Have you seen this yet?

The man scoring that goal helped Newcastle United move to 4^th place in the Premier League on Wednesday night – enough to qualify them for next season’s Champions League (should Chelsea lose in Munich at the end of May).

It’s nearly a decade since Newcastle United were last in the Champions League. You’d be fair to assume it’s been that long since we last reported on the Kantar Media Premiership. Not quite. But a lot has happened – in real-life and in fantasy land – and we wanted to nip in with a post on what to expect between now and the season end…

Real-life first. By about 17:00 on Sunday 13^th Man City will be crowned Champions. You’re probably wondering how we know that. Wonder no more. They’ve overcome a dip in form which had threatened to ruin all the groundwork they had put in up until about March, and the return of this guy has –  somewhat romantically and somewhat annoyingly –  seemed to spark the revival. The win over Man United on Monday means they head into the final two games in pole position; win both those games and they’re Champions.

Newcastle, chasing the Champions League, are the only team who can alter this path when they host Man City on Sunday. They’re trying to fight off Tottenham, who are level on points, for 4^th place, and Chelsea, who have an FA Cup Final and Champions League final for distraction. And actually, Arsenal’s hold on third is not guaranteed – they go to West Brom on the last day, a team and a ground that aren’t always as accommodating as they’d like.

The scrap to stay up will probably be more exciting. Since we last reported, Wolves have gone and there’s a shortlist of 5 teams who could be joining them. Wigan, with memorable wins over Man Utd, Arsenal and Newcastle, seem like they’ve done enough, particularly given that they will face a down beaten Wolves on the last day. Their other game is against Blackburn, who are still 3 points from safety and who will need to pull off a miracle at Chelsea on the final day to ensure survival. Bolton and QPR will face off for 17^th; put your money on Bolton – QPR travel to Man City on the final day.  Aston Villa have been drab all season long but won’t be dragged into it.

This frenzy over the next 2 weeks means there are lots of points up for grabs in the final two fantasy gameweeks. And there are plenty who will be chasing them. Stephen Callow’s wevewonitfivetimes probably won’t be. He’s been on top for most of the season and is now 209 points clear at the top. Providing there isn’t mammoth scoring week like there was last week, he’s got the league wrapped up.

Trying to ruin that will be Kantar Media’s Jonathan Brown. Even with a Rubbish team he’s managed to work his way up to 2^nd place thanks to some shrewd captain choices over the past few weeks. Only 100 points separate Ruina Eam in 3^rd and Jefford’s Giants in 13^th. It’s been a sorry slip for Mark Jefford – look back at the table in Gameweek 12 and you’ll see him on top. Danny Kay is another one who has found the run-in tough; earlier in the season he looked to be Kantar Media’s only hope for a top 5 place – he’s now languishing in 20^th. And Chris Branford’s Terminal Decline, after showing great promise, have finally lived up to their name, and now sit in 25^th heading into the final 2 gameweeks.

So unfortunately, thanks to wevewonitfivetimes, we won’t get the photo-finish we’d hope – not for top-spot, anyway. Because there’s a lot to play for elsewhere, and I’m sure teams have got their own personal rivalries that are still to be resolved. The Killer Bees of W9, for instance, are rock-bottom, and their manager, Charlie Gordon, is set to be declared the worst (ahem) manager at Kantar Media. But Jennie Beck, Sara Reid and Karen Alexander are within a strong gameweek’s reach, so the season isn’t over for him yet. The tension will be similar at S4C – Chris Morris and Huw Jones both scored 91 points last week, and with Huw’s Swans Flying High only 20 points ahead of Chris’ Brian Munich, I wouldn’t want to be sat between them right now. The NMA, too, have an internal battle going on, with Andrew Moffat’s Newspaper Detectives leading Henry Vernon’s Henry’s Heroes by just 24 points – as RvP has shown on multiple occasions this season, that’s a point difference just one player can overturn.

And so you should get selecting. Make sure to use transfers wisely – and use your wildcards if you haven’t already; there are no bonus points for having them in stock at the end of the season. My tip (not that 24^th warrants me to give you one) is to get/keep Aguero in your team – he’ll score at least 4 over these last 2 games.

Good luck.

October in the Premier League was a bit special. The first round of matches brought us the best two derbies outside of Manchester: Merseyside and North London (debatable). The former wasn’t the spectacle it has been in years gone by – Liverpool taking a comfortable 2-0 win at Goodison; in the latter, Arsenal, heading to Spurs as underdogs for the first time ever, duly lost – thanks entirely to a Dutchman’s arm. In the same Gameweek, Chelsea went away and scored 5 and Man City went away and scored 4. Fulham, though, scored most – 6, against a clueless QPR.

There was yet another international break on the weekend that followed, where England managed to surrender a two-goal lead to Montenegro but still qualify for Euro 2012.  Pointless, really, because we know what will happen.

