At the launch of the Meath Chronicle / Meath & District League Weekly Forecast championship for the 2010/2011 season (from left) were: back - David Doyle (Kentstown Rovers), Justin Burke (Oldcastle Utd), Patrick Matthews (Kells / Blackwater); front - FAI chief executive John Delaney, Meath Chron

Chronicle team finalised for new MDL season

Published: Wed 7 Jul 2010, 4:45 PM

The Meath Chronicle in conjunction with the Meath & District League announced their team for the new €500 Weekly Forecast competition which will be a feature of our coverage of the local soccer season for 2010 / 2011. The team was finalised at last week's MDL annual awards night and will kick-off for fixtures scheduled during the weekend of Sunday 5th September next. Originally, four members were sought for the team of forecasters when the competition details were circulated at the MDL annual meeting at the beginning of June, but due to a big demand for places, the number has been increased to six. The members of the team are: David Doyle (Kentstown Rovers), Alan McKeown (Duleek), Justin Burke (Oldcastle Utd), Patrick Matthews (Kells / Blackwater), Pascal O'Reilly (Navan Town) and David Buckley (Knightsbrook). Last season the Meath Chronicle introduced a weekly forecast on the all the MDL games and they were compiled by either Conall Collier or Jimmy Geoghegan. The response from club officials and players to our predictions, which also appear on www.meathchronicle.ie/sport prompted the concept of a competition. The winner will receive a €500 voucher towards his club's affiliation fees for the following season. The voucher will be presented at the 2011 awards night. During the season, each person will complete the weekly forecast once every six weeks, in a style similar to this season. The Meath Chronicle will also suggest a verdict for each game, but only the club representatives will be eligible for the prize. The league table will be published weekly after the first series of forecasts. The season shall be for 30 weeks from 5th September - 12th December and from 23rd January - 1st May which will facilitate five forecasts for each participant. The top person at the end of the season (excluding the Chroncile panel) will win a €500 voucher to be used by their club to offset 2011/2012 affiliation fees. Each week 15-20 games will be in the forecast, the best 10 results will be used each week. Everyone shall start with 100 points, each correct forecast shall be worth three points, each incorrect forecast shall lose one point. The winner shall be the one with most points at the end of the competition.