take the form of numbered paragraphs with numbered subsections to aid easy referencing.

49.11 The Rule Book shall be available for inspection at all times on the Fantacy Football website.

49.12 For the purposes of email filtering, all correspondence that relates to the Rules or Rule Book shall include the word 'rule' in the subject line. All correspondence that relates to the ratification of a rule or rules shall include the word 'ratification' in the subject line and all correspondence that relates to proposals for future rule changes shall include the word 'proposal' in the subject line. For example: "rule ratification: fantacy meetings", "rule proposal: illegal teams". The words 'rule', 'ratification' and 'proposal' should be avoided in all other correspondence as far as possible.

Extraordinary clarification of rules between meetings

50 In exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary for the League Administrator to seek clarification from the League on how a rule is to be administered in order to progress with publishing the results for a given week.

50.1 The Fantacy Football League Administrator, or his delegate shall:

50.1.1 Inform the league through the fantacy email list of the issues involved and propose at least one solution.

50 .1.2 Make available to all managers, through the medium of Googledocs or some similar document sharing service, a spreadsheet that shall explain the issue and offer at least one solution for managers to vote upon. There shall be a facility for managers to record their vote in respect of each option.

50.2 The issues shall be debated through dialogue on the Fantacy email group.

50.3 Managers shall record their votes on the spreadsheet within a timescale determined by the League Administrator but with the intention of clarifying the rule in time for the results to be published before the next Gameweek begins.

50.4 The option that records the highest number of 'yes' votes shall be adopted. In the event that only one option is to be voted upon, it shall be agreed if a majority of the managers who record a vote on the spreadsheet vote ‘yes’.