General game play rules are described here. Visit the specific pages for details regarding League Cup (Sept to Nov) and FA Cup (Jan to Mar) rules.

Firstly to register for the new season all competitors will need to complete an entry form. Once this is received you will be assigned to the 08/09 season and as soon as the season is live you can begin selecting your team.

1      How do you pick your team?

1.1   You are allocated £35 million to spend (an increase from £25m last season).

1.2   Your team should consist of:

i       1 Goalkeeper - this should be selected from the list provided of Premier League or Championship teams.

ii      1 Defence - this should be selected from the same list provided of Premier League or Championship teams.

iii      There is a change for 08/09, you can now select a player from your goalkeeper or defence.

iv       You cannot have the same team for your goalkeeper and defence.

v      Maximum spend on your goalkeeper and defence is £15m. The price for Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal will be set so that you cannot have 2 of these teams. Other teams may be added to this group if they warrant it.

• See List of Teams

vii     A squad of 12 Strikers/Midfielders - these 12 should be picked from the list provided of Premier League and Championship players.

viii    You must select a minimum of two players under £1m (i.e. £0.9m or less).

ix      You can select as many players from one team as you like.

• See List of Players

2      Initial Selection 

(please note only entries completed via the Manage, Selections and Picks section on the website will be accepted).

i       Any team/player can be picked as many times as required at the initial selection.

ii      The limit will then be set dependant on the number of entries. No more than 25% can have a particular player/team after this i.e. 28 to 31 - 7 times, 32 to 35 - 8 times, 36 to 39 - 9 times, 40 to 43 - 10 times etc.

iii     If we have 40 entries for example once all teams are in, any player/team selected 10 times or more are sold out. They would only become available if this drops to 9 or less. The list of players/teams will indicate those sold out.

iv     The website will validate your initial selection and ensure you do not break any rules e.g. total overspend, under £1m players, defensive overspend, duplicate selections, exactly 2 teams and 12 players etc. If any rules are broken the site will provide an error and explain the reason why.  For a detailed explanation of how to select your team see the Site Navigation page. 

v      Unlike 07/08 your team will not be seen by anyone (including all committee members) until the entries all go live onto the system. Therefore you can send a `draft' team and come back to it later to play around with it (see vi below). The initial `draft' team will have to be a complete team (you cannot save less than 2 teams and 12 players initially). The administrator will only be able to see who has entered (saved) a team and when it was saved for the purposes of sending reminders to possible participants.  

vi     When you login to start selecting your team you will be taken straight to the team selection screen. You then will add  your selections by selecting 2 clubs and 12 players to buy from the drop down list (ensure you click `buy' for it to register). To remove a selection click `buy' again. Once your initial team is entered you can make changes to your team as many as time as you want before the deadline to take account of pre season injuries or indecision. Ensure you select 7 players by clicking the `pick' box for your selection to be accepted.

vii    Once the deadline is reached your team is then live and any changes will require a transfer.

3     Weekly Team Pick

i       Your initial squad of strikers will be placed into a slot no 1 to 12 on entry, those not picked (no pick box ticked) will be initially placed on the subs bench until you amend that.

ii       Each week you have the option (by the deadline set in the diary) of choosing your 7 players to play for you that week, with other 5 taking no part (i.e. if any of them score it will not count). This will enable you to `rest' those suspended, with a short term injury, out of form or dropped/rotated from their team. You must choose a minimum of 1 of your under £1m players in your team of 7. It is vital you save changes otherwise it will not register on the website. If you try to save an invalid team the website will provide an error explaining why it has not been accepted.

iii      If you do not change your team from one week to the next the 7 selected from last week will play again for you.

iv      You can amend your team picks as many times as you like each week upto the deadline set. A team selection log will be available so you can check yours and any other changes made that week.

v       If you are away on holiday for a few weeks or have no access to the internet over say Xmas and Easter you can contact the administrator at any time to enter your team changes for that period.

vi      If you make your team picks after the weekly deadline the website will add the changes for next weekend (for example the deadline for week 20 is Saturday 11am, you enter changes Saturday 1.30pm but it will add the changes for week 21). Therefore you should keep a close eye on the deadline each week it will change based on the timing of the first game of that set of fixtures. Make sure you know which week you are selecting your team for. Weekly deadlines may be changed at short notice depending on fixture changes to give you the maximum length of time to make your weekly selections.     

4      Transfers

i       You can change your defence or goalkeeper a maximum of 4 times and / or your strikers to a maximum of 12 times. Loans have been removed for 08/09.

ii      Transfers are on a first come first served basis via the Manage, Selections and Picks screen on the website. These will be validated immediately for accuracy by the website. They will immediately appear on the transfer log in chronological order. Your team will be updated instantly.

iii     The transfer window has been reinstated for 2008/09 and will normally apply as 7pm on a Friday (if there is a Friday match) otherwise 11am Saturday. For all other weeks such as counting Midweek/Xmas/Easter individual deadlines will be set when the fixtures are known. All deadlines will be available within the Diary. The teams will be accessible on the site at all times. The quick list is available for you to check all teams and may be printed out for use over the weekend. This will kept up-to-date at all times.

iv      No future transfer planning is acceptable. For e.g drop `Player A' for `Player B' and revert back to him next week. All transfers must relate to the next weekend. This stops you trying to ensure your player/team is not sold out as all competitors must have an equal chance of purchasing said player/team.  

v       Please ensure all transfers are correct before entering on the site as these cannot be changed without the use of further transfers to rectify the mistake. The option of amending before the next of games has now been removed.  

vi      If you make your transfer after the weekly deadline the website will add the changes for next weekend (i.e the deadline for week 20 for example is Saturday 11am, you enter changes Saturday 1.30pm and it will add the changes for week 21).      