Gameweek 8 wasn’t great and was lucky to have followed an International break. Man City won easily again, Chelsea beat Everton and at Anfield, Liverpool and Man Utd played out a bore-draw.

In Gamweek 9 there was a phenomenon. There was another shock at Loftus Road, where QPR scraped a win against Chelsea, who had two men sent off, and one man who represents everything that is wrong with English football.

In Gameweek 10, Arsenal fans were happy – this was why. An early call, but it’ll most likely take game of the season. The Gameweek finished with Newcastle winning at Stoke, thus extending their unbeaten opening to this campaign, and leapfrogging Chelsea into third in the process. Well done, but it’s potently clear they’ll come crashing down soon.

So another entertaining month in real life – but did it transpire in Fantasy world?

The answer is ‘maybe’ – my records of the league standings in Gameweek 7 and 8 were somehow lost (or stolen). Apologies to anyone who took big steps in these weeks. One thing we can assume without a reference-point, though, is that bottom place was filled by its rightful owner*.

Luckily Gameweeks 9 and 10 were the more entertaining of the month. In Gameweek 9 Chris Branford was Terminal Decline by name but not by nature – rising all the way to top spot after joint-top scoring with Julie Forey’s Dodgy Knees (not literal). Towards the bottom, Kantar Media’s Euan Mackay, Charlie Gordon and Graeme Griffiths all gained ground – but all still remained at least 100 points off top spot.

Gameweek 10 saw Stephen Callow’s wevewonitfivetimes reclaim pole position – thanks largely to the excellent Robin Van Persie. Gentel FC, who finished September on top spot, are now down to 8^th, seemingly suffering the effects of a quiet Wayne Rooney. Danny Kay caused a stir after moving into third place – the first time that Kantar Media have held a position in the top 3 since Trevor Vagg dropped from first in September. Keep an eye on Channel 4’s Nick Blake, too, whose Blake Panthers have moved up 10 places in the space of a month, and are now within 9 points of the top.

In September James Burke took the crown for the month’s highest scorer. Different story this time round – Sky’s Ian McDougall, who guided his Jimmy Buzzard XI to 222 points across October. That has earned him a place in the top 10 – a huge improvement from 33^rd at the end of September.

So, October did enough to cause havoc across the Kantar Media Premiership – even if the usual high-flyers are still… well, flying high. There are just three Gameweeks in November so it’s unlikely we’ll see the same level of movement but I’m sure something will change. And in fact, my parting tip for November is to consider Fernando Torres in Gameweek 12 – his former Liverpool side visit Stamford Bridge that week, so what better way to end his scoring drought than against them.

Good Luck.

*Wilshee Win? subsequently escaped bottom spot in Gameweek 10 at the expense of Jennie Beck’s (even grumpier) Grumpy Global

Did you know: September begins on the same day of the week as December, every single year (don’t bother checking 2011 because I’ve already done it – Thursday). Interesting, I’m sure you’ll agree…

Just as interesting was September in the Premier League. The international break at the start of the month meant we had to wait a while to see some games, but when we did, it was business as usual – for Man Utd and Man City, at least, who both picked up from where they left off with big wins.

Not quite business as usual at the Emirates though, where Arsenal actually managed (to scrape) a first league win of the season – an improvement, definitely, but fans knew better than to get ahead of themselves after the Old Trafford nightmare a fortnight earlier.

And how right they were to stay reserved . That same weekend saw Man Utd prove that there is a definite gulf between them and Chelsea – helped just a smidgen by that Torres miss. And on the same day, Man City drew away at Fulham, thereby losing the “who’ll-slip-up-first?” battle of Manchester, and giving Utd a leg-up to the top of the league.

Luckily, though, the Premier League is good at making things complicated – cue Crouch and co, who held Utd 1-1 at the Britannia a week later. Naturally, Man City (before their Bayern Munich Teveztation) won their match, and it was all square again. There were convincing wins too for Chelsea and Arsenal (what the hell?).

So, September ended with Manchester ruling – and sharing – the roost. But September threw up a couple of other interestingtons: Newcastle and Bolton. Basically, one was good and one was bad; but the reason this is interesting is because you’d imagine that the good one would be the one you thought would be good, and the one who was bad would be the other one – but it turned out that it was the other one that was good, meaning they were actually the bad one. Too many ones? Here’s a two.

So an interesting (and confusing, apparently) month in the Premier League. And things weren’t entirely straightforward in Fantasyland either. As expected, there was plenty of transfer activity after the (real) window had shut: people seemed keen on Parker after he’d (foolishly) gone to Spurs, and Crouch once he’d (reluctantly) headed to Stoke. Barton going to QPR was popular too. Not so much buzz around Arsenal’s acquisitions though (except maybe Arteta).

