Premier Chess Fantasy Football 2025-26

[Neil Graham]

We start next week - Fantasy Football - Premier Chess is on-line https://fantasy.premierleague.com/ - so Howe to play if you're in the Slot for this season - pep up your side with the joining code qbrob2. Remember real managers names only - no pseudonyms!

[MJMcCready]

What do you mean by that?

[Neil Graham]

I mean you can go to the link and pick your Fantasy Football team for the season. Should you wish to play in "Premier Chess" (131 entries so far) you use the code above to enter your team. What else do you wish to know?

[GaryLane]

I also run a free league for chess players. Anyone can join and the code is rwt8bn
Previous winners include Peter Heine Nielsen but you don't have to be a GM to win.

https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagu ... oin/rwt8bn

[Neil Graham]

Week One

“When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue" Alexander Isak.

Isak is under contract till 2028 at Newcastle. At the moment we have 158 entries for Premier Chess - unfortunately my request for details to appear elsewhere was not acted upon but I hope for more in due course. I confidently predicted Graham Potter (West Ham) and Keith Andrews (Brentford) to be the first Premier managers sacked - but Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo is now odds on favourite after disagreements with the club's owner. Meanwhile our early leader with the first 100+ score is James Toon. I draw a veil over my own team - currently in 6,360,201st place.

1 Mr Blue Sky James Toon 106 106
2 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 94 94
3 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 91 91
4 TicklyTim's Team Tim Lunn 86 86
5 U never go Full krug Joel Newman 84 84

Meanwhile Our overall first leader (playing Bench Boost) scored a magnificent 127 points.

[Neil Graham]

Week Two

"I think football was really fair today. The best team won." Ruben Amorim - Man United beaten by Grimsby in Carabao Cup.

Funny how last week it was suggested that Nuno was odds-on favourite in the Premier League sack race. No prizes for the leader now - and it's not Graham Potter. Meanwhile in a Universe far far away Alexander Isak and Yoane Wissa actually emerge onto a football pitch. As is usual at this stage of the season -only two of our original top five remain . My three strikers have to date scored a magnificent eight points in two weeks - looks like an early wild card might be called for.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 61 155
2 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 79 154
3 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 61 152
4 Zwischenzug Paul Colburn 74 143
5 Neveradullmoment Mike Swanwick 60 141

Overall The leading teams have already scored over 200 points (gulp)!

[Neil Graham]

Week Three

We now must take the right step to compete with the very best and challenge for trophies,” Evangelos Marinakis.

The Forest owner sacks Nuno Espirito Santo as manager and replaces him with Ange Postecoglou. I must admit that Arne Slot is a lot easier to write. So let's see what happens. I had some misguided ideas that Villa players would score some goals - so out goes Watkins, who no doubt will score a hat trick this week. John Wrench is the best scorer of the week and enters the top five for the first time. Lorin D'Costa's team looked good on paper but did not perform on the pitch so he has the low score of the week.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 57 212
2 Wrenchester United John Wrench 85 206
3= Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 49 201
3= Vote for Pedro Andrew Beswick 63 201
5 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 49 199

Nice name shame about the letters Ian Mitchell's team name Dzeko and the bunnym was two letters too long - but we know what he meant.

[Neil Graham]

Week Four

"We managed to get the well-deserved penalty and win." Virgil van Dijk - it's SlotTime rather than FergieTime.

The league season is already establishing title and relegation issues facing clubs. Liverpool have played four and won four, whilst Wolves have lost all their games so far. Villa have yet to score; West Ham have conceded 11 goals. After the opening week, no manager has reached three figures with top scorer Charlie Nettleton on 92 points in Week Four. At this time it might be expected that wholesale changes occur in the top five each week; however Rhys Cumming, Dave Ledger and Peter Staneland are already showing their credentials at the head of Premier Chess.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 84 296
2 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 83 282
3 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 74 275
4 Etihadi Justin Hadi 91 274
5 Williams wonders 2 William Bates 83 271

Top Team Overall the leading team has already scored 356 points - at this rate could the 3,000 pt barrier be broken?

[Neil Graham]

Week 5

"Nobody is happy with where we are" Graham Potter. West Ham manager under threat?

In Premier Chess, things are remarkably quiet. The same three leaders as last week and all Week 4 scores look similar. Liverpool have won five whilst Wolves have lost five. David Lambert top scored with his side Hibbert for England - possibly as the ex-Everton player is 44 and lives in France that opportunity has passed him by.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 52 348
2 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 47 329
3 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 50 325
4 Tomato FC Peter Finn 67 323
5 Vote for Pedro Andrew Beswick 58 318

The Wirtz pun The arrival of Florian Wirtz has given rise to multiple names such as your wirtz nightmare or wirtz case scenario - no doubt there are dozens more.


