Dear All,

Welcome to Belfast and the live draw for the first round proper of the DIVING IN THE BOX FFA CUP which will take place this weekend, with the results to be announced after the Chelsea match on Monday night.  

This year, I will once again be ably assisted by independent adjudicator Brother ‘Andy Gray’ Johnston (Minus Three FC).

Brother Johnston will draw the home teams while my good self will draw the away teams.
This year's prize will be £50 for the winner as well as the coveted FFA Cup trophy, currently held by two-time (as opposed to two timing!) cup champion Brother McNally (Maclacticos).   
Runner-up gets zilch, diddly squat, sweet FA, BFH... bus fare home, nothing in this game for two in a bed... etc, etc, etc.
Anyway, to repeat the rules...
The first round of our very own FFA Cup randomly pits one team directly against another in a knock-out situation.
Our 16 winners will progress to the second round and so on, with future rounds coinciding with that of the English FA Cup - right up until the final.
The winner of each match will be the team that scores the most points in that particular week.
In the event of a draw, there will be a replay between the teams concerned the following week. If, in the unlikely event, of another draw, then the team with home advantage will go through.
We have 20 Premier League teams in the hat, alongside 12 Conference League teams so will we witness any giant killing feats?
Will there be any close friends or allies pitted against each other in the first round?
Will teams sacrifice their league position for the chance of FFA Cup glory?

There's only one way to find out...


Brother Johnston, can you please take your bag and balls out so we can start the draw....................


Cool Dude Zoo, can you hit play on your laptop and start the drum loop....................


Before we kick off, every team's league position is in brackets beside their name (for example, P8 means eighth in the Premier League, while C5 means a crappy battery powered car designed by Sir Clive Sinclair - I hope I draw that one!!!).



And we're off. Just scroll down.....







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Gulladuff FF (P20)  vs  The Busted Sofas (P17)
And we kick off with a bottom of the Premiership clash which will no doubt please both managers.




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Vuvuzola FC (P3) vs True Blue Strikers (P10)
Another all Premiership tie between two Chelsea daggers. 




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The Grapes of Raff (P5) vs Golden Generation (P1)
Ouch!!!!  Tie of the round already as two big hitters go head to head.  Defending league champion versus current league leader.



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Fullofthepipe (C13) vs Diaby Does Dallas(P6)
Our first Conference v Premiership clash gives Henry Snr a chance to pull off a giant killing feat at home to high flying Brother Brogan.  Better chance of pulling off a giant full stop!




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KFC Academical (P16) vs FlexysMidniteRunners (P8)
Having dug himself out of the relegation battle, KFC takes on Brother Kelly in another all Premiership clash.
 


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The Rio Chargers (C1) vs Bleedin Red (P13)
Brother Crudden won’t fancy this away trip to the Conference leader – always a tricky fixture for any Premiership team.  Potential banana skin.



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The Blue Monkeys (P19) vs Dirty Dubs XI (C11)
Normally this would be a home banker for the Premier League team but with Brother Shields now languishing in the relegation zone, things could get a lot worse if Brother McCabe#2 can heap some Conference crap on him!!!!!!


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Gunning For Glory (C5) vs Gazza’s Piping Hots (P9)
Brother McDonald will fancy his chances away to Brother Jones in another Premiership v Conference clash.


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Minibabybelle FC (C11) vs Minus Three FC (P12)
You couldn’t have scripted it!!!  Brother Johnston gets the draw that he dreaded... against Sister McCabe!!!  Another contender for tie of the round in this battle of the sexes (or should that be sexists!).




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Probably the Best (P7)  vs Torres & Co (C16)
Two Liverpool fans but one of them might want to change that team name!!!





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Cherry Utd (C4) vs Hoof Hearted Utd (C18)
Our first all Conference clash.  Enough said really.


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Mattrua (C3) vs Inshallah (C8)
And just like buses another one comes along – at least we’ll definitely have two Conference teams in the last 16!



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Wallsy’s Warriors (P15) vs Maclacticos (P11)
Although both sides are in the Premiership, Brother McNally will fancy his chances as he defends his cup against the hapless former guru Brother Walls.




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Prince of Darkness (P4)  vs  Sofa King Watt (P14)
A local derby as the high flying Prince takes on the underperforming McDermott in another all Premier tie.




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Yer Ma’s Athletic (P18) vs The Well Hungarians (C14)
Brother Nugent will fancy his chances of a cup upset against relegation threatened Jones.




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Jittery Dynamos (C14) vs Harpic Amsterdam (P2) 
No need for the jitters as Cherry Jnr will be under no pressure against highly fancied Brother Molloy.  Possibly the biggest upset of the round? 



