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Years in League: 2010-11 to date
Division 1: 2015-16, 2017-18 to date
Division 2: 2012-13 to 2014-15, 2016-17
Division 3: 2010-11 to 2011-12
Titles: Division 2 Champions 2014-15, 2016-17
All-London Cup 2019
Formation
Fit For Purpose (note, initially no question mark) came into being for the start of the 2010-11 season when a desperate plea for a 24th league team coupled with Ross' desire for power combined to mean it was goodbye Mealy Bugs and hello new team for Ross. The only slight difficulty was that, with the new season two weeks away, there was a distinct lack of (i) personnel (home games were looking particularly challenging) and (ii) venue. After much trudging around, the venue issue was solved when Ross' local announced they had a room - albeit a very dark one with ropey decor and even ropier heating. Still, nothing like an intimidating home venue. The personnel issue was solved by several of Ross' friends coming on board, a particularly brave move on the part of Alex and Ian after their introduction to the QLL had been a serious of hammerings as South London in the 2010 Summer Friendly League, the acquisition of Joe and Jeremy M after Waterloo Sunset had disbanded and a few backhanders to Ron and Tori and a couple of others (most of whom have since seen sense). Alex suggested the question mark - well, we didn't want to get ahead of ourselves, and besides we quite like being the Westward Ho! of the QLL - and the rest, as they say, is history (although unlikely ever to be asked in Trivial Pursuit for a piece of yellow pie).
First and second seasons: Division 3
Things were going splendidly seven rounds and two questions into our debut season, with a nine point lead established over fellow new boys and girls Hand & Shearers (now Hoop Dreamers). World, or at least QLL Division 3, domination seemed a certainty. But alas the biggest choke since Jana Novotna was playing at Wimbledon meant a draw was snatched from the jaws of victory. On the bright side, no-one has mixed up Hillary and Chelsea Clinton since (the former, for the record, is married to Bill and so wasn't available to marry anyone else in summer 2010) and everyone was fascinated (no, really ...) to learn that Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker when he wasn't painting. A defeat – or three – followed, before things started looking up with a mid-season run of form that would have left Alex Ferguson in awe. Highlights included a one point victory over the hardened quizzers of Royal Oak and doing the double over Sons Arising and London Scottish. Finishing the season in the top half of the table was just reward.
The only downside of a decent first season was the "one of the favourites for Division 3 next season" tag which started getting banded around ahead of season 2011-12. That was viewed as a tad concerning by all. Still, we didn't let it get to us and started the season where we left off in 2010-11. Highlights included opening up with four straight wins and a thriller against Rosslyn Park (now Park Exiles), won on the last question largely thanks to (new team mascot) Margaret Beckett. She was the answer to the last question, not parachuted into seat four for the last round, for the avoidance of doubt. That would be crazy; it's against the rules and she's rubbish at quizzing. Having spent most of the season neck-and-neck with Amoebas at the top of the division, we then tried every conceivable way of not getting promoted (unintentionally, just to confirm, before the match-fixing allegations start coming in). A score miscount against Accies meant we only won there for two minutes before it turned into a draw, and another draw against Hoop Dreamers meant it was do-or-die against Amoebas in the penultimate game of the season. Having ran out of ways to draw, a convincing win did the trick and secured a second place finish and promotion. Division 2 here we come! More to the point, new home venue here we come. Yes, even we were now intimidated by the Queen's Head, so it was down the road to the Priory Arms and a larger stadium for Division 2 quizzing.
Third and fourth seasons: Division 2
Life in Division 2 got off to a rocky start with a bit of a pasting by Eclectics. It appeared people knew more stuff in Division 2; something we weren’t alerted to ahead of the promotion business. A nerve-jangling one point win against Barb the following week steadied the ship, and a late season run of form (winning our last five games) even brought us perilously close to back-to-back promotions. Finishing the season as one of four teams at the top with a 10-0-6 record was viewed by all as (i) very satisfying, (ii) very very unexpected, (ii) very very very worrying (see above re setting expectations for the following season). On a serious note, 2012-13 saw us lose Jeremy M, who sadly passed away during the season – and is still missed.
Season 2013-14 saw us desperately trying not to do an Ipswich Town, Hull City or [insert name of any team who had a decent first season post-promotion then fell to bits]. Thankfully that fate was avoided; a mid-table finish and 8-1-9 record come season-end included an impressive haul of close defeat bonuses. Granted, an impressive haul of wins would have been more impressive, but, hey, we're easily impressed. The highlight was a very enjoyable tussle with Pineapple for the much coveted fifth place in the Division – which of course brings with it a UEFA Cup/League/whatever-it’s-called-now spot and vastly more TV money. Unfortunately, Pineapple won that tussle, rubbing salt in the wounds by beating us on the last question. Twice. Chinese omelettes indeed. We discovered, though, that the plus side of a slightly iffy League season is that you get a higher-than-you’re-probably-entitled-to handicap for the Cup. Having long been a leading contender for the worst knock-out side in the QLL, we only went and made the fricking Cup final! The run included a one point win away to London Scottish, overcoming their 125 point handicap advantage, a quarter final win over Broken Hearts (taking the first round 8-2; let’s not talk about the second) and a back-from-the-dead-extra-time-followed-by-recount-oh-we-won-in-regulation-time semi-final win against Royal Oak. We even wiped out Thread Vietnam’s sizeable handicap advantage by the end of round 3 – yes, round THREE! – in the final. Ah, the memories. [For what happened after round 3, check out Thread Vietnam’s page … I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to talk about it.]
Personnel
The squad currently comprises, first up, Joe. Joe’s been with us since day one (see above; Gauguin etc). Joe "does the older stuff". He does it rather well too, routinely finishing the season with a two point average north of 4.5+ and has not one but TWO personal full houses to his credit. His specialist subjects include trains, transport in general and all things Irish. Then we have Jonathan, who joined during the 2011-12 season. In a piece of talent-hunting Arsene Wenger would appreciate, Ross met Jonathan at a work quiz, noticed he knew a lot of random stuff and forced him to put pen to paper and sign there and then. Among other things, Jonathan knows a lot about ITV programmes and birds. Yes, he's quite a womaniser. No, wait, the other kind. Next up we have Jeremy P. Jeremy loves a good shipyard, has a wonderful shirt collection and has done a fine job of performing QM duties for many a home game. Then we have Tom, who joined for the 2013-14 season (including said Cup run. Ah, the memories). Tom specialises in politics, food and drink (he loves a French tart) and is the team’s designated “young people’s issues” expert. Tom is also in charge of recruitment, a post he’s been appointed to for life after he snapped up Chris ahead of the 2014-15 season. Chris is what is technically called “a bit good”. He specialises in all knowledge. Finally, there's team secretary and captain, Ross. Ross likes a bit of geography and gets quite agitated when other people have the temerity to answer Scottish geography questions rather than let him do so. Gavin Fuller won't make that mistake again. Ross surprised himself by winning Brain of London 2 in 2011, repeating the trick in 2013, but, despite devoting much time to thinking up innovative ways of keeping hold of the trophy rather than giving it back to the Committee, has been forced to relinquish it.
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