1st – Karl (0.965)
2nd – Steve (0.947)
3rd – Tom (0.935)
4th – Colin (0.932)
5th – Carmine (0.904)

When you update the table positions you realise how little the teams move month on month but they still make a big difference. Big gains this month for Steve & Carmine, with Tom slipping and Murph dropping out of the Top 5.

Special mention must go to Mark whose score of 0.011 is as near to perfectly inaccurate as you can get! That’ll teach him to discriminate against the south.

There’s not long to go now – just 11 games left for that £20 Cambridge United Club Shop Voucher prize to be won or lost…

The Premiership Position Predictor 09-10 Rolling Score Chart has been updated and the changes are notable.

Before ‘Swap January’ the running order was: Karl, Steve, Colin, Tom, Carmine.

Now…now it’s all change and incredibly close:

1st – Tom (0.940)
2nd – Karl (0.938)
3rd – Murph (0.931)
4th – Colin (0.919)
5th – Steve (0.908)

When you consider that it’s based on a correlation so getting it perfect will give a score of 1 – aren’t we doing well!

Still up to 14 games to go for some teams yet this season so there’s plenty of time for these scores to change. Who will win the £20 Cambridge United Club Shop voucher? All very exciting. Or something.

Which makes it all the more astonishing that Birt & Tang’s Blueberry Herbal Tea is so breathtakingly nasty. What do they do to make the wonderfully sweet & delicate flavour of the blueberry disappear to the extent that it becomes utter skank?

If ever you’re tempted, as I was, just don’t…

(I must stress that other Birt & Tang’s herbal teas may be very nice, but I personally don’t know because I’ve never got past this one…)

The scores in the Premiership Position Predictor 2009-10 at this point are:

1st – Karl (0.890)
2nd -  Steve (0.845)
3rd – Colin (0.836)
4th – Tom (0.830)
5th – Carmine (0.794)
6th – Laura (0.770)
7th – Gay (0.746)
8th – Alex (0.741)
9th – Murph (0.723)
10th – Hannah (0.281)
11th – Louise (0.089)
12th – Mark (0.045)

So (nearly) all very close and with much to play for…especially as tomorrow sees the start of “Swap January”!

“Swap January”? It’s all very simple.

Take a look at the Premiership Position Predictor 09-10 Rolling Score Chart and look for teams you misjudged. You might have been caught out by Tottenham & Birmingham’s great positions or by Liverpool & West Ham’s struggles – now’s your chance to put it right.

You have until January 31st to e-mail me or leave a comment below stating which two team positions you’d like to swap. I’ll then swap them and the new prediction will stand until the end of the season. You can only swap 2 teams and once you’ve swapped you can’t swap back!

To clarify, if you originally predicted that Portsmouth would finish mid-table, say 11th, and Sunderland would end up in 19th place you can swap them and your new prediction will be for Sunderland to finish 11th and Portsmouth 20th. All other positions will stay the same.

You may think it’s not much but Murph won last time largely because of a clever swap in January – it can make all the difference.

Take your time (I swapped on January 3rd last time and regretted it!) as you’ve got until the 31st January, and good luck in “Swap January”!

PS: Any questions about “Swap January” – just ask!

From the bottom…

15. Permission To Land by The Darkness (2003)

This sneaks in for two reasons: because 15 is a better number for a ‘top albums’ list than 14 and because it makes me smile. “Get Your Hands Off My Woman”, “Growing on Me”, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and “Love Is Only a Feeling” are all great songs and if this album’s here because they’re propping the rest up then so be it!

14. Aerial by Kate Bush (2005)

I confess that this is an album I listen to when I want to listen to something that I don’t have to listen to. Much of it is beautiful and yet much of it fades before pushing itself into your consciousness. As such then, an album that’s good to do paperwork to but which also keeps offering little joys if you listen properly.

13. We Love Life by Pulp (2001)

We Love Life was a bit of a flop and ended up being Pulp’s last album but there are some great songs on here and emotionally it hangs together really well. Scott Walker’s production is great and Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics seem to be more personal (as with This Is Hardcore) than just naff social commentary.

