Golden Boot Game Blog.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Basics

Q1. Why is it called the Golden Boot game?

A1. The leading goal scorer in various football competitions (including each Premier League season) receives a Golden Boot or Golden Shoe trophy. Unlike other fantasy football games this one only takes account of goals and goal scorers. So, it is this trophy that gives the game its name.

Q2. Why are there 8 strikers to a team?

A2. There need to be enough strikers so that everyone does not pick the same people. Equally, it should be possible that every player could score in a week. Normally, a full Premier League program will see between 12 and 24 players scoring. However, perhaps a third of these would be people who would never be picked to score goals. Experience from previous seasons shows that 8 is a reasonable compromise.

Q3. Why are there 40 weeks in the season? There are only 38 matches.

A3. The game works on matches played in each calendar week. These start at midnight on Friday an run to midnight on the following Friday. This means there will be some weeks with no matches because of internationals, FA Cup matches etc. There will also be some weeks when teams have 2 matches.

Q4. Do re-arranged matches count for their original or new week?.

A4. All matches count for the week in which they are actually played. Late postponements and abandonments can cause some selections to become void but it is the same for everyone who plays the Golden Boot Game. You will need to keep a careful check on each week's fixtures to keep up with re-arranged matches.

Picking Strikers

Q5. Who can I pick for my team? Do they need to be strikers?

A5. This is the game with no limits. You can pick anyone who is a first team squad member with any Premier League club - even the goalkeepers. You can pick all 8 strikers from the same club if you like. What you can not do is pick the same striker in more than one position.

Q6. How do players get in the Strikers Selection List?

A6. At the start of the Golden Boot Game the List of Strikers you can select from will contain at least one striker from each club selected by the controllers. While selecting your strikers you will be able to 'write in' the names of or more strikers who are not on the list and select the appropriate club in each case. A new striker who is selected for a team in the Goalden Boot game will be added to the strikers list for the following week. You can, if you wish, write in the name of a striker who is already on the list but he will not be added a second time.

Q7. The striker I want to select is not on the list. How do I select him for a position in my team?

A7. First you need to remove the current player in that position, then click on 'WRITE IN NEW STRIKER' in the right hand column (near the top of the list of strikers). A form will appear allowing you to select the appropriate club and enter the initial and surname for a player. Then simply click on 'Add to Team' and the new striker will be placed in the vacant position in your team.

Tables and Lists

Q8. What is the Value column in the Strikers List?

A8. As there are no arbitary money values assigned to strikers in the Golden Boot Game, a striker's value is determined by the number of times he is picked and the positions he is picked in. In any week this can be expressed by the total number of points that will be scored by all teams each time he scores a goal. Of course, he may not score at all but this does not affect how highly Golden Boot Game players rated him when making their selections for a particular week.

Q9. Why Does the Season's Goals for a striker in the List not match his Premier League goals?

A9. There are several reasons for this. Any goals scored by a striker before he is added to our list will not be recorded. So, strikers who are 'written in' later in the season will have fewer goals than they have actually scored. Also, any striker who has a goal taken away by the 'Dubious Goals Panel' of the Premier League might have more goals on our list because, by the rules of the Golden Boot Game, goals are never re-allocated. In effect, our list shows a total of all the strikers goals that could have counted in our game.

Q10. Why can't I see another team's scores by clicking on them in the table like on the old site?

A10. On this site you need to be signed in for this facility to be available. Once you have signed in this feature works exactly the same as on the old site.

Q11. Why does the table sometimes show last week's position and sometimes not?

A11. Last week's position is always shown when it is available. This will normally be between this week's table being generated (after the last Premier League match is played) and the following Saturday. The feature is removed as a consequence of preparations to enter the scorers for the current week.

General Stuff

Q12. Why is there no Premier League fixture list on the site?

A12. The Premier League holds copyrights on Premier League fixture lists and charges a fee to anyone who reproduces them. Luckily, there are several free sites that have the fixtures and we point you at one of them.