tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331226332024-03-11T10:52:27.763+00:00Fantasy Premier League Tips and ReviewNews, hints, tips and picks for the official Fantasy Football game of the English Premiership. Who to buy, who to sell. Its your premier Fantasy League blog!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-19968089511548397052015-07-20T20:11:00.004+01:002015-07-20T20:13:17.091+01:002015/16 Kick-off!<span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn't put up any posts last season, which was ironic because it was the best finish my team has ever had. If I could go back in time to last season, I'd tell you I am playing Naysmith, Ivanovic and Dzeko for Gameweek 1. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After Gameweek 1 I'd point out if you followed our advice, you would have been in the top 1000 in the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But that was a bit of a one-off; it certainly sets the benchmark for what we are trying to do again this season!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
So far this years preseason looks like it is setting up an intriguing season ahead. Newcastle and Sunderland are looking horrible, and current form suggests they will be battling to avoid the drop. That would mean two of the promoted teams could stay up, and at this point Bournemouth look the the best shout to remain up. Swansea look strong as do Southampton, who may look set to pull yet another miracle season out of the bag despite the now annual sell-off of their best players. Fonte remains there and is looking good however, and Cedric Soares is a good acquisition from the club - expect to see him in the FF points at some point this season. Conversely, Villa are also selling every player in sight, but are not strengthening themselves in the transfer market.<br />
<br />
However there is a long 38 Gameweeks between now and the end of the season, anything can happen!<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will try and be more postie this season. Tune in for my posts of gold, and be sure to join up to our reader's league using the code:</span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> 1555536-568293</span></b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-12556189444237792572013-09-19T22:24:00.005+01:002013-09-19T22:33:18.375+01:00Rooney TunesThe best strikers all very predictable at the moment. Everyone is packing some combination of Sturridge, Soldado, Benteke, Giroud and RVP. Differentiation is the key to gaining a lead or recovering lost ground on your most hated rivals, so Now is always a good time to change it up. And that means catching the Premierships Next Top Striker.<br /><br />
Rooney is in very good form at the moment, and after the City derby United's fixture list is set for a tasty few weeks. We're not recommending him for his good looks. Rooney's golden attributes are not his balls but rather the tidal wave of points he is about to accrue. It must be tough, not being a suave, sexy superstar when everyone else you work with is some kind of hunk. Kind of like the men in my office - if you squint. A lot. And stand at a great distance. And are very drunk. You know what Im talking about; we've all been there.<br /><br />
Anyway: Ronaldo, Henry, Beckham, Bale, Ozil, Walcott, RVP. All the FF greats. All very, very good looking men.<br /><br />
Very.<br /><br />
It's almost like the Premier League managers pick up players based on looks. There are very few bad looking players in the Premier League. A lot of them seem to have resided at some point at Man United. Jaap Stam, if you are reading this, Im sorry but yes this includes you. <br /><br />
But we arent picking our FF teams for their looks. All you can see in your squad is a little colourful shirt. So pay no heed to our Wayne's fugliness, all we care about are points. And Rooney is going to deliver. A lot of people will be transfering him in, this isnt a ground breaking idea. But that means he is likely to be in line for a price rise or two. He makes a much cheaper alternative to RVP, to take advantage of Man Utd's forthcoming good fixture list. Moyes has publicly stated that he expects Rooney to be searching for 30 goals this season and targeting the leagues Golden Boot. Plus when hes not scoring goals, Rooney is setting up RVP - earning more points for assists. <br /><br />
So let the glamour boys leave the Premier League for record transfers to Spanish clubs. We want points, and by this metric Rooney will be one of the most beautiful men in the world. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-58732886450107006812013-09-03T08:00:00.000+01:002013-09-04T08:00:15.279+01:00Harmonic Ozil-latorOn the last day of the transfer window, Arsenal signed Metsul Ozil. Ozil is the best player to enter the EPL this season and will thrive under Arsenal's short passing system.<br />
<br />
Lets compare Ozil against another international legend:<br />
<br />
<b>Metsul Ozil @ Real Madrid</b><br />
350 games<br />
59 goals<br />
143 assists<br />
<br />
<b>Andres Iniesta @ Barcelona</b><br />
569 games<br />
52 goals<br />
83 assists<br />
<br />
So, he's good. And prolific, particularly at creating goals for others. He will be the focal creative point at Arsenal like he is for Germany. For Germany in 29 appearances he scored 12 goals and gave 19 assists. Arsenal will look to get the ball at his feet at every opportunity, and he can allude defenders better than anyone; his vision is impeccable.<br />
<br />
Slipping passes to play the quicker players through; that is classic Ozil. Which will be perfect for Walcott's pace and Giroud as the main target man.<br />
<br />
All this excellent teamwork may come at the cost of his FPL output. While he will definitely be earning a lot of assists and no doubt goals, he will probably be creating more chances for others around him. Carzola/Oxlade and Walcott will play wide of him, and of course Giroud will strongly benefit from Ozil's excellence.<br />
<br />
Arsenal now have an excellent run of fixtures through until gameweek 10. Ozil will enhance the prospects of the Gunners attackers, and at this point I must have at least one Arsenal attacked is a must - if not two. And by me, I mean you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-69012614368459116912013-09-01T08:16:00.001+01:002013-09-01T08:51:38.577+01:00The van Purse StringsIf you have 14 million pounds in real life, you are an Ultra High Net Worth Individual (Ultra HNWI). There are an estimated 100,000 Ultra HNWIs on the planet. That sounds like a lot of people, and if they all came to your Bar Mitzvah at once, it would be. But there are 282 times that number of people just playing Fantasy Premier League this year. 100,000 is actually a small number in the big scheme of things. 14 million, on the other hand, is a very large number indeed.<br />
<br />
Another large number is 1.34 million. This is an approximate rounding up from the 47.6% of total FF population who have Robin van Persie in their squads.<br />
<br />
At the time of writing, RVP is priced at £14.0m, and by the time you read this, almost certainly will have increased in price to £14.1m. But we've already seen that 100,000 is a small number, so lets just say RVP costs £14m. Shhh shh shh, £14m, just go with it.<br />
<br />
Now £14m is a heck of a lot of your FF budget, and its probably ridiculous to spend it all in one place. But its scary when almost <b>HALF THE LEAGUE</b> has RVP. Sooo many people. You said 1.34 million is a big number! How can all these people be wrong?<br />
<br />
