ISSL
So, it's a page on Facebook, which is now administrated by Andy Fake, Chris Burford and myself. The idea is that we all have an "A" team and a "B" team. Each week, we are allocated fixtures, and we play the games as a solo game. The results are then uploaded to the Facebook page and Andy Fake formulates a league table. Let's look at an example.
Division 1 :
Manchester United (My team) v Glasgow Rangers (Scott's team)
Aston Villa (Scott's team) v West Ham United (Gary's team)
Torino (Steve's team) v Ipswich Town (Ju's team)
LA Galaxy (Mathis' team) v Manchester City (Gerry's team)
Tottenham Hotspur (Chris' team) v Huddersfield Town (Andy's team)
Montreal Impact (Martin's team) v Barcelona (Mathis' team)
Eagle eyed readers will note that both Scott and Mathis have two teams in Division 1. This is because promotion has put them in this fortunate position. As I write, we are half way through Season 4.
The idea is that I play both as both Manchester United and Rangers in a solo game. Perhaps next week, Manchester United will be away against West Ham United, and Gary would play both teams. We endeavour to play each game as neutrally as possible without bias towards our own team.
There are Divisions 1 to 4. Then Division 5 is split into A and B, to accommodate as many teams as possible, but to still keep the season to 22 weeks. From season 5 onwards, we also had Seasons 6A through to 6D! There are also Conferences, for people who may be interested in finding out more, but who do not initially want to commit to a full season. The league just keeps on growing!
We also have cup competitions and Champions League competitions, involving just the "A" teams.
My "B" team is Pescara of Italy. They are currently in Division 3. My brother, Richard also has two teams. His AC Milan team are in Division 3, while his Fulham team are in Division 5A currently.
Since the ISSL started, Manchester United have won two honours. In Season 1, they won the final of the ISSL Cup, beating Aston Villa 5-2. The game was played neutrally by Chris Burford. Then in Season 3, Manchester United won Division 2 by three clear points to gain promotion.
Finally, after every even-numbered season, we have a World Cup competition. After Season 2, we replayed the 1966 World Cup Finals. My Spain team were eliminated fairly early on. As a result, I was chosen to play the Final, as a neutral. The Final finished up
England 1 Switzerland 2.
As a result, once Season 4 is over, Switzerland go into the replayed 1962 World Cup Finals in Chile, as Champions.
The World Cup played after Season 4 was played in Chile. The Final was :
Columbia 2 Uruguay 3.
If you are interested in joining the ISSL, look out for us on Facebook. It's a great way of making your home Subbuteo matches more meaningful, and a great way to make new friends.