12. Since I Left You by The Avalanches (2000)

Consisting of over 3500 samples Since I Left You is a reminder that sampling can be great and a joy to listen to again and again. In addition, it was also pointed out by a good friend of mine that at exactly an hour long (with no breaks) it’s a great album to do household jobs to!

11. Anoraknophobia by Marillion (2001)

Anoraknophobia was a return to form following Marillion’s late-90s output. Personally, there are songs here that particularly resonate: Quartz could have been written for a particular professional relationship I was enduring at the time, and setting off on a tour of the world listening to Map Of The World was goose bump inducing.

10. Through The Windowpane by Guillemots (2006)

I listen to Made-Up Lovesong #43 and Trains To Brazil a lot, but there’s also Little Bear and the beautiful If The World Ends here to savour. Like Aeriel above it’s not an album I listen to a lot in its entirety as it’s one for quiet times but when I do it’s a pleasure. This decade’s Graceland then…

9. Inside In Inside Out by The Kooks (2006)

Hmmm… I’m not sure what to say about this one. It’s just a lot of fun and I’m constantly surprised that the songs I like on here keep going right to end of the album! One for the car and for singing along to – if Through The Windowpane is this decade’s Graceland this is Kick. Moving on…

8. Alright Still by Lily Allen (2006)

I love Lily Allen. She writes great songs with great lyrics and is fun with a barbed edge. Alright Still is also about as close to Ska as I can bear to get! Another one for singing along to in the car. Alright Still was a soundtrack to our holiday in Hungary and, for me, ushered in 2007 as Year of the Horn.

7. Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac (2003)

This came out whilst I was in the process of leaving Seychelles and led to my first ever live gig (aged 29 – I know!) watching the Mac in Los Angeles-not a bad place to start! It’s a bit long at 18 songs and I tend to skip some of the Stevie tracks but there is much magic here and several songs that are still very special to me.

6. 1 2 3 4 by The Jeevas (2002)

I bet this doesn’t appear on many of these lists but music is personal and I love this. The opening track rips off (and betters?) Bowie and there are, in true Crispian Mills style, plenty of bits nicked from elsewhere. Nevertheless it’s a stripped down, sing-a-long sound that still makes me want to join a band.

5. Rudebox by Robbie Williams (2006)

My Top 5 could be in a different order each day depending on my mood but today Robbie comes 5th. Rudebox is the best thing he’s done since (including?) I’ve Been Expecting You. It’s Robbie doing pop music rather than poetry-to-music and there’s so much of him in here. Plus, The 80s and The 90s are beautiful.

4. Yoshimi Battle The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips (2002)

Controversy! The album that includes Do You Realize?? only coming 4th! Another day though… ‘Yoshimi’ is an album that musically and lyrically can drive me to tears with its beauty. It’s difficult for me to explain how much I love this album. Just listen to it (and skip Track 4 if you must. I don’t but…)

3. Happiness Is The Road – Volume 1 : Essence by Marillion (2008)

‘Yoshimi’ has Do You Realize?? and Happiness Is The Road has the title track. It also has 9 other songs that like Innuendo & Out Of The Cradle 20 years earlier dragged my out of a pit of despair with a message of hope. “The greatest blessing that we have is the dawn of each new day.” Thank you Marillion.

2. Twelve Stops And Home by The Feeling (2006)

Nestled between albums full of deep emotional meaning comes The Feeling’s debut album. There is emotion here but it’s the music rather then lyrics that makes me love this one. Twelve songs (plus the excellent bonus track) with each as good as the last – doesn’t happen very often. They were rather good live too.

1. Strangefolk by Kula Shaker (2007)

Eight years after Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, during which time the band split, did their own things and then re-formed with a new keyboardist, Kula Shaker popped back up with this. You can tell it follows Crispian’s stint with The Jeevas (see above) as it’s edgier and less mystical that their earlier albums, but the vibe is still all about universal love and you still know that they might like India a bit! I’ve put this first because it’s of the combination of music and lyrics. I’m a great fan of the Kula Shaker sound and this is them at their best, but lyrically too I buy into what Crispian Mills is saying. There’s social and political comment here that wasn’t seen on the earlier albums and it dovetails with how I am increasingly feeling about life, the world and everything. I’m sure people will tell me there are ‘better’ albums that have been released in the past ten years but music is subjective. To these ears and this soul Strangefolk mops up all the reasons I love music and stores them in one very enjoyable place.