The reality is people are stupid.<br />
<br />
There is a lot of FF shopping you can do with £14m. Shopping that will return more points than if you just drop it down the InSinkerator and push the button labelled "van Persie".<br />
<br />
But don't take my word for it. My cat has an FF team that's doing better than me. I'm stupid. You didn't know? I wrote it two paragraphs ago. What are you, people?<br />
<br />
No, we need a robust methodology, from people who know what they are doing. So I asked the world's Top 50 FF managers if they have RVP in their squads. (I say "asked", but what I really mean is that I cyberstalked their teams on the Internet... and, uh, places). How many of the <b>GLOBAL TOP 50</b> have spent £14m on the t-shirt labelled "van Persie"?<br />
<br />
Three. <br />
<br />
That's 6%, which is nothing like RVP's 47% total ownership percentage. Does this mean that the people who own him are actually the bottom 50%? My cat says statistically speaking, probably not. I'm not certain yet, I haven't checked that far.<br />
<br />
In fairness, RVP's next fixture at home against Crystal Palace is very favourable. And there is no doubt he is capable of points. Despite this, 14.0 million pounds is so much money that it may as well be imaginary. And even when it is imaginary money, 14 million pounds is still a lot of money. People are stupid, but the Top 50 people in the world are not. And they say No to RVP. Maybe you should too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">** Note: If you have 14 million pounds in real-life and need bespoke fantasy football advice or global wealth portfolio management consultancy, I am the agent of a very financially astute cat. Request our services in the comments below.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">** Disclaimer: I don't actually have a cat.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-52690577823851415032013-08-30T09:21:00.001+01:002013-09-01T08:18:50.750+01:00A Ticket For The Anelka MillionsEvery Fantasy Football manager has three things in their Team bank account: cobwebs, tumbleweeds and moths. So it is no surprise that managers like to jump on those cheap players who have two good gameweeks in the hopes of catching a price-rise, since price-rises afford you the ability the swap in and out the big-name players as fixtures dictate.<br />
<br />
Typically, these Bandwagons are easy to spot. Perhaps they score two goals in an upset against Man City. Perhaps they have been on the right side of a couple of clean sheets. In most cases it is the preceding weeks' score that indicate potential.<br />
<br />
This is not the case with the return of Nicolas Anelka.<br />
<br />
Anelka was the cut-price striker of choice for many FF players, until his friend and manager passed away and Anelka took compassionate leave. Rumoured news of Anelka considering retirement led FF players to transfer Anelka out of their teams in droves. 150,000 people dropped him from their squads, and as a result Anelka's price dropped to £5.4 million, despite having price protection in place.<br />
<br />
The news coming from West Brom sounds very positive for an Anelka return this week. He has been back and training with the team, and West Brom manager Steve Clarke has said Anelka's head is in the right place. All signs point to Anelka starting. If this is the case, how many FF players will transfer him in? Here are some scenarios:<br />
<br />
1. RVP has a big week against Liverpool. After this gameweek many managers will be looking to use their Wildcard. If RVP earns decent points then he will become a huge Wildcard target, and players will need a cheap striker to afford the expensive striker. Anelka fits the bill and gets big transfers.<br />
<br />
2. Anelka has a big game this against bottom-of-the-table Swansea. Entirely possible; after losing his friend, emotions might push Anelka on to devastating effect. If Anelka returns and scores a goal, or even earns an assist or two, Anelka will get big transfers.<br />
<br />
3. RVP AND Anelka have big GWs. If this happens, there will be a huge drive to bring in Anelka; from managers using a Wildcard and needing a cheap striker to facilitate other transfers, OR from players looking to upgrade a single striker, OR from players looking to jump on the bandwagon and cash in on a price rise.<br />
<br />
4. Anelka doesnt play in any internationals during the international break between GW3 & 4, but other big names do. One of those big name players gets injured, and managers look for a cheap and performing replacement.<br />
<br />
Because so many people sold Anelka over the last week, it will take a much smaller amount of players transferring him in for Anelka to see a price rise. Even if just the same number of managers who transferred him out bring him back in, he will see, at least, a £0.2m price rise. If any of the scenarios listed above play out, particularly #3, then Anelka owners who buy him for £5.4m could cash in big time.<br />
<br />
Bringing Anelka into your squad right now is like getting a ticket in a lottery that might reward your FF team with up to £0.6m profit. His fixtures over the next 3 game weeks are good. If you need a striker, if no-one else can help you, and if you have a transfer to spare, maybe you can hire: <strike>THE A TEAM</strike> Anelka.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-32867236439252006692013-08-29T06:17:00.000+01:002013-08-29T06:17:00.439+01:00Bet Your House On Jamie Ward Prowse<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
Jamie Ward Prowse is a £4.5m Southampton mid who has played all 180 mins as at the end of GW2, making 28 crosses (12 successful). Not only is he a starting midfielder, but because of the amount of crosses he makes and the fact he provides lots of deliveries from set pieces, it sets him up nicely to cash in on for assists.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
The other big benefit is he is bargain priced in the midfield. He makes a decent option for a regular starter because he is likely to be involved in many of Southampton's goals, or if you are packing an all-star midfield then he is exactly the type of player you want on the bench. So far, the FPL midfielders are shaping up as having is no runaway big point scorers, ala Ronaldo or last year's GBale. This means a team can have cheaper players across the mids, which will allow extra cash to go into must-have big names elsewhere.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
