GROUP B- The most difficult of the 8 groups to call, but I might add, not the deepest. There are groups that will be more competitive because the talent of the teams are better, but I'm seriously contemplating copping out and giving all the teams a 25% chance of finishing 1st, 25% of 2nd...etc. Anyone can win and that means anyone's championship hopes can be dashed early by finishing 3rd or 4th. The winner of this group will be the team who will surprise us with something we haven't seen yet.
Barad Dur- The team with the biggest budget of the group, which by default means they are going to be the favorites, but way too many question marks to put strong faith as the favorites. If they don't get 1st, there will probably be some loud grumblings from Mordor fans, but if they are eliminated from group play you can bet all of Barad-dur will be unleashed in rage. The upside is they can score, in the group only Breeland had a better goal percentage, and that's not a bad thing to say. And while their friendly schedule wasn't all that challenging, it was tougher than their fellows from across the plain. They beat Bree, but this is a whole new game, whole new monster, don't be surprised with a different result. The biggest concern with Barad Dur is which team is going to show up? Because they really have the talent to make a long run in the playoffs, but also be a terrible flop and finish 4th.
*Top phantasy scorer(s)- **FW- Sauron (17)
Barrow Downs- After the exhibitions they are quickly rising in popularity and may be picked the favorites by more than a few loners in the football world. It's hard to find a weakness in their overall solid statistics during, especially with Eomerwarg stopping the shots he has been after the bad first game. I will say my primary concern with the Barrow Downs is the giant slayer syndrome. They seem to play more to the level of their competition, and not the best of their ability each and every game. That is, they get fired up to beat the giants (such as Gondolin and Numenor) but then play down to Rohan and Gorgoroth. This is not to knock Rohan and Gorgoroth, but if the Downs can beat the giants, they should have beaten Rohan and Gorgoroth. So the draws with those two are a little concerning. With that said, it's hard to discount the stats, they have a better chance than the rest of taking one of the top 2 spots.
*Top phantasy scorer(s)- GK- Eomerwarg (16)
Breeland- The defense will be their un-doing, plain as that. The 30 shots on target was far more than any of the other goalies in the group had to face, and OMW's percentage is nothing to brag about. You can't count them completely out, because of Bombadil. However, you also have to put less faith in their chance to advance...because of Bombadil. This is a group where every game will be of dire importance to win. To most players that is enough to get them to play their best every game, but not Bombadil. A pity, because he is a fabulous player to watch, and Bree fans love him for it, but there will be lots of moments where Bombadil will simply not play, and Bree can't afford it when he does.
*Top phantasy scorer(s)- *FW- Bombadil (17)
Gorgoroth- This is a difficult team to firm a solid conclusion about, because they went undefeated in the friendlies, yet their statistics are pretty mediocre. Their 6 goals were the fewest of the group, and they also created the fewest chances. Now, defensively they allowed the fewest shots on target, but the amount of cards they pick up is going to be a problem. Plus it seems like when playing skilled FWs, Shelob isn't as dominant as she might think she is, giving up 2 goals to Dale in their last match. And Shelob will be up against stronger FWs when facing the teams in their group. While able to get goals themselves, they aren't going to be able to outscore a Barad-dur team on it's full game, let alone Breeland. If one Barad Dur doesn't make it out, can you imagine the chaos in Mordor if neither of their teams make it!
*Top phantasy scorer(s)- GK- Shelob (16)
Predicted Group Standings:
1. Barad Dur
2. Barrow Downs
3. Breeland
4. Gorgorth
(Haha, alphabetical order)