The Fantasy League is back!

We know, we know... it is only July but hey - you weren't doing anything else during the Summer break were you?

Yes, it's the wonderful return of the official Fantasy Premier League competition for 2009/10 and more specifically SPAOTP's very own mini-league, custom-made just for you.

This'll be the third year SPAOTP has had a Fantasy Premier League running and we're hoping to attract even more competitors than the 67 we had in 2007/08 and the 121 we had in 2008/09. Chris Gordon was our winner last year with his team Leeds From The Front, but perhaps you can knock him off his perch?

If you think you can, here's what you do. First, take a trip to the FA Fantasy Premier League website and register to play. It's absolutely free and no harm will come to you.

Once you've done that, you need to pick a squad of fifteen players that you think will play well enough to score a hatful of points for you every week (more of which in a moment). From that fifteen, you'll choose eleven to play in your starting line-up whenever there's a match on and it'll be those eleven that will get you the points (hopefully).

The trick is to have enough decent players in your squad while not sending its overall value higher than the virtual sum of £100 million. Each player has a 'fantasy' value, and that generally reflects how good he is, so bear that in mind when you're about to pick Gerrard, Lampard and Robinho as it might leave you with no money left to buy any defenders or a goalkeeper.

And how are the points scored? Well your goalkeeper and defenders pick up four points for keeping a clean sheet (providing they've played for an hour or more in any given match), plus they'll pick up an extra six points for scoring a goal at any point. Midfielders score five points for every goal scored plus one for keeping a clean sheet and Attackers score four points for every goal they stick in the back of the net.

There are also added points if your player's voted one of the best in a match or has assisted a goalscorer, just as there are points deducted for missing a penalty or receiving a red or yellow card. Oh and if your nominated captain scores any points, they'll be doubled - a handy tip worth remembering, if you want our opinion...

Once you've had a quick look at all the rules and regulations that are available on the site, all you need to do is to name your team, give them an appropriately coloured strip (utterly pointless, but it gives your team some sort of identity) and find the option to 'Join a private league'. You'll be prompted to enter a code number, and that's where you'll type in 119473-33332 in order to be part of the SPAOTP Fantasy League experience.

And that's about it. All you need do then is sit back and wait for the action to begin on August 15th, assured in the knowledge that dozens of other players will soon be bowing to you as you race to the top of the league table. Well that's the theory anyway.

Feel inspired? Want to take part and help us make it an even bigger and better competition than last year? Then what are you waiting for - get along to the Fantasy League site and register your team now!

Oh and before we go - watch this space for more news about our other great games that you can play during the course of the season. We don't want you getting bored now, do we?

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #121

LOAD "football"...
17 Computer Games Endorsed By Famous Players

1. Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (ZX Spectrum/C64, 1987)
2. Diego (Amiga, 1992)
3. Emlyn Hughes International Soccer (ZX Spectrum/C64, 1989)
4. Franco Baresi's World Cup Kick Off (Amiga, 1992)
5. Gary Lineker's Hot Shot (C64, 1989)
6. Gazza's Superstar Soccer (Amiga/C64/Atari ST/ZX Spectrum, 1989)
7. Graeme Souness Soccer Manager (ZX Spectrum, 1992)
8. Graham Taylor's Soccer Challenge (Amiga, 1992)
9. John Barnes European Football (Amiga CD32, 1994)
10. Kenny Dalglish Soccer Manager (ZX Spectrum, 1990)
11. Kevin Keegan's Player Manager (Super Nintendo, 1993)
12. Michael Owen's WLS 2000 (Nintendo 64, 2000)
13. O'Leary Manager (Game Boy Color, 2000)
14. Peter Beardsley's International Football (ZX Spectrum/Amiga 1988)
15. Peter Schmeichel Soccer (Amiga, 1994)
16. Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona (C64, 1986)
17. Ronaldo V-Football (Playstation, 2000)

Football Americana Week 16: Happy Days for Cunningham

Another stunted week in Major League Soccer, and another week of surprising results and solid if unspectacular footballing goodness Stateside. The focus was very much on the Eastern Conference as DC, Chicago and Columbus were all in action looking to cement their playoff challenge.

Week 16 kicked off at the altitude of Rio Tinto on Friday. San Jose Earthquakes went ahead just after the hour with a brilliantly taken goal by Arturo Alvarez, darting through with the ball on a string to finish past Nick Rimando in the Real Salt Lake goal. Fabian Espindola had seen plenty of the ball for RSL and created a sackload of chances, but the frustration got to him more than anyone - he was dismissed for scything down Brandon McDonald with 14 minutes to go. RSL still bagged the point, Chris Leitch pinching the ball off Yura Movsisyan's toe but placing it beyond his goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

On Saturday, DC United took their lead in the East to Columbus Crew, for whom a win would be enough send them above United. Tommy Soehn's men took the lead thanks to Christian Gomez who pounced to sweep in a loose ball after 33 minutes. United had enough chances to be home and dry, but it was Crew who found the net, Alejandro Moreno equalising from close range.

