Welcome to PlayeDbyMail

Hello and welcome to the official season preview for the PlayeDbyMail Premier League 2020.

That's right we've brought back the forgotten pastime of play-by-mail football in an effort to alleviate the boredom and bring some meaning back to these football free weekends.

Over the next eight weekends, some of the Premier League's top clubs will be managed by a motley crew of gaffers amassed from the world of Twitter. With this in mind, let's take a look at the runners and riders of the competition.

@RossBell1984: Chelsea

Ross comes highly rated to Stamford Bridge having won another popular virtual football competition (The CM Cup in 2019). As we well know however, previous success doesn't always wash with Mr Abramovich and the Chelsea job still has that 'poisoned chalice' aura surrounding it so it will be interesting to see what Ross can do with the young Blues.

Title Odds: 3-1

@RWClarkeDesign: Sheffield United 

In the real world The Blades were the surprise package of the season and were managed by Chris Wilder, a boyhood Sheff United fan. In the virtual world, the Bramall Lane club are managed here by Rob Clarke, can he replicate United's good form in the hunt for places in the PBM Cup at the end of the season?

Title Odds: 66-1

@Paddy90s: Norwich City 

Norwich City were firmly in the mix of the Premier League title race in 1993 so it's quite fitting that 90s football expert Paddy is in charge of The Canaries for the inaugural PBM Prem. Can the scoring prowess of Teemu Pukki fire Norwich to a title charge and bring the good times back to Carrow Road?

Title Odds: 50-1

@ctrattackgame: Everton

Which Everton side will turn up for this season? Will manager Colin Webster be more of a Marco Silva or a Big Sam? As the creator of the tactics based board game Counter Attack, I'm sure he'll have a strong gameplan in mind.

Title Odds: 20-1

@_Jack_Rawlings_: Tottenham Hotspur 

What of Spurs? Will this finally be the year that the pressure pays off? Will their title challenge last longer than a few weeks? Will there finally be a trophy in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium cabinet come the end of the PBM Prem season? Only time will tell if they can back up their third favourite odds.

Title Odds: 5-1

@FollowTrawler: Newcastle United 

Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle. Where do we start with The Magpies? On paper there's a squad capable of a high finish here but it depends on several factors. Star player Miguel Almiron might prove difficult to keep hold of and will the owner allow funds to strengthen the side if needs be? Can the manager keep the fans onside or will there be angry protests outside St. James' Park come the season's end?

Title Odds: 18-1

@FootballCreatio: Manchester City

It's easy to see why the virtual bookies have installed City as favourites to win the PBM title (maybe even the double too). A squad with such depth should sweep all comers aside however can the defence cope if an injury crisis hits? Especially after the departure of talismanic club captain Vincent Kompany.

Title Odds: 11-8

@HonestFootball3: West Ham United 

Of the PBM clubs only Norwich and The Hammers have never won the English top flight title, could the virtual trophy find it's way to the London Stadium come the end of the season? While they're not expected to win the title, one or two decent results could see West Ham emerge as a dark horse. The London Stadium has claimed one or two scalps since it opened for football in 2016 and could claim another victim or two during the PBM season.

Title Odds: 33-1

So there we have it, who's your money to take the honours? Can City take the title, will Chelsea or Tottenham upset the Eastlands masses or can Sheffield United spring a surprise or two? The only place to find out is by keeping your eyes peeled right here during the season for all the action.

Just before we go, let's take a look at the opening weekend's fixtures.

Friday: Norwich City vs West Ham United

Saturday: Sheffield United vs Manchester City, Everton vs Newcastle United 

Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea 

We'll be back on Monday with all the action and reaction from the weekend. For more updates from the PBM Prem, feel free to drop me (league commissioner Dan Barker Gray) a follow on Twitter @BarkerGray2 and until next time, take care.

PlayeDbyMail 2020 Introduction

Hello and welcome to the PlayeDbyMail Premier League 2020.

For this we're going to resurrect a forgotten pastime by many football fans back in the day and don our best sheepskin coats and step straight into the dugout and onto the frontline of football management.

To allieviate the boredom during the Covid-19 induced lockdown I'm inviting eight managers to take the reins of a Premier League club and attempt to steer them to glory.

Rules

1. Each team will be allocated a number, this number will correspond to the fixture structure as demonstrated below. 

Week One: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5 

Week Two: 2 vs 1, 8 vs 3, 6 vs 4, 5 vs 7

Week Three: 3 vs 1, 5 vs 2, 4 vs 6, 7 vs 3

Week Four: 2 vs 4, 1 vs 3, 5 vs 8, 6 vs 3

Fixtures are reversed after week four. 

2. The league follows the same points system as the Premier League so there will be three points for a win and one for a draw. 

3. The team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned champions, if two teams finish the season level on points then the following tie-breakers will be brought into play. 

1. Goal difference

2. Goals scored

3. Goals conceded

4. Head-to-head record

5. Drawing of numbers 

4. All matches will be played over the next eight weekends, all managers will have until 5pm the day before their respective fixtures to send their team sheets to me (league commissioner) via DM on Twitter. Results will be processed as soon as possible and all managers will be informed before the week's recapped blog post goes live. 

5. Transfers between clubs are permitted as long as both clubs' respective managers agree to a deal and the deals are ratified by the league commissioner by 5pm the day before a game. 

6. Loan transfers are permitted and will last for a maximum period of three games. Extensions are only permitted in circumstances regarding goalkeepers. 

7. Any player who receives a red card will be banned from playing for one match. 

8. The top four teams will also play at the end of the season in a short knockout cup competition, this will be run separately from the league competition and will be drawn as follows. 

1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 with the final taking place at a virtual 'Wembley'. 

9. All managers will be added to a group DM strain on Twitter, this can be used to organise transfers or make requests to the league commissioner. 

10. All matches will be generated using the FIFA video game with all matches simulated by the computer.