We are now well into the 2023-2024 VMSL Masters Premier season. Port Moody are defending league champs, while Inter are BC champs. Norvan was relegated after their last place finish last season, and Div 1 Champs Gastown Astros have been legitimately promoted. The table is rounded out by former relegates Romania, who folded last year in Division 1, but have raised a few unibrows by managing to land up in Premier somehow. Below are the current standings, and a brief breakdown of the teams, as follows:
1. West Van FC M: 16 points; 6 games played. The West Van side has had a comprehensive injection of younger players from the Open Premier team all over the park.
2. Columbus FC M-A: 16 points; 8 games played. Columbus survived a huge sanction last year, which resulted in them folding their tent in the Open Division and going to the Fraser Valley, rumour has it. They are scoring lots of goals against the weaker sides. Sometimes suspect at the back.
3. Port Moody SC M-A Rangers: 13 points; 6 games played. The defending champions have had a sluggish start, losing as many games this year as all last season. This high-pedigree side should be right there at the end, though.
4. Inter EDC M: 12 points; 5 games played. The BC Champs continue to benefit from having the merge with Inter finally bringing some quality to the club. Much like Chilean cuisine, this is a side with a good chance of repeating.
5. SFC Pegasus M TU: 12 points; 8 games played. A strong force in this division since joining a few years ago, this Surrey powerhouse is starting to show a bit of age, resulting in the .500 record thus far. This is not characteristic of this club, however, and staff are predicting a strong second half.
6. Westside FC M-A: 10 points; 7 games played. And speaking of advanced age, staff have learned Westside has fielded at least one well-over 50 player this season on a regular basis. Not quite as old as Westside stalwart Dancing Bear though, who is still crushing it on a Nova Scotia champion side in the O35 fisherman's league at a very advanced age, staff report.
7. PCOV FC M-A: 10 points; 8 games played. Another long-established club has a history of slow starts and finishing very well. An infusion of a few new players this year leads staff to predict that this team should make the BCs.
8. Romania FC M-A: 7 points; 7 games played. This team has mysteriously re-appeared in the Masters Premier division. They have already won two games, more than their relegation season- albeit one of them against struggling Gastown.
9. Shaheen FC M-A: 4 points; 6 games played. Shaheen is a team well ahead of its time: these guys were showering in their underwear years before the whole gender-neutral washroom phenomenon.
10. Gastown Astro FC M: 1 point; 8 games played. The runaway Div 1 Champs are getting a welcome to the Premier Division greeting at a level not seen since the old VUFC M days. The good news is, they are getting more competitive of late, not getting as badly thrashed, and are a team that hangs in there.
Good luck to all teams.
1. West Van FC M: 16 points; 6 games played. The West Van side has had a comprehensive injection of younger players from the Open Premier team all over the park.
2. Columbus FC M-A: 16 points; 8 games played. Columbus survived a huge sanction last year, which resulted in them folding their tent in the Open Division and going to the Fraser Valley, rumour has it. They are scoring lots of goals against the weaker sides. Sometimes suspect at the back.
3. Port Moody SC M-A Rangers: 13 points; 6 games played. The defending champions have had a sluggish start, losing as many games this year as all last season. This high-pedigree side should be right there at the end, though.
4. Inter EDC M: 12 points; 5 games played. The BC Champs continue to benefit from having the merge with Inter finally bringing some quality to the club. Much like Chilean cuisine, this is a side with a good chance of repeating.
5. SFC Pegasus M TU: 12 points; 8 games played. A strong force in this division since joining a few years ago, this Surrey powerhouse is starting to show a bit of age, resulting in the .500 record thus far. This is not characteristic of this club, however, and staff are predicting a strong second half.
6. Westside FC M-A: 10 points; 7 games played. And speaking of advanced age, staff have learned Westside has fielded at least one well-over 50 player this season on a regular basis. Not quite as old as Westside stalwart Dancing Bear though, who is still crushing it on a Nova Scotia champion side in the O35 fisherman's league at a very advanced age, staff report.
7. PCOV FC M-A: 10 points; 8 games played. Another long-established club has a history of slow starts and finishing very well. An infusion of a few new players this year leads staff to predict that this team should make the BCs.
8. Romania FC M-A: 7 points; 7 games played. This team has mysteriously re-appeared in the Masters Premier division. They have already won two games, more than their relegation season- albeit one of them against struggling Gastown.
9. Shaheen FC M-A: 4 points; 6 games played. Shaheen is a team well ahead of its time: these guys were showering in their underwear years before the whole gender-neutral washroom phenomenon.
10. Gastown Astro FC M: 1 point; 8 games played. The runaway Div 1 Champs are getting a welcome to the Premier Division greeting at a level not seen since the old VUFC M days. The good news is, they are getting more competitive of late, not getting as badly thrashed, and are a team that hangs in there.
Good luck to all teams.