But dont just take my word for it - Southampton fans thinks he's got a big future. Ward-Prowse is a bargain at £4.5m, even if he's rotated every now and then. He takes set pieces and delivers to a range of quality strikers who are capable of putting away his assists. At the price, he is definitely a crunchy option worthy of consideration.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-52168083793895248772013-08-28T06:35:00.001+01:002013-08-28T11:13:44.396+01:00The Toure Protocol<span style="font-family: inherit;">Groin injuries. If there is a phrase to make any man's blood run cold, it is Groin Injuries. Picture in your mind that bad guy on Home Alone catching a swinging paint can with his nuts. The blokes from Jackass routinely having their sacks take a beating, for no reason beyond a laugh and millions of dollars. Now, Kolo Toure has damaged his groin during the League Cup match wit<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">h </span>Notts County.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This poses a couple of immediate questions. What does this mean for Liverpool's defence? Should I transfer Toure out post-haste?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lets start with the obvious: nothing has been confirmed yet, and Toure hasn't yet had the injury assessed. The initial news coming back isn't good: groin injuries can be nagging, and Toure had to be stretchered off the field. A Tweet from pitchside commentator Peter McDowall, after hearing directly from the L'Pool manager: ""Toure isn't looking so good" according to Brendan Rodgers." So, the news doesnt sound great. The Premier League website has him as 50% chance for this weeks game, but potentially this kind of injury could have him out for upto 8 weeks in the worst case. And if he is out for a substantial number of games, players will hear SELL SELL SELL and his price may plummet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But before you take any crazy knee-jerk actions, lets take a deep breath and consider the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- When a player is injured, he gets a form of price protection, meaning two and half times more people need to sell him for a price drop to occur than if he was not injured. Further, Toure was already 60% of the way towards a price rise. So that many managers would need to sell him AS WELL AS the additional 2.5x managers get rid of him. All this means his price will likely not drop for the next week or so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- There is the international break coming up, meaning there is only one game between now and September 14. So that is a solid three weeks to recover from his injury without missing many games at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- Information on the expected duration of his injury is yet to come. Until that is received, it is probably not wise to ditch Toure, particularly if it will cost you extra points to do so. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Excellent, so that's sorted then: hold Toure until we hear further news. I'm glad we both agree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Time for a wider question - what this means for Liverpool? Particularly with a visit this week from Man Utd?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The loss of Toure this week is expected to be a big problem for the Pool. There's effectively no cover in the squad for Toure's loss — Rodgers doesn't rate Skrtel, wants to loan out Andre Wisdom, Seb Coates is slow and injured, and for all we know Barça will make an offer we can't refuse for Agger at the eleventh hour. Toure was absolutely immense first two matches, and if they can keep Man Utd scoreless for a second week they could be doing very well indeed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, while I am not certain about Liverpool defensively now that Kolo Toure has The Knack, the betting agencies arent letting his injury sway their opinions of Liverpool too much. Ladbrokes have Man Utd at 7/2 to win with a clean sheet, and Liverpool at 17/4. Not much in it then. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But while the bookies might not think much of Toure's absence, I definitely rate him. Don't sell him just yet, wait and see what the news is before any rash decisions are made.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-43387238694844354752013-08-27T12:30:00.000+01:002013-08-27T12:30:00.413+01:00Whittakers Peanut SlabSteven Whittaker of Norwich is a popular wee chap in the fantasy world. Some would say Bandwagon. In GW 1 he scored a goal, earned an assist and a bonus point, which certainly made his £4.0 price look deeelicious. On the back of that fine result, 130,000 people bundled him into their team, and he took a price rise for his efforts.<br />
<br />
This week's match against Hull was a bit more sedate affair for him, roping in 2 points. At £4.1 with a proven record of earning points, he could be a fine cheap defender if he keeps playing. So Barry, will he keep playing? Will he?<br />
<br />
No Barry, no he won't. Whittaker is currently in the team at the expense of the injured Sebastian Bassong. Sebastian Bassong is the Norwich team captain, and has been recovering from a groin injury. This week he was able to play a full 90 minutes for the Canaries U-21 team earlier this week. His return will make Whittaker a bigger rotation risk than a Ferris wheel on a Sunday.<br />
<br />
Whittaker is a rotation risk at best, and bench-fodder at worst. Furthermore, Norwich's defense does not look good for consistent clean sheets.<br />
<br />
Better choices than Whittaker include:<br />
Chester from Hull<br />
Collins from West Ham<br />
Fonte from Southampton<br />
Eddie Murphy from Raw<br />
<br />
There it is. Whittaker: had a great start but I think he has earned the bulk of his points. He's possibly good for a few more games, but be ready to get rid of him.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-51256698385220941962013-08-26T06:15:00.000+01:002013-08-26T06:57:18.226+01:00A Marathon, Not A SprintGreetings from the inaugural 2013/14 FF desk. Round one is complete, and two nearly so. Will the points table of midfielders still be this tight once Chelski plays its second gameweek match? Yes, he said rhetorically.<br />
<br />
So RVP had a cracking first week and everyone who doesnt have him is sucking eggs right now. Should you bring him in, I hear you ask? No! Man Utd has two more tough games before the international break after GW3, facing Chelski next wk then The Pool the week after. Not exactly goals galore. That said, Imma be loading up my team with some Sweet Sweet Welbeck. Half the price of RVP and his value is going to skyrocket as other suckers, like you, look at his ridonkulous value and say tho themselves "You know what? Imma be loading up on some Sweet Sweet Welbeck". So, Tip-Top Top Tip 1: Welbeck It.<br />
<br />
Now, a lot of you newbs are new to the brutal art of FF. First rule of FF is: never go overboard on transfers. Sure, a lot of your teams are rubbish and were autopicked by the website, or that homeless bum on the corner in a dirty Tottenham strip, or your cat, or whatever. And sure you have 6 players who didnt take the field. Resist the temptation to burn 4 points using more than one transfer. Do you know how far RVP has to run to earn 4 points? A long way. So the Golden Rule - don't spend more than 1 transfer per week. The first 'best time' to use your wildcard this season is after GW3 - a lot of the tough early fixtures for the bigger teams are out of the way and you will have enough info to make informed sweeping changes by firing your whole team and replacing them with a clone of mine. Everyone knows theres a lot more dignity in defeat than the brightest victory. Words to chew over, Jimmy, if that is your real name.<br />
<br />