Postscript Saturday morning - Potter sacked by West Ham

[Neil Graham]

Week Six

"We have a lot of work in front of us" Nuno Espirito Santo on becoming West Ham manager.

Liverpool have lost their first League match of the season courtesy of unbeaten Palace; whilst Wolves open their account with a draw against Spurs. Never has Premier Chess started so calmly with the same group of managers dominating the leader board though Peter Staneland with the week's high score moves closure to Division One top shot - but there are plenty of ready places for challengers to hide. Yet again no triple figures!

1 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 95 424
2 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 59 407
3 Tomato FC Peter Finn 82 405
4 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 75 400
5 Vote for Pedro Andrew Beswick 78 396

Total Recall Top Score has485 points score now

[Neil Graham]

Week Seven

Sheffield Wednesday will "imminently" be served with a winding-up petition One of the great teams of the past going under?

The season continues with very little to write about in the case of Premier Chess. The same managers have dominated the leader table from Week 1. Peter Finn has joined Rhys Cumming in first position. Dave Groblar records triple figures for the top score of the week. Even the top teams overall show a remarkable lack of originality in their names though I like "Thomas the Frank Engine".

1= SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 85 492
1= Tomato FC Peter Finn 87 492
3 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 58 478
4 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 77 477
5 Reijnders Games Paul Cooksey 82 470

Finally - Sheffield Wednesday are second from bottom in the Championship. The team below them who have lost eight out of nine matches - Sheffield United.

[Neil Graham]

Week Eight

"You've got to win the games, it's as simple as that." Sean Dyche - appointed Forest manager after Ange sacked.

Ange Postecoglou lasted a mere 39 days - the shortest term for a Premiership manager. No doubt he will pop up somewhere else shortly as all managers do - witness Graham Potter who is now manager of Sweden. Meanwhile Premier Chess rolls on placidly with, as usual, little change. Mark Leonard with a three figure total makes a significant move towards the top five.

1 Tomato FC Peter Finn 78 570
2 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 67 559
3 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 76 554
4 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 74 551
5 Ultra v3 Charlie Nettleton 83 535

Overall The overall leader now had a massive 644 points.

[Neil Graham]

Week Nine

"When three or four are injured you go back to 16 players" Arne Slot after Liverpool lose six of their last seven games.

Why are Premier Chess scores so close? Largely because every manager has selected Haaland as captain. I got bored looking through our top managers to try and find anyone who didn't have the City striker in their team as captain. Top scorer of the week was Patrick Coleman who bucked the trend by nominating Mbuemo as his captain. 0ther than that no change of any significance at the top.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 48 607
2 Tomato FC Peter Finn 32 602
3 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 46 588
4 Vote for Pedro Andrew Beswick 59 585
5 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 32 583

Silly names In the absence of anything else to report I append a list of a few puns from the Top overall 50:-
Saka Spuds; Baines on Toast; FlyingWithoutIngs; Absolutely Fabregas; Havertz your own way; Bobbs your Uncle ..... and so on!

[Neil Graham]

Week Ten

"What happens is you slide down the league table and eventually get relegated." Radio 5 podcast. Wolves sack Pereira.

The above quote was preceded by "Wolves have become an experiment as to what happens if every single year you sell your best players and replace them with worse ones." In the words of John Laurie "Doomed". The bottom three clubs have now replaced their managers - including twice at Forest. Who is the current favourite to be sacked? - Daniel Farke of Leeds and surprisingly the favourite to retain his position is Sunderland's Regis Le Bris. Talking of retaining positions, the Premier Chess top five in Quarter One has been remarkably static - report to follow. Joint Top scorers of the week were Ihor Lewyk & Alf Barsnes.

1 SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 70 677
2 Tomato FC Peter Finn 71 673
3 PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 74 658
4 Salty M'Banco Mark Leonard 86 656
5 Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 71 654

It gets even Wirtz Yes even more puns about the misfiring Liverpool player WirztHisWeightInGolz; Wirtz Hard Play Hard; Wirtzel Gummidge and so on!

[Neil Graham]

Quarter One - Weeks One to Ten

Normally we have a plethora of managers who have been in the top five positions in the opening quarter. Not this season. Week One was.as usual, a lottery but after that Premier Chess was dominated by the same managers who appeared throughout whilst the remaining 11 managers in the top five appeared fleetingly for just one week.

Scoring as usual - five points for first place; down to one for fifth. Two weeks to qualify - number of weeks (out of 10) in brackets - max score 50pts.

1. SteveMcpersonaperson Rhys Cumming 47 pts (10) in 1st position for 7 of the 10 weeks.
2. PenquinsUnited Peter Staneland 30 pts (9)
3= Holy Beardhair Dave Ledger 23 pts (10)
3= Tomato FC Peter Finn 23 pts (6)
5. Vote for Pedro Andrew Beswick 7 pts (4)