As the OP for this epic thread, I think I should add my final two-penneth!
I still cannot fail to understand how either assist has been awarded, but as FPL rely on the PA to confirm assists how can we be too surprised given their bizarre bonus point allocations in previous seasons.
It's noticeable that the vast majority of reasoned, impartial posters have said that neither assist should have been given, a view also reflected by Mark's article on FFS. I'm in disbelief at anyone (all Rooney owners I guess) that still suggests Wellbeck didn't get a touch, I'm 99.99% sure, and the only other possibility for the clear change of direction of the ball beyond an earth tremor(!) or sudden gust of wind (!!) is that the ball hit a divot at the exact point where Welbeck's foot ended - possible but massively unlikely. Anyone suggesting spin can make a ball crossed along the floor change direction on a sixpence is clueless! Whether Welbeck deserves the assist is not the issue- FPL/PA have set the precedents so need to apply consistency.
And the 2nd assist is just plain lazy of the PA as anyone (apart from blinkered Rooney owners) that has reviewed it is agreed that Wheater plays the ball.
For me this beats the Varney, Adebayor and Gervinho assist scenarios (all of which affected me, one positively, two negatively), as two errors have occurred in the same game, both affecting the same player. Rooney has high ownership, and many Rooney owners will have captained him given that there was no obvious captain this week (RVP was away at Swansea!), therefore this has had a major influence on the game as a whole, and EVERYONE without Rooney is worse off as a result. I've gone out of the cup by a couple of points this week to a Rooney captainer, and have seen my mini league lead cut to a handful of points by another who captained Rooney, whilst my overall rank has dropped from top 400 by over 300 places, overtaken no doubt by many Rooney owners.
I'm not gonna throw my toys out of the pram and say I'm not playing next season, as for me it's still the best game as it has unique features, in particular price changes, and I still think the bonus points feature is a differential, they just need to find a fair means of applying them. Oh and it's free! It's just disappointing that this season's game has been plagued with so many issues right from day one, and they have without question had an influence on the outcome of the game as a whole. Hopefully they'll get the site and scoring sorted for next season, and we won't see this sort of thing again - wishful thinking methinks
