Another season approaches, another fantasy begins…

No, this is not another doom and gloom forecast for Leeds United’s coming season but rather a heads-up to the return of the Championship’s official Fantasy Football League.

The sponsorship may have cheapened from TEXACO to Phones4U, but the rules are pretty much the same as ever ~ with a slight twist that this year there is greater flexibility in employing a 5-3-2, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation ~ and it remains FREE to enter!

Last year there were around 100,000 teams entered nationally, and there’s some big cash prize thing for the eventual winner (plus a pair of new goalkeeping gloves for the chosen team of the runner’s up, or some’ut). Anyone reckoning they are likely to be top of the leader’s board come the end of the season might want to eye-up those wondrous prizes on the site, but for the rest of us the league is more about good old-fashioned tribal rivalry and finding some interest in the league when our promotion bid flounders. Therefore, THE SCRATCHING SHED is once more running its league as part of the Phones4U Fantasy League competition (and don’t worry, your score in this league is also entered in the main league competition, should you perchance the ultimate top prize).

Last year we ended up as one of the top 200 leagues in the competition and did pretty well in the inter-Leeds United fans league too. There were about 40-odd teams in THE SCRATCHING SHED league and it really is a case of the more the merrier with no one refused entry and it’s free to join.

To join the league all you need to do is go to the Phones4U Fantasy Football site, register as a game user, choose a pun-heavy team name, pick a team of XI, pick a captain, and then when prompted to set up or join a league add the following PIN no. for The Scratching Shed league: 2548

And whilst you are there feel free to join TSS stalwart ‘WeAreLeeds’s league too (PIN No.1350).

Anyone not sure of the rules can find them on the official site, and I think they have ‘toptips’ and other bits’n’bobs there, or feel free to ask in the thread below. Likewise, anyone who has their own private league running on the site and are looking for more members then feel free to point other TSS readers to them by giving the league’s PIN number; afterall the more leagues you are in then the greater the chance of flukingly winning one of them!

As ever, twittering mates who maybe interested is warmly welcomed.