But I bet what you really want to know is who the movers and shakers were? Well, after ending August on top spot, NMA’s Henry Vernon was down to 3rd in Gameweek 4, as Gareth Barr of BBC Trust continued his impressive August form to take pole position – helped a lot by a shrewd vice-captain choice in the hat-trick scoring Wayne Rooney (Dzeko didn’t feature that week). This first round of September matches were also kind to Alfredo Raydha, whose Gentel FC shot up to 2nd after posting a score of 83 – beaten only by Andrew Moffat of the NMA.

Gameweek 5 was capitalised on by Shortlist’s Mark Jefford, whose 69 points propelled him from 15th to 5th; Simon Johnson, of RSMB, top-scored with 70 to move from 9th to 2nd. As a comparison, Kantar Media’s Rachel Willshee scored a massive 9. Willshee win? No.

After that surprising Gameweek 6 (remember – when Arsenal were convincing and Man Utd drew), the league now looks in familiar shape. Slowly but surely, that familiar shape is becoming defined by Kantar Media’s managers* showing exactly what is meant by a “mid-table” team.

But there’s a bit of hope inside these walls: filter the league on only September’s results, and who do you find at the top? Our very own James Burke. If that isn’t enough to spur you on for the rest of October, I don’t know what will.

Good luck…

* Fantasy League managers, not actual managers (just in case…)

The Kantar Media Premiership has chosen a good time to make its Fantasy Premier League debut with the most dramatic start to a season ever.

The fully refurbished site was always going to make managers a little wary. By the evening of Friday 12th, faced with a login page that just wouldn’t budge, the doubters were proved right – but I’m betting the reactions went a little further than ‘I told you so’.

As it was, selections in Gameweek 1 weren’t necessarily the conscious pick of managers, and, insane computer killing or not, everyone agreed it just wasn’t good enough. FPL knew this and gave us their heartfelt apology – and what a truly sincere one it was. Of course, as glory-hunting FPL managers we’re trained not to appreciate this kind of sentiment. Nope, we’re just after the compensation. And we got it: unlimited free transfers for Gameweek 2.

But not everyone could take advantage. The average points scored across every FPL user for Gameweek 2 actually dropped from Gameweek 1 – a trend that most of the Kantar Media Premiership suffered too. Let’s just blame that on silly results like the QPR away win – or the even sillier Arsenal defeat to Liverpool.

That lovely FPL apology also offered leagues a fresh start, the chance to scrap the scoring of Gameweek 1 and start afresh from Gameweek 2. We toyed with doing this but guessed that were more folk who had constructed their team prior to the site crashing (and probably even more who hadn’t even noticed!) than those who were left incredibly frustrated.

The drama continued into Gameweek 3, which will be remembered for that result. You’d 8-2 be a Gunner at a time like this; but this is all about the KMP, and this match (plus others) added a bit of a twist to the league. BBC Trust’s Gareth Barr profited most, posting the league’s first 3 digit score – a perfectly crisp 100 points – and overtaking Simon Johnson of RSMB in the process. If you’re wondering how Gareth did that, here are the maths he used: Rooney (c) + Dzeko. God help the rest of us if he’d chosen Ashley Young ahead of Nani.
Gareth’s superweek was impressive but it couldn’t knock the NMA’s Henry Vernon off of the summit. Henry will be glad he side-stepped the turmoil of Gameweek 1 when he scored 80 points, because since then his score has gradually dropped – a dangerous slip in form when you’ve got The Guardian’s Dan Botten and Peter Gradidge of Associated waiting in the wings.

Kantar Media’s Trevor Vagg is going through a similarly tough time after occupying top spot for a short while in Gameweek 1. He dropped places like most of the Kantar Media clan did this week; something in the water, I imagine. Either that or we just don’t know football like we thought we did – #shouldsticktomedia.

If the drama has left you dazed, don’t rest up now, because there’s plenty more on the way for September. True, we start with an International break, but this just means managers get plenty of time to think about what Transfer Deadline Day signings they think are worth adding, and how best to get rid of those who have ended up being shipped off abroad. Be ready to see this turn into a flurry of Wildcards being played. If you’re thinking of playing a Wildcard, though, remember one thing: it’s a marathon – not a sprint.

Good luck!

Kantar Media’s futurePROOF study in 2010 comprised a qualitative element that included some filmed depth interviews.

Here’s a montage of some of the key themes…

Here we demonstrate some feelings around one of the buzz issues – Video on Demand

Here we demonstrate some feelings around the year’s must have gadget – the iPad

For further information on this study or the 2011 project please contact Jason Vir or Trevor Vagg

Danny Kay’s analysis of futurePROOF data highlights the market for mobile gaming apps.

The evolution of the mobile phone into a hi-tech Swiss Army knife continues apace. According to results from Kantar Media’s futurePROOF survey, a fifth of mobile owners have a smartphone. Moreover, UK ownership of the Apple iPhone almost quadrupled in 2010 from the previous year, amounting to around 4m ’finger swipers’. Read the rest of this entry »

Euan Mackay, associate director at Kantar Media, assesses the state of the men’s magazine market and considers some future paths for publishers…

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