And that concludes my albums of the noughties list. A quick scan of the net suggests that only one of them (Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots) is mentioned by anyone else anywhere. Ah well…  Please feel free to tell me why I’m so out of touch with the music zeitgeist in the space provided below!

The positions as they stand now are:

1st – Karl (0.845)

2nd – Steve (0.792)

3rd – Colin (0.783)

4th – Tom (0.726)

5th – Murph (0.725)

There’s a trend developing but it’s still very close and there are still a few teams (Everton? Sunderland? West Ham?) which surely won’t be where they are now come May.

Next month’s update will include details of “Swap January” so keep an eye on the two teams you wish you’d placed in opposite positions back in August.

The positions as they stand now are:

Joint 1st – Colin & Karl (0.809)

3rd – Steve (0.802)

4th – Tom (0.722)

5th – Murph (0.711)

So a small group of three forming at the very top, making “Swap January” even more important for the following pack – more details on that during November’s update.

Interesting to note that Laura, who based “her” predictions on last season’s average attendances in now in 4th place!

Those positions then…

1st – Steve (0.824)

2nd – Colin (0.818)

3rd – Karl (0.806)

4th – Laura (0.752)

5th – Tom (0.750)

I’ll update it again in a couple of weeks.

Personally I wish I’d predicted Chelsea to win rather than Arsenal but it’s too late now…I’ll have to see if a swap will pay off during “Swap January”, as I’ve just decided it will be called.

I’ve updated the spreadsheet completely so it now shows the actual league positions and the scoring in this competition.

Here it is : Premiership Position Predictor 09-10 Rolling Score Chart

It’ll be updated as and when I get around to it, but at least once a month.

A word about the scoring…
The scores are calculated by means of a mathematical correlation between your prediction and the actual positions.
If your predictions match perfectly your score will be 1.
If your prediction is completely wrong your score will be -1.
Therefore, the nearer to 1 you are the better you’re doing.

This means that the current Top Five are :

1st – Colin (0.764)

2nd – Karl (0.744)

3rd – Murph (0.738)

4th – Steve (0.734)

5th – Gay (0.678)

Well Done Colin!

Thanks again for entering, and keep checking out those scores!

The rules remain the same – predict the final positions of the 20 Premiership teams.

The results will be updated at least once a month and will be viewable here :

The Premiership Position Predictor 2009-2010 Score Chart!

I’ve included the Guardian newspaper & BBC predictions to give you a hand but there are as many opinions on this as there are people who are interested so I’m not sure what actual help they’ll be!

All you have to do is predict the positions the 20 Premiership teams will finish in on the last day of the season in May 2010. The person closest will win some Cambridge United merchandising up to the value of £20, which you don’t have to have if you don’t want. I will understand… It goes without saying that this competition is free!

Scoring is as follows : 0 points for the exact position, 1 point for 1 place away, 2 points for 2 places away and so on… The nearer to zero you are the better you’re doing.

To enter, simply place the 20 Premiership teams below in the order you think they’ll finish next May and post them as a comment below. And that’s it for the season* – easier than Fantasy Football eh?

*There will, as with last time, be the opportunity to swap your predicted positions for 2 teams during the month of January – but more of that nearer the time.

Closing date is midnight on Sunday 31st August 2009, which allows you to see each team play a bit, should you wish to, before entering.

I’ll put my prediction in over the next couple of days to start the ball rolling – please don’t leave me playing with myself…

Good luck!

Karl

The teams this year…

Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham Blackburn Bolton Burnley Chelsea Everton Fulham Hull Liverpool Man City Man Utd Portsmouth Stoke Sunderland Tottenham West Ham Wigan Wolverhampton