Final consideration for the week: gameweek 3 has no Chelski game, so since like half of all our squads are made up of Chelski, consider your transfers this week carefully. You dont need to get rid of all your Chelski players but do try my Dilmah tea. Quite lovely, isnt it? While we take this moment of calm, perhaps consider ensuring all 3 of your subs play 90 minutes regularly. That way your favoritest Chelski players can have a KitKat on GW, 3 and your squad wont lose too many pts. But who are the best cheap subs? Why not our own favorite All White, Winston Reid? Why not Norwich's Whittaker? Hell, why not Zoidberg?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-58957460515123899332011-01-30T10:42:00.005+00:002011-01-30T10:53:53.625+00:00Vela: Visiting Hawthorn HitmanWest Brom have one of the better runs for the next few weeks, including a great home <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2010/01/transfers-for-double-gameweek-madness.html">double gameweek</a> in week 27 against West Ham and Wolves - there should be at least a few points in it for a Baggie player or two in this gameweek. Over the next 5 weeks, their toughest competition comes from Man City away in week 26, but is bookended with a match against Stoke and Birmingham as well as a match against Wigan in week 25. Given this schedule its easy to see some West Brom players getting in the points, and given their discount prices it may represent some good value over the coming weeks.<br /><br />Most of the <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com">EPL Fantasy Football</a> points come from the attacking end of the pitch, so midfielders Brunt and Morrison, or Odemwingie up front make the best choices at the moment.<br /><br />Interestingly into this mix comes young Mexican striker Carlos Vela, previously sitting on the bench at Arsenal. His loan to the Baggies has trumped a reported move to Bolton when terms couldn't be met. Vela had a tough time of it at <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/planning-your-future-with-arsenal.html">Arsenal</a>, with Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin, Theo Walcott and Marouanne Chamakh all ahead of him. Subsequently this season he has only played 65 minutes, but still managed to find the back of the net once. He has played over 30 times for Mexico and is a regular starter for the national squad.<br /><br />His price is a mere £4.4m and if he becomes a regular starter as expected at the Hawthorns then he could be a real bargain as West Brom fight to avoid the cellar and cement their place in the top flight for another season. Definately worth saving a transfer before gameweek 27; early adaptors may want to consider him as soon as his club is updated in the <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/">Fantasy Premier League</a> tables.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-40031151067485870082010-02-12T01:37:00.000+00:002010-02-12T01:39:06.736+00:00Cuellar at Villa & the Block Defence.Aston Villa are in a great run of defensive form at the moment, having kept 5 clean sheets in the last 6 games. One of the main beneficiaries of this has been Cuellar, who has played practically every minute of every game. He also popped up with a header goal to help Villa draw with Manchester United this week. While he hasn't been bringing home assists and goals this season, he has is good value at £5.8 million and looks likely to get at least a few more clean sheets before the season is out.<br /><br />However this is a bandwagon that is fast gaining momentum, and this gameweek has seen over 10,000 managers transfer Cuellar into their squad. His price is sure to rise in the very near future, but expect it to settle very quickly, as although Aston Villa face lowly Burnley at home - a very favourable fixture - after that they miss the following gameweek 28, and will have a bye in gameweek 29 if they progress in the FA Cup being played this Saturday, which is looking likely. Or at least as likely as any cup tie can... which is to say, anything might happen.<br /><br />If Villa qualify for the next round, two byes in a row will alarming to many of Cuellar's new owners, and his price may slip as people transfer him out rather than have £5.8million sitting on the bench for two weeks. It could be a wise move to consider Cuellar for gameweek 30 onwards.<br /><br />Other than Chelsea, Everton and Manchester City, Villa's draw for the rest of the season is against teams currently in the bottom half of the league. Amongst this is a yet-to-be-scheduled match against Hull, which means one of these weeks will be a double gameweek.<br /><br />From this point of view, Aston Villa have about as favourable a run of fixtures from gameweek 30 until the end of the season as you can get. This presents the opportunity taking two (or more) Villa defenders to form a block defence. Dunne and Cuellar are surely the men for this task. This is somewhat of a risk as if Villa slip up then you can have a low points return. However, with those 5 clean sheets in their last 6 games, if you had a Villa block defence of two or even three players in the last few weeks, you would have done particularly well. If you need to catch up ground on your mini-league, this is definately a tactic that may pay rewarding dividends. <br /><br />A Villa block defence may be an excellent choice given their current form and future fixtures, but be wary of jumping on the Cuellar bandwagon too soon, as there is the possibility Aston Villa may not play until Gameweek 30. But from that point on, two or even three Villa defenders may make a good investment until the end of the season.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-34376256222122682782010-01-24T19:37:00.001+00:002010-01-24T19:38:43.392+00:00Fantasy League Gold: N'ZogbiaCharles N'Zogbia is in the form of his life and with 2 doubles in GW26 and GW30 this lad could prove incredible value. He has knocked home three goals in the last six games that Wigan have played, and has two double gameweeks coming up in gameweek 26 and gameweek 30. Wigan's runs of fixtures is also appealing, the toughest opposition between now and March being Tottenham at home. <br /><br />N'Zogbia has been playing almost every minute of the season, and at £5.6 million represents some good value in the midfield. Possible transfers include swapping him into your side in exchange for Valencia. Man United have a bye this week and then Arsenal away the following week. Gameweek 25 sees Man United at home to Portsmouth, which should yield some points, but week 26 is away to Aston Villa; not an easy challenge. <br /><br />Conversely over the same period, Wigan will have played Blackburn away, Everton at home, Sunderland away, Stoke at home and Bolton at home. So between now and the middle of February, Valencia will play 2 tough games and one easy match. N'Zogbia will play 5 matches, all of them "easy" (or at least, not in the top 8). <br /><br />With a price difference of over £3.0m pounds, its an easy decision to see that over the next few weeks N'Zogbia will be a better investment for your squad than Valencia. That £3.0m may go along way towards bringing in a premium player of the likes of Fabregas, Drogba or Terry.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-69579846661779276972010-01-14T13:35:00.005+00:002010-01-14T13:35:00.195+00:00Transfers for Double Gameweek MadnessThe revised fixture list for gameweek 22 has been posted to the Fantasy Premier League website, and there are double gameweeks a plenty. Liverpool, Tottenham, Bolton and Arsenal have now joined Manchester United and Hull City with two games in this round. Potentially this could be the biggest points round of the season. What are the best options for transfer targets?<br /><br />First up, and notably without a double gameweek, is Tevez. His hattrick against Blackburn compounded with his recent fearsome form - 10 goals since Dec 5th, scored in 6 of his last 7 games - means he his tough to overlook. However, as we discussed last time, Tevez misses the next Fantasy Premier League gameweek; but by gameweek 24 their fixtures get much better. So, a dilemma. His form is indominatable but he doesnt get gametime next week. Put another way, he has one game in the same time that Defoe has three games and <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/football-soccer-rooney.html">Rooney</a> plays twice (Man United no game next week).