5      New Year Sale

i       On Jan 1st there will be a half price sale (any player/team that does not divide exactly by two will be round up e.g £1.5m to £0.8m).

ii      All players/teams not selected at this point will have their price reduced. It will allow you to pick up a bargain and also bring some extra players into the under £1m category.

iii     Any player valued at £0.3m or less and not selected will be available on a FREE transfer. Transfers will be accepted right up until 8am New Years Day at full price when the sale prices will be instantly set. Please note the following teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man U will not be included the sale.

6      Scoring

i       Scoring works as follows, if one of your strikers scores 2 goals and another striker 1 goal in the selected period (usually Fri to Mon) your team scores 3 goals. Your goalkeeper concedes 1 goal and your defence 0, your team concedes 1 goal. Therefore, you win 3-1.

ii       If your goalkeeper or defence team (club) does not play you concede 1 goal (per team). The 4 or more players missing, receive a goal has been removed for 08/09 as you are expected to compensate this with your squad of players.

iii      Please note all scores/scorers will be taken from an amalgamation of Sky Sports, BBC website and Sunday Mirror. Any disputes go to the committee.

iv      Only matches played on a Friday to Monday count unless stated in the list of fixtures (except Christmas when there will be 2 games over that period). Midweek games only count if both Premiership and Championship have fixtures scheduled.  

v       Any League, FA Cup and League Cup (usually just the final) games falling within the period count. Extra time in cup games does not count. Any other football competition is excluded. Any game moved from one active week to another will count towards the period the game is played in.

vi      Any week were a team has no fixture (either postponed or no game) then any game played after that and before the next set of fixtures will count towards the previous weekend/set of games. This will more likely than not relate to fixtures Tuesday or Wednesday after the previous weekend but may cover other days. Otherwise the normal rules apply in ii above.

vii     Abandoned games count as if the match was completed. (i.e. the match is abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch after 60 mins at 2-1, the score will count).

7      Points

Awarded as follows:

i       3 points for a win

ii      1 point for a draw

iii     0 points for a defeat

iv     1 bonus pt awarded every time your strikers score 5 goals in a weekend (or relevant period). Additional bonus removed for 08/09.

v      1 bonus point every time your goalkeeper and defence keeps a clean sheet (both in the same weekend).

vi      Deduction of 1 point if your goalkeeper and defence concedes a total of 5 goals or more in a weekend.

vii     Positions in the league are determined first by points, then goal difference, then goals scored.

viii    League tables will be updated and checked by Paul Keech and Russ Farnham logged on the website at the earliest opportunity (usually Tuesday evening). The weekly report will also be available as a news item on the front page.

8      Prizes

i       There will be a monthly prize (with April/May merged) for those finishing 1st and 2nd in the monthly tables (amount depends on the number of entries and number of weeks in the month). The list of prizes will be available for your perusal on the website before the start of the season. These would only change if someone drops out or does not pay up by the deadline set. It is intended that you win at least your money back if you win the top monthly or a cup competition.

ii      There will be a prize for the competitor whose team is the top scorer each month.

iii     At the end of the season, prizes will go to all players in the top half of the league. The amount again depends on the number of entries and therefore the total pot of money available. The overall winner will also win the MLW Champions trophy.

iv     The winner and finalist of each cup competition will receive a cash prize. The winner as a minimum will cover their costs for the season (depending on the size of the total pot). The winner of the FA Cup and League Cup will also receive a trophy.

9     Entrants

i      Fees will be £45 for the season and will include all competitions. Monies paid will be shown on the website (login first).

ii     Cheques should be made payable to Paul Keech and sent to 11 Hill View Close, Oldham, Lancs, OL1 4JB.

iii    You can pay it all up front or pay over 3 months. £15 deposit is required by the end of Aug. A further £15 should be sent by the end of Sept and the final payment by the end of Oct. Any monies outstanding by 15th November and the committee have the right to remove you from the competition (no monies will be refunded). If you are paying over 3 months it would be my preferred option that you send 3 post-dated cheques to cover the season.

iv     £10 will be deducted for postage costs from the total pot, £3 per entry will be deducted for website administration costs.

v      The season will run from the first full week of fixtures (Premier League and Championship - `16th/17th August 08') and will complete on the final full week of fixtures (`2nd/3rd May 2009'). All weekends will count (except for International weekends). Any full set of fixtures midweek will also count. Christmas will have 2 sets of games included. Dates may be changed subject to games on Sky TV. Weeks to count to be shown within the diary on the website. Weekly deadlines may be changed at short notice based on the first scheduled game of the weekly period.

vi     All entries must have a team name.

vii    All contact details must be provided on the entry form (address and telephone numbers).

viii   All entries must be received by 7PM, `8th August 08' . No late entries will be accepted, except in extenuating circumstances as agreed by the committee. These competitors would only be allowed to pick from the available player/teams.

10    Website 

i        If the website is unavailable due to unforeseen technical issues and squad changes/transfers cannot be made then that is just unfortunate. You are therefore advised to make to make your transfers/squad changes in good time and not leave it until the last minute before the deadline.

ii       Reasonable notice (7 days minimum) will be given of any downtime for upgrades.

iii      For weekly deadlines, the current exact date/times given by the website are final (not your watch or computer).

11    Adjudication of Rules 

i       Any rule queries/grievances/discrepancies will be adjudicated by the committee (Paul Keech, Russ Farnham, Paul Gerrard, Tim Owen and Graham Highton). Their decision is final. The committee have the right to amend rules during the season if an issue is raised to warrant it.