APL 2012/13 Rules and Information

[CrowsFan]

Hello all, and welcome to the 2012/13 season of the APL fantasy game. Below you will find information about the game as well as the rules of the competition that you need to follow. Firstly, what is this game? This is a game that will be contested between 8 teams. The basic overview is each team will draft together a group of 15 soccer players currently plying their trade in the English Premier League. These teams will then compete against each other each week of the premier league season to determine who has the best team.

Competition Set Up
For the first time in APL history there will be 2 trophies up for grabs this year. There is as always the traditional league champion, and for the first time there will also be a knockout cup competition. Below is further information about how each competition will run.

• The League
The league will consist of 28 matches, split in to 4 rounds. Followed by 3 rounds of finals for the top 4 qualifiers. During the 28 matches each team will play each other 4 times, twice at their home venue and twice away from home. At the end of these 28 rounds the teams in the top 4 positions qualify for the finals. In the first week of finals the teams that finished first and second play against each other, and the third and fourth teams play against each other. The winner of 1 vs 2 goes directly in to the grand final, and the loser goes in to the second round of finals where they will play the winner of the 3 vs 4 match. The winner of this match will then proceed to the grand final where they will meet the winner of the original 1 vs 2 match. These 2 teams then play in the final week to determine who is the league champion.

• The Cup
The cup will be run over 3 rounds. Each round consists of 2 matches, a home match and an away match.  The winner over these 2 legs will progress to the next round. If both teams win 1 match each in a round then the team who has scored most over the 2 legs will progress, if this is also equal the team who is currently higher in the league table will progress.

The dates for the league and cup matches are as follows:
Round 1 of League â€" Game weeks 2-8
Cup Quarter Finals â€" Game weeks 9 & 10
Round 2 of League â€" Game weeks 11-17
Cup Semi Finals â€" Games weeks 18 & 19
Round 3 of League â€" Game weeks 20-26
Cup Final â€" Game weeks 27 & 28
Round 4 of League â€" Game weeks 29-35
League Finals â€" Game weeks 36-38


Drafting & Squad Selection
To determine who gets what players a draft will occur. The order for this draft will be selected at random. To keep this fair the order will also be snaked so that at the end of each round the order reverses. The draft will consist of 15 rounds, with each team selecting 1 player in each round of the draft. Once each team has 15 players the draft is completed.

There are strict rules as to how you must set up your squad of 15 players, and these must be followed with no exceptions. Each squad must consist of 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards. On top of this you are allowed to have a maximum of 3 players from a single team in your squad at all times.

During the drafting phase each team has 24 hours to pick their player when it is their turn. If they have been online however then this time gets cut to 2 hours. If you don't make this deadline you are skipped and you can make your pick when next available.


Point Scoring
The system used for point scoring in this competition is the same used in the official fantasy premier league game. The exact nature of the points awarded can be found there, but basically players are awarded points for goals, assists, clean sheets and minutes played in matches.
There is however one difference and that is that the APL uses home ground advantage. When you play a game at home you will be awarded a bonus of 3 points to be added to your total score. This advantage will also be applied during the Cup matches and league finals. The only game where this bonus does not apply is in the league grand final, which will be played on neutral turf.


Team Submission
Each week you must submit your team for the upcoming round. Your team must consist of 11 starting players and 4 substitutes ordered in preference. Additional rules to the submission of the team are as follows.
•   The starting 11 must have ONLY 1 keeper named
•   The starting 11 must have AT LEAST 3 defenders named
•   The starting 11 must have AT LEAST 1 forward named
•   The bench must be named in order of your preferred replacements, starting with your reserve keeper, and followed by the remaining 3 players.
If a player does not play in a match, then he will be replaced by your first named player on the bench, followed by the second and third. You must also name a captain and a vice captain each week. The captain receives double points, whilst the vice captain will receive the double points if the captain does not play.

The submission of the team sheet must be completed the day before the round starts, AND in the appropriate team thread. There will be some game weeks where you will be granted extra time to submit the team and you will be given advanced notice of these rounds. Any team that has not submitted a team sheet will be given the same team as the previous week. If this is a continued occurrence you will be SACKED and a replacement will be found.


Player Trading
There are 2 types of trades you can make in this game. Trades with other teams, or trades with free agents who have not been selected in a team yet. There are however restrictions on trades you are allowed to make.

•   Once the draft is complete, but before the season starts you are allowed UNLIMITED trades. These must be kept in accordance to the squad restrictions however.
•   Once the competition is underway you are allowed a maximum of 2 trades per week, resulting in a maximum of 6 player moves per week, as explained below.
       o   If you trade for a free agent this counts as 1 trade per player picked up, and so you can do a maximum of 2 free agent trades a week.
       o   If you trade with another team you are allowed to trade more players in each trade. In each trade you can trade a max of 3 players each, and this will only count as 1 of your allotted 2 trades for the week.

Trades must be completed 2 days before the start of each round. Any trade made after this deadline wont count for the upcoming week, but will count for the week after. Trades are final and not reversible!



I believe that covers everything of importance. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask :)

[Spinking]

Very nice write up CF.  Very clear and easy to follow.  Now to start player research  ;)

[Vicious Sandwhich Attack]

This sounds great. I'll have a slice of this pie!

[CrowsFan]

Too late sorry. Teams are sorted

[KoopKicka]

So CF, since I picked Modric the spud, our squad will have 14 players. Can I swap him with a free agent after the draft is done even if he has left?

[CrowsFan]

Yeah once the draft is over you can do whatever you like to your squad ;)

[Spinking]

What happens if two teams both want the same free agent.. Sorry, just speculating...

[KoopKicka]

Yeah once the draft is over you can do whatever you like to your squad ;)

Cheers CF :D

[CrowsFan]

What happens if two teams both want the same free agent.. Sorry, just speculating...

Who ever brings him in first gets him

[Vicious Sandwhich Attack]

Yeah, saw that after I posted. Bugger!

[Andy3737]

Thats one rule ive always hated. Whoever gets the news first of a big signing gets the player