The Unnecessarily Complicated Method of Working Out The Mug Of... Seedings

The Mug Of... Seedings are calculated each year so as to avoid pitting the best players against one another in the group stages of The Mug Of...

They are famously calculated by the administrator by using an (unnecessarily) complicated method of ranking the players.

Here is a description of how it is done (the 09/10 version):
Five pieces of information are analysed scored and then summed to calcuate a seeding score:

Cup Form Ranking Score

+ League Ranking Score 08/09

+ League Ranking Score 07/08

+ League Ranking Score 06/07

+ League Ranking Score 05/06

This seeding score is then ranked to apply us with our Mug Seedings

League Ranking Score
The league ranking score for each season is obtained by subtracting the players league position in a given season from 32.

For example Jack Chubb came 3rd in 2008/2009 and scored 29 points for his league ranking. Alex Clarke came 33rd in 05/06 and hence scores -1.

However seasons prior to the last one are subject to a reduction in points as they become less relevant to the seedings as they fade into history. Our current multipliers are as follows

08/09 - x1.0

07/08 - x0.5

06/07 - x0.25

05/06 - x0.1

Cup Form Ranking
For a given year players can earn points to their Cup Form score based on their performances in the Community Shield, Mug, Saucer and Cup Of... the scoring system for these looks as follows.

So if I made a Cup Of... semi final and a Mug Of... quarter final in a given year I would score 25+8 = 33points

My Cup Form score is just that, its about form. In this respect, similarly to how the league scores are calculated, the cup scores are reduced as they move further into the past. Current multipliers for this are 07/08 - 0.75 and 06/07 - 0.5.

The Cup Form total is therefore = [08/09 Cup Score] + 0.75x[07/08 Cup Score] + 0.5x[06/07 Cup Score] Equation 1

These form scores are then ranked to get your Cup Form Ranking. (At time of writing Tom Hatley was the top ranked cup form player).

Final Equation
So our overall equation becomes:

Seeding Score = [32-a] + 0.5*[32-b] + 0.25*[32-c] + 0.1*[32-d] + [32-e] Equation 2

where

a = League Ranking 08/09

b = League Ranking 07/08

c = League Ranking 06/07

d = League Ranking 05/06

and e = Cup Form Ranking

Worked Example
Owen Davies has a cup history of a Cup QF and a 5th round as well as some Saucer appearances.

This scored him 10pts in 06/07, 1pt in 07/08 and 8pts in 08/09. Applying Equation 1

Cup Form Score = (0.5 x 10) + (0.75 x 1) + (8) = 13.8pts 

Comparing him to the rest of the league gives him a Cup Form Ranking of 18th.

League Rankings - 05/06 28th, 06/07 23rd, 07/08, 20th, 07/08 15th, so Applying Equation 2.

Overall Score = [32-15] + 0.5*[32-20] + 0.25*[32-23 + 0.1*[32-28] + [32-18] = 39.65

This is the 15th best score out of the current managers in the League Of... and hence earns Owen the 15th position in our seedings, and he becomes one of our 8 second seeds for the draw.