<br /><br />At Arsenal, Fabregas has stated he is rested and ready to return. If Wenger plays him in both games agains Bolton, Fabregas' points could be devastating. But will the Gaffer risk his star in a double so quickly? Wenger must surely look at these game as a must-win chance to get to the top of the table. However Arsenal's fixture list quickly hits a nightmare patch after this double against Bolton, as they face Aston Villa, Man United, Chelsea then Liverpool. Diaby is well priced in the midfield from the Arse at £5.8m and may be worth a shout for value. If Fabregas is fit then he is a must have, but with their tough draw it may be a better choice to look elsewhere for double gameweek players than to invest heavily Arsenal. <br /><br />Bolton has a double this gameweek and again in gameweek 26; thats a lot of gametime. <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/klasnic-man-from-bolton.html">Klasnic</a>, <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/get-going-with-tamir-cohen.html">Cohen</a>, or Cahill are our tips from Bolton for now.<br /><br />Tottenham and Liverpool are the other beneficiaries of this draw. The 'Pool have struggled so far this season, but their fixtures are good for the next few weeks. The best picks would have been Gerrard and Torres, but they both limped out of their Cup game against Reading. This could mean extra game time up front for Kuyt over the double and he would be the best choice at this stage, but be wary as Liverpool are a team playing poorly at the moment and with the Kop booing Rafa after the game, the gaffer's future could be in doubt. And if Rafa goes, expect further bad results and few <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com">premier league fantasy points</a> for anyone in that side. <br /><br />Tottenham's forthcoming matches are somewhat middling, with Fulham, Birmingham and Villa after this weeks double, all of whom are performing well at the moment. Dawson and <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/11/defoe-madness.html">Defoe</a> are looking like the best picks here, especially if Torres and Gerrard miss the second game of this week leaving a weakened Liverpool to face Spurs. We are expecting Defoe will come into some big points soon, so definately consider him if you are in the market for a premium striker who isn't scheduled to miss next gameweek.<br /><br />The weather has meant this week is loaded with catch-up doubles, and Fabregas' return and Torres and Gerard's potential injuries combined with Rooney and Tevez's bye next week mean tough tactical decisions to maximise your points. Well done if you have kept your wildcard - this week would be a fine time to capitalise upon it. Good luck all, and let us know how you get on in the comments.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-81535500028583375772010-01-11T19:44:00.003+00:002010-01-11T19:55:39.759+00:00Tip: Think TottenhamGameweek 22 sees a double gameweek for Manchester United and Hull as their match was moved due to Cup commitments. That means this weeks fixtures are, on paper, a dream for Manchester United: home to both Burnley and Hull.<br /><br />Whilst on first glance it may appear to be worth loading up on Man Utd players, be wary of getting caught short for the following gameweek. Gameweek 23 will see byes for both these teams as well as Stoke and Manchester City. Then upon their return in Gameweek 24, Manchester United face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, Portsmouth at home and Aston Villa away. So while they have a double gameweek this round - and there could be some big points here - in the following four weeks they have a bye and two tough fixtures away. It is well worth captaining a Man Utd player this week (probably Valencia or Rooney) but consider their forthcoming fixtures before using valuable transfers for importing extra Man Utd players.<br /><br />Conversely Tottenham have a good run of fixtures going forward; of Spurs next six fixtures, five are very favourable. Over the next three weeks they play Hull and Fulham at home, before travelling to Birmingham. Then its Villa, Wolves and Wigan. One of the Tottenham mob most likely to benefit from this set list is Jermain Defoe.<br /><br />Defoe has put away 14 goals this season at a nice even spacing, never going more than 3 games without a goal. While it is unlikely he repeat his famous "5 goals in a game" feat that he managed in November against Wigan, there are opportunities for a juicy run of goals. <br /><br />It is also worth noting that the Spurs defence hasn't conceded any goals in the past four games, and Michael Dawson represents fine value from their backline at a mere £4.9m. If they can continue these defensive efforts (and their fixtures may give them that chance) then there could be decent points to be had.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-63786089775906424022010-01-08T21:28:00.002+00:002010-01-08T21:45:53.200+00:00Snow Making Captaincy A GambleWith all the cold white weather that has hit the country lately, many games have become doubtful for this weekends rounds. At time of writing a few games have been postponed, meaning your players from that team will not get a run. This will have the biggest impact on your captaincy, since the Value or Form guidelines for emergency captain have a great way of leaving you with the second (or third) best option. Bitter experience indicates a correlation between the need for an emergency captain, and progress in the Fantasy Cup. Not that we hold grudges here at Fantasy Premier League. Oh no.<br /><br />Anyway, games postponed so far include:<br />Hull vs Chelsea<br />Liverpool vs Tottenham<br />Sunderland vs Bolton<br />Burnley vs Stoke<br />Fulham vs Portsmouth<br /><br />Several more games could yet be cancelled, depending on what the weather brings over the next 48 hours. Rumour has is that the Man City game is at risk as the forecast isn't promising. <br /><br />The big risk here is that players take a 4 point (or more) hit by making transfers to swap in players whose game is not yet cancelled, only to find that the forthcoming weather cuts their game down too. Compounding this is the cost factor; if you bought in a player early on who has made a significant gain in price, you will only receive half that price rise back, leaving you with the requirements to come up with the other half if you want to buy them back. And since most teams will have a double gameweek in the future to catch up, demand on them may become high.<br /><br />Clearly, using transfers to make the most of the weather situation is a risky move that could pay great dividends. The two games most likely to be played at this stage are Arsenal - Everton and Birmingham - Man Utd. Captaincy choices should probably be between Rooney, Valencia, Arshavin or Vermaelen. <br /><br />Be wary with transfers due to snow; this week the best options would be to consider Jonny Evans (in for Vidic) or Denilson returning for the Gunners.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-35199392143123967502009-12-22T21:36:00.000+00:002009-12-22T21:37:02.131+00:00The Importance of a Quality BenchThe Wigan - Bolton match being frozen off at the end of gameweek 18 brings home a reminder of the importance of having a bench with players who are capable of contributing points if they become needed. With some notable injuries to a few marque players (ala Fabregas) having a solid line up of quality substitute players becomes even more pressing.