So that concludes the draw for the first round proper of the Diving in the Box FFA Cup. Ties to be played on the weekend of January 12 -14 (including Monday night's match).

There you have it folks! The countdown is on again to FFA Cup glory. Anyone can win a one-off game and the magic of the cup should ensure that we have plenty of thrills and spills at the end of the month. 
Thanks to Brother Johnston for his assistance.  Good luck to one and all. 
This week's league tables are posted below so..........
............ READ 'EM AND WEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael R.

Diving in the Box FF League Chairman

http://divinginthebox.blogspot.com/ 

 

DITB PREMIER LEAGUE

POS	Manager	Team name	Total points	Week pts	Starting XI pts	Starting XI pos	Goals	Goal Pos	Overall Position
1	Kurt Festraerts	Golden Generation	1105	74	838	28563	72	2692	1987
2	Mark Molloy	Harpic Amsterdam	1080	61	839	28118	62	26962	5117
3	Philip Risley	VUVUZOLA FC	1039	68	822	37016	63	22586	17331
4	Gavin Sheehy	prince of darkness	1034	91	876	13978	62	26962	19587
5	Michael Rafferty	The Grapes of Raff	1032	69	722	115733	60	37341	20506
6	Paul Brogan	Diaby Does Dallas	1016	60	720	117433	62	26962	29004
7	Mark Stevenson	Probably the Best	1012	54	833	31108	52	95283	31403
8	Brendan Kelly	FlexysMidniteRunners	997	73	698	136571	52	95283	41594
9	Gary McDonald	Gazza's Piping Hots	996	71	774	70621	54	79194	42351
10	Jules Eilledge	True Blue Strikers	972	73	844	25742	58	49607	61335
11	Owen McNally	Maclacticos	968	42	767	76450	52	95283	64790
12	Geoff Johnston	Minus Three FC	958	63	575	206925	47	135748	73498
13	Declan Crudden	Bleedin Red	935	85	679	152080	51	103505	94305
14	John McDermott	Sofa King Watt	932	72	618	190899	53	87012	96998
15	Conor Walls	Wallsy's Warriors	919	80	806	46756	49	119870	108652
16	Kevin McCauley	KFC Academical	883	82	648	174099	50	111798	138106
17	Conor Donnelly	The Busted Sofas	881	63	687	145673	48	127804	139595
18	Francis Jones	Yer Ma's Athletic	876	77	790	58095	47	135748	143179
19	Brian Shields	The Blue Monkeys	874	56	749	91589	53	87012	144620
20	Brendan Henry	Gulladuff FF	866	65	646	175357	43	164152	150163

 

 

DITB CONFERENCE LEAGUE

POS	Manager	Team name	Total points	Week pts	Starting XI pts	Starting XI pos	Goals	Goal Pos	Overall Position
1	Andrew Jenkins	The Rio Chargers	1082	87	846	24817	68	7903	4773
2	Andy Kirby	Kirbs Crawlers	1065	103	812	43015	70	4762	8336
3	Gavin Curran	Mattrua	1006	58	571	208032	64	18793	35308
4	William Cherry	Cherry United	994	76	803	48858	57	56404	43844
5	Barry Corr	bazkinginglory	963	56	834	30571	53	87012	69103
5	Barry Jones	Gunning for Glory	963	100	721	116553	57	56404	69103
7	Simon Jenkins	Stickshifter United	961	87	941	2912	51	103505	70850
8	Arnold Thom	Inshallah	960	90	649	173449	56	63713	71759
9	Austin McGinley	Boys of Summer	951	47	671	158156	56	63713	79708
10	Andrew McCabe	Joeys Monsters	937	67	864	17779	56	63713	92497
11	Claire McCabe	MiniBabyBelleFC	933	52	838	28563	40	181995	96079
11	Alan McCabe	Dirty Dubs XI	933	63	628	185838	37	196612	96079
13	Brendan Henry	Fullofthepipe	922	62	745	95200	51	103505	105898
14	Conor Nugent	the well hungarians	907	89	762	80593	53	87012	118906
14	Christopher Cherry	Jittery Dynamos	907	56	762	80593	69	6193	118906
16	Joseph O'Sullivan	TORRES and co	892	57	681	150495	51	103505	131109
17	Joseph O'Sullivan	COOL DUDE ZOO	890	43	553	212237	53	87012	132700
18	Gareth Bradley	Hoof Hearted UTD	875	43	572	207781	44	157429	143920
19	Simon O'sullivan	HaHa Barca wankasFAF	855	79	720	117433	44	157429	157428
20	Conor Mcavoy	Real Goldfish	685	81	685	147296	41	176411	217806