With United and Crew sharing the spoils, Chicago Fire had a chance to close the gap. They led Colorado Rapids 2-0 after just 37 minutes. Marco Pappa (left) got the first, bending it confidently into the corner from 12 yards. A towering Wilman Conde header converted a Cuauhtemoc Blanco corner for the second. Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made a difficult save from a Conor Casey header in the 76th minute but was unable to make the ball safe, allowing Jacob Peterson to tap in the Rapids' consolation.

One goal was enough for Houston Dynamo at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kei Kamara headed in a Mike Chabala cross to defeat Kansas City Wizards before whipping a white glove out of his shorts and paying tribute to deceased popstar Michael Jackson, chamone.

Pizza Hut Park hosted the Battle of Ineptitude between FC Dallas and New York Red Bulls, and FCD emerged victorious thanks to a lightning brace from Jeff Cunningham (right), playing up front to cover for USA Gold Cup pick Kenny Cooper. He got two goals in three minutes, the first a neat finish after a poor backpass by Luke Sassano and the second a tap-in from a pinpoint cross by Dave van den Bergh. Juan Pablo Angel almost missed from a yard, but the cross which he controlled towards the net just squeezed in for 2-1. He thought he'd levelled after half time but was ruled offside, a sight familiar to supporters of Aston Villa.

Alecko Eskandarian stole the headlines after moving to Los Angeles Galaxy from Chivas USA last week and scoring on debut against New England Revolution. The finish was simple but assured, Eskandarian turning a deep, diagonal cross into a gaping net to give the Galaxy all three points at HDC.

Results in the East leave DC United top from Chicago Fire, but both have 24 points. Houston Dynamo (31), Chivas USA (27) and Seattle Sounders (25) head up the West. Columbus Crew, Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids currently occupy the remaining playoff spots.

Full results and standings here.

(PHOTOS: ISIphotos.com, Vernon Bryant / DMN Photo Staff)

For more great football writing by Chris Nee, visit TwoFootedTackle.com...

Obscure Kits From British Football History #10

Sheffield Wednesday (home)
1965 - 1972

As a football fan of some advanced years there comes a point in your life when you find yourself pondering some of the quirkier aspects of the game's history. Things like 'When was the last time Ron Atkinson was a colour other than orange?' or 'Was Bryan Robson born injured?'

One such question that recently crossed my mind (and frankly didn't have far to travel) was "Why are Arsenal the only team to wear a shirt that has white sleeves contrasting another main colour?" It did, honestly.

The answer I arrived at was a simple one. Arsenal's white sleeve motif is not unique in the history of world football. North of the border, Hibernian have worn green shirts with white sleeves for many years while other teams such as Middlesbrough and Manchester City have had brief dalliances with the same white-sleeved approach in the not-so-distant past.

One team, however, abandoned the longest traditions of their football kit history for seven long years back in the mid-60's as they opted for white sleeves on a blue shirt. They were Sheffield Wednesday.

If ever a club remained unflinchingly attached to the uniform they wore, it was this one. For as long as anyone can remember, Sheffield Wednesday have always entered the field of play wearing blue and white striped shirts - even going back to the late-19th century when they were simply known as 'The Wednesday'.

So many players have been seen wearing those stripes over the years: Tommy Craig, Terry Curran, Carlton Palmer (OK, perhaps not Carlton Palmer...) The team's on-field identity remained strong and resolute throughout, yet between 1965 and 1972 it was all thrown away in favour of the strip you see here.

And make no mistake - this wasn't a 'here today, gone tomorrow' affair either. This was a genuine attempt at injecting some life into a famous old club at a time when they were on something of a high.

Having established a foothold in the old Division 1 in the late-1950's, The Owls pushed on and reached the FA Cup Final in 1966, although sadly this kit wasn't seen at Wembley thanks to Everton having first choice of shirt colours. No matter - Wednesday's kit was seen by a great many people before it disappeared without trace in 1972, never to be seen again.

From that point onwards it was back to the tried and trusted blue and white stripes, but distinctive though they are, who here would like to see the white sleeves return? I would, but then that's because I have a mind that ponders on quirky stuff like Ron Atkinson's skin colour and Bryan Robson's medical record.