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Originally Posted by the phantom
GROUP A
FORNOST
MICHAEL DELVING
RIVENDELL (H)
ROMENA
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Going back to the beginning, let's take a look at Group A. Personally, I'm rooting for Fornost out of this group (Formen=north, after all, and Fornost=north city, basically). Unfortunately for my inclinations, however, Fornost doesn't look make the next round of playoffs. Sure, the luckless Arvedui was traded to Annúminas, but he was the biggest name they had. Really, for all the family cameraderie on the team, and some impressive pedigrees in track and field department, they just don't make the cut, I'm afraid.
Michel Delving, on the other hand (though not actually named
Michael Delving, alas), has a very strong looking team. They've put together some of the best up and coming players in the league--and for half the price they deserve! These "halflings" really are known less than half as well as I should like, and liked less than half of them deserve. My personal has to be the Bullroarer--also an avid golfer, I'm told--but the acquisition of Sam Gamgee, Pippin Took, and Merry Brandybuck is a huge coup for the management.
Rivendell and Rómena will give them a run for their money, I'm sure, and I would not be surprised at all if Rivendell took the cup. Of the two, Rivendell looks to play stronger. Rivendell has one of the best teams in the league, if not THE best team. It's practically a rundown of the most prominent names in the book: Elrond, Gandalf, Aragorn, Glorfindel, Boromir 2.0. Never mind the physical prowess of this team, the combined experience of the players is astounding. If it has a weakness, however, Rivendell's team favours defencive plays, sitting around the goal waiting for the enemy to strike. With players like Aragorn and Boromir, this is simply sloppy. Still, if any team is going to anticipate the kind of "fool's hope" tactics that Michel Delving is renowned for (just look back at the Orodruin series against Sauron in Mordor!), it's Team Rivendell.
Rómena, alas, is overshadowed in this group by Michel Delving and Rivendell, and will probably suffer for that. It's a pity, because there are a lot of classy players here that deserve to go far. Elendil and Isildur are probably best known on the team, though in Isildur's case this is not a good thing, since it's mostly due to fumbling that play against Sauron, setting back his team's fortunes by an age or more. Still, he's the sort of player who can make things happen. It's been mostly forgotten in past years, but he stole the game against Armenelos with the whole White Tree episode, and Ar-Pharazôn likely hasn't forgiven him that one yet.
This is really a tough grouping to predict, but if we're playing for money, I'll put mine on Michel Delving to upset Rivendell for top spot. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the great.