<br /><br />Compounding this are the frankly bizarre results coming out of the top of the table sides lately. It seems if you are at the top earn 1 or fewer EPL points, while the bottom sides earn 3. This makes some lower team players worthy of a high risk / high return investments. Ben Haim and Hreidarsson have made some points over the last four gameweeks as Portsmouth have started to swing their season around. In fact, over the last 4 gameweeks, Portsmouth have earned more points than Chelsea. Avram Grant seems to be working his magic at the coast. <br /><br />Similarly Wolves have had a good run of it lately, particularly Jody Craddock in the defence. At £4.2m, his 46 points earned in the last 8 weeks mean he is in fine form indeed. On paper Wolves' fixtures aren't great over the next two weeks, but against a vunerable looking Liverpool anything might happen. Again, as a budget defender he makes a good choice.<br /><br />For those with a little more cash to splash, Villa's Carlos Cuellar is probably the best choice. Still at a bargain £5.5m, he has played all bu 91 minutes this season, has bought home 7 bonus points, and more importantly has cashed in as Villa kept 4 consecutive clean sheets. Aston Villa's fixture list is stiffening somewhat between now and February however, with matches against Arsenal twice, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United, as well as Wigan, West Ham and Fulham.<br /><br />Regardless of which players you choose to add to your squad, you should always have at least a couple of players there who will take the field for their teams should you need them. That way bizarre weather or wacky team-lines will not impact on the team greatly. A good EPL fantasy football manager mitigates that kind of risk. For great success!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-59931006682762963482009-12-16T17:36:00.003+00:002009-12-16T17:36:00.499+00:00Klasnic, The Man From Bolton.Ivan Klasnic is a man in form. In the last four matches he has scored 4 goals for Bolton, and accrued 4 bonus points. Admittedly these results have come against some middling teams - Fulham, Wolves, Manchester City and West Ham, but his forthcoming fixtures look equally useful: Wigan, Burnley, Hull and Arsenal in his gameweek 20 double fixture, then Sunderland on the 9th of January.<br /><br />We touched on <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/planning-your-future-with-arsenal.html">Bolton's forthcoming double fixture</a> a couple of weeks ago, but at that stage Klasnic was flying well below the radar. Since then however he has burst into form, and on the back of 11 points last week and 9 points in this gameweek's 3-1 win against West Ham his price is sure to rise. <br /><br />The only risk is that he hasnt been playing the full 90 minutes, although he has been the starting choice and playing enough in the last month to earn 2 points for game time played. He is a large player and that suits Bolton's style of play and with his current form, he could be hard to drop.<br /><br />So there is easy money to be made by acquiring Klasnic now and holding him until after the Sunderland game. With the double in gameweek 20 against Hull and Arsenal, he should at least bring in a comfortable 3 or 4 points, or more if he can tap some home. With his recent haul his price is sure to increase and his fixture list looks promising. At £6 million pounds there are a range of other strikers who have played more minutes and earned more points over the season, but for the next few weeks and given his excellent current form, Klasnic represents an excellent choice.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-58546063769695506452009-12-15T03:10:00.000+00:002009-12-15T03:11:24.906+00:00Blackburn Backline, Stoppin' Goals.While Blackburn may be struggling to score goals at the other end of the field, they continue to compensate for this by remaining tight across the back line. Blackburn have kept four clean sheets in their last five games and Sam Allardyce has emphasised the need for this to continue in order to achieve a climb up the table.<br /><br />Blackburn's fixture list isn't horrible and could be a lot worse over Christmas and New Year: <br /><br />Birmigham (away)<br />Tottenham (home) <br />Wigan (away)<br />Sunderland (home)<br />Manchester City (away)<br />Fulham (home)<br />Wigan (home)<br />West Ham (away)<br />Stoke (away)<br />Hull (home)<br /><br />These factors make us suspect we will continue to see defensive returns; so lets look at the Blackburn defensive options. <br /><br />Emerton has been playing an attacking midfield position wide on right, and positionally looks the best option amongst their defence, although Samba and Nelson, with set-piece goal threat, are the other worthy targets. Both Emerton and Samba are priced at £4.9m, while Nelsen is £4.4m and that price difference may make your decision much easier. Nelsen is the club captain and also has more bonus points than the other two (5 points earned versus 3 points for Samba and Emerton), however given Emerton's attacking formation he may be more likely to score. <br /><br />Ultimately there is little to choose between these players; any of these three players should do well in the forthcoming weeks, particularly if Blackburn continue to keep a tidy defence.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-59663460133340477682009-12-09T20:12:00.002+00:002009-12-09T20:17:48.054+00:00Get Going with Tamir CohenIf you are looking for a cheaper midfielder for the next month or so, Tamir Cohen is a <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/search/label/Midfielders">central midfielder</a> with Bolton who may be worth considering. He is involved in the double gameweek in GW20, and compared to cheapie favorite Bowyer, has a more favourable run. Boltons forthcoming fixture list reads:<br /><br />- Man City (h)<br />- West Ham (h)<br />- Wigan (a)<br />- Burnley (a) <br />- Hull City (h) Arsenal (a) <br />- Sunderland (a)<br />- Arsenal (h)<br />- Burnley (h)<br /><br />Some of these teams present rather leaky defenses, and (at time of writing) at £4.7 Cohen seems excellent value. Even if he wasn't a 10/10 starter he might offer a nice differential to Bowyer and Eagles. He has tapped away 3 goals and 2 assists so far this season at 3.6 points per game, certainly a nice return for his price. <br /><br />At the start of November he suffered an injury which saw many managers transfer him out, a trend that is somewhat inexplicably continuing. This is good news for us, as Cohen's price looks set to fall again which should bring the cost of transferring him into your squad to £4.6m. He is fully recovered now though, playing 77 minutes two weeks ago and a full 90 minutes in their 1-2 loss to Wolves last week - including earning the assist for setting up Bolton's only goal. Expect to see Cohen's price to rise by the end of January.<br /><br />In the sub £5.0m range, Bowyer is current favorite, and with the game time, recent points scoring form and fantastic discipline, this is not surprising. However Birminghams fixture list is a lot trickier than Boltons - compared to Boltons fixtures above, Birmingham face Everton, Man Utd, and Chelsea twice. They also do not have a double gameweek. So all things being equal, from now until February, Cohen should perform better than Bowyer, and at a cheaper price. <br /><br />Cohen scored against Liverpool and looked dangerous against Chelsea, and in his match against Wolves the majority of his passes were played in the attacking third.<br /><br />He could be a real prospect for the next couple of months, particularly if Bolton get their act together and string a few wins together. Certainly they are facing opponents against which it is possible. With his low price and good looking fixtures, Cohen may make an excellent choice as a Value For Money midfielder, to free up some dosh for <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/football-soccer-rooney.html">players from the Big Four</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-47295854617628564562009-12-07T23:54:00.001+00:002009-12-07T23:54:00.881+00:00Injury Woe To Grow For Manchester UnitedManchester United have a fantastic run of fixtures until the end of January, as we have <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/12/football-soccer-rooney.html">mentioned before</a>. So it would be no surprise to learn that 9% of teams have persisted with John O'Shea in their teams defence, despite him not playing in the last 3 weeks. However word from Old Trafford today is that both O'Shea and Jonny Evans will be out until the New Year. Wes Brown is recovering from a hamstring problem and Vidic has the flu, although Sir Alex has said he hopes both will be ready for Saturday. Picking either of these players at this stage is something of a gamble however; it might be wise to wait until closer to kick-off to make any decisions in this regard.<br /><br />Patrice Evra is the only fit and recognised defender in the team; he is in fine form so far this season and would make an excellent choice for any defensive line if you were shopping for a United defender. He has played all but 8 minutes of the season so far and is the 6th top defender. And despite the weakened Manchester Untied backline, it would still be a surprise to see them concede many goals during their golden run of fixtures, so cleansheets may be imminent. <br /><br />The problems don't end here for Man Utd either, with both Rooney and Berbatov looking doubtful for the trip to Villa this weekend - Rooney due to a Hamstring injury and Berbatov with knee problems. This will be bad news for the one third of all managers that have Rooney. Its early stages yet but there is probably enough news to suggest that captaining Rooney this weekend may be a huge gamble.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-43435717543977996802009-12-06T20:27:00.002+00:002009-12-06T20:32:11.468+00:00Planning Your Future With ArsenalBoth Stoke and Fulham have a double header on Gameweek 20, after missing out on Gameweek 17. Arsenal and Bolton are the other teams that gameweek who benefit from the revised fixture list.<br /><br />The tricky part for a lot of players is that by now many have shaped their teams into something close to what they would like, making the dilemma not so much about who they should transfer in, rather who they will transfer out. However, this is where the points are made in the <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/">EPL Fantasy game</a> - by picking up the players that are about to do well, rather than having the same players as everyone else who are consistently useful.<br /><br />To further complicate matters, Gameweek 20 is Drogba's final game before leaving for the African Cup Of Nations. If you are one of the 38% of managers with him in your team, you should consider reserving one of your transfers to account for his prolonged absence. There are better ways to spend £11.5 million than leaving it on the bench for a month!<br /><br />So our question becomes which players from the GM20 double teams will bang home the most goals, set up the most assists or scrape together some tasty bonus points? The surrounding fixtures will need to also be useful to justify their transfer, as a one week wonder will not be as useful as a player going on a 3 or 4 week run of points. You may also need to use a transfer to cover an African Cup of Nations player, so our choices should be able to bring in some points for the weeks around the double header if need be.<br /><br />Fulham's lead up to and including the double gameweek is fairly grim. After Burnley away this week, they play no game in week 17, followed by Man Utd and Tottenham. The gameweek 20 double sees them face off with Chelsea and Stoke. Perhaps it may be time to unload <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/11/hot-hot-hangeland-for-now.html">Hangeland</a>... <br /><br />Stoke have a mixed bag, facing both Birmingham and Fulham in the GW 20 double, but do not play in 17, then face Aston Villa and Manchester City away. Etherington, Shawcross and Sorenson are the best choices from Stoke, although that is hardly new knowledge as they are all top performing cheapies. In fact, 44% of teams feature Sorenson! Any of these three would make a good choice.<br /><br />The Bolton fixture list is marginally better, facing West Ham, Wigan, Burnley and Hull mixed with some Arsenal away and Man City. Their individual form statistics do not make flash reading, and while they are a team very capable of scoring, the goals have been evenly spread which means outside of Kevin Davies there is no obvious choice. They are competing with Portsmouth for last place and while two wins would catapult them up to mid-table, their points are too spread amongst the team to make any player worth grabbing. If you are inclined to a gamble then Davies could be worth a punt when he recovers from his current injury, otherwise there are better options out there than the motley Bolton crew.<br /><br />It seems the best option for both Gameweek 17's short week and Gameweek 20's double is Arsenal players. In GW 17 they face Burnley away; in GW 20 they face Portsmouth away and Bolton at home. After this weeks challenging trip to Anfield they have Hull, Villa, and Bolton again. Even though Arsenal clean-sheets arent a guarenteed thing this season, budget priced Traore (£4.0m) may be worth a shout if Clichy's injury takes longer to heal than expected. Given the run of fixtures and the double header thats coming up, every team should have at least one of Fabregas and Arshavin. After his 11 point haul this week, Arshavin's price is going to rise as everyone hopes lightening strikes twice. Thats unlikely this week as Arsenal face Liverpool away, but beyond that expect to see the good times roll.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-79714643157378542472009-12-02T20:57:00.000+00:002009-12-02T20:58:30.756+00:00Football Soccer RooneyManchester United's fixtures are approaching a golden period of unprecidented easiness. Over the next 9 weeks, the toughest fixture may well be Aston Villa at Old Trafford.<br /><br />West Ham v Man Utd<br />Man Utd v Aston Villa<br />Man Utd v Wolverhampton<br />Fulham v Man Utd<br />Hull v Man Utd<br />Man Utd v Wigan<br />Birmingham v Man Utd<br />Man Utd v Burnley<br />Man Utd v Hull<br /><br />A fixture list like this makes Manchester United players definately worth having. Of those most likely to benefit is Rooney. He plays almost every minute so is a guarenteed starter. His goals this season have been scored both home (4 Premier League goals in 4 matches) and away (6 Premiership goals in 3 matches), so he could be banging home goals at any stage across these fixtures. Finally, barring any injuries he is very likely to see a price rise over the course of these easier fixtures, so profit can be made.<br /><br />Other comparable strikers include Bent, who is significantly cheaper and whose fixture list is also not horrendous. Drogba is an identical price to Rooney, and after seeing off Man City and Everton in two weeks time Chelsea also have a useful run of fixtures. In mid January Drogba will most likely be off to the African Cup of Nations for up to 3 weeks. In the short period in between, he may be an excellent choice for pairing with Rooney - although that is a pricy combo.<br /><br />Defoe may also be another useful transfer, although trips away to Everton and Liverpool may not end well for him. And aside from his 5 goal lottery win a fortnight ago, his other points have been, well, sporadic. Consistency is something Rooney may provide in the coming weeks.<br /><br />An outside option is Torres, whose injury has healed enough that he has resumed training with Liverpool. However the Liverpool fixture list is not as kind, with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham punctuating the lower teams. <br /><br />Of the top strikers at the moment, Rooney is definately a fine pick, especially given Manchester United's likely haul of goals until the end of January. If you are in the market for a striker - and with their fixture list you should be - Rooney may be worth his weight in Fantasy Football points.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-88716582363080522682009-11-27T04:06:00.000+00:002009-11-27T04:06:00.377+00:00Franco For ForwardGuillermo Franco is a 33-year-old Mexican striker acquired as a free signing for West Ham, and has been a starting forward since Gameweek 10. Over the last 5 games he has scored twice. At £5.0m, he represents a player who may make an excellent cheap third striker. With the long list of injuries hitting the major strikers (Drogba, Van Persie, Torres, and a possible hamstring injury to Darren Bent) and the forthcoming absences of Stoke, Fulham, Everton and Hull from Gameweek 17, active strikers may be thin on the ground. <br /><br />West Ham have something of a mixed bag of forthcoming fixtures, alternating from rather favourable to really rather not. The run of games until the New Years break sees them face Burnley then Man Utd (both home), Birmingham and Bolton (both away), before Chelsea (h), Portsmouth (h) and Tottenham (a).<br /><br />Looking at other strikers from the next price bracket above, ie available for under £5.5m, and Franco compares favourably. The best of this price, Burnley's Steven Fletcher, has scored 3 goals, 2 assists and earned 3 bonus points in 1030 minutes. Franco has earned 2 goals, 1 assist and 3 bonus points in 380 minutes. Burnley have a slightly better fixture list leading up to New Year, facing all four bottom teams and with only Arsenal away and Everton at home as the biggest named opponents. <br /><br />However EPL fantasy football points are often more about individual performances than team results, and Franco's points haul suggest he may become something of a regular points earner at a suitably low price. If picking him up allows you to spend cash elsewhere due to the shifting injury roster of high price players, then he may well be worth a look.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-53403965417636871902009-11-24T20:35:00.004+00:002009-11-24T21:12:06.751+00:00Gameweek 17 ReplacementsGameweek 17 is fast approaching, and for the unprepared may cause something of an issue as four teams do not play. And as the four teams represent some of the more popular value players, there is a risk your team may contain several players who earn no points that week. Now is the time to make some strategic use of transfers to plan ahead.<br /><br />The teams that do not play in Gameweek 17 are Stoke, Fulham, Everton and Hull. All have some key players that may need replacing - today we will look at a couple of the most popular from each team and who suitable replacements might be. If your team only features one or at most two of these players then as long as you have a strong bench, you can probably get by without changing them. However, if you have 3 or more from these teams, it may be worth considering a timely transfer to avoid a dreaded 0 points return.<br /><br />The two most popular players at Stoke are keeper Sorenson and defender Shawcross. It is no surprise given their excellent returns so far this season, and their absence will be noticed by many managers. At Fulham, Hangeland in defence, Dempsey in the mids and Zamora up front are the most commonly used players. For Hull, cheap options Zayette in defence and Hunt in the midfield see regular points returns while Everton are best represented by Saha in attack.<br /><br />So the data above in easier-to-read list form:<br /><br />Key players missing Gameweek 17.<br /><br /><a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/search/label/Goalkeepers">Keeper</a>:<br />Sorenson<br /><br /><a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/search/label/Defenders">Defenders</a>:<br />Shawcross<br /><a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/11/hot-hot-hangeland-for-now.html">Hangeland</a><br />Zayette<br /><br /><a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/search/label/Midfielders">Midfielders</a>:<br />Dempsey<br />Hunt<br /><br /><a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/search/label/Attackers">Forwards</a>:<br />Zamora<br />Saha<br /><br />Sorenson is having a fine EPL fantasy football season despite difficult conditions, so if you have a second keeper who will definately be taking the field, then consider benching Sorenson for the week. However, if you need to make a change then the best choice for a replacement keeper at a similar price point is Hart of Birmingham. Hart is also accruing big points this season, and Birmingham have a relatively useful match of Blackburn at home.<br /><br />For replacement defenders, <a href="http://premierfantasyleague.blogspot.com/2009/08/alexander-for-bench.html">Alexander is an excellent choice</a>. As we mentioned earlier in the year, he plays every game and also takes penalties. Burnley are doing well at home keeping several clean sheets. Alexander makes an excellent addition who will add value to the team if you do not have him already. However Burnley face Arsenal in GW 17, a tough test at the best of times. Other Burnley options include Cladwell and Mears, both whom will play 90 minutes, but against Arsenal may not be the best option. <br /><br />Birmingham defenders have a better shot at home against Blackburn as mentioned above. Ridgewell is the pick of defenders, but Dann and Johnson R will also do the job. Dont be tempted by Craddock, who is in excellent form for Wolves at the moment - in gameweek 17, Wolverhampton face Manchester United at Old Trafford.<br /><br />Cheaper midfield choices are probably Sunderland's Reid at £6.0m. Reid is a workhorse in the midfield and also somewhat of a bonus point magnet; in the last 9 gameweeks he has earned bonus points in every game bar one. Ohara may also represent a replacement at Portsmouth. This young bloke has been getting more gametime and racked up a decent tally ina short period of time, and at £4.5m is well priced. However, Portsmouth face Chelsea away so while he may accrue a useful 2 points, a larger points tally may be elusive that week.<br /><br />Up front Wigan's Rodellega has proved popular and may be scouted by several managers with an eye on bringing him into their team. However, gameweek 17 is Liverpool at Anfield, and the chance of many goals is not good. Conversely, Ngog has been getting more gametime with Liverpool due to their current raft of injuries. It is a risk to bring him in this week as there is no guarentee he will still be first choice come mid-December, but if Liverpool's injury crisis has not subsided then he will represent excellent value, currently priced at £5.2m. Keep an eye on the Liverpool team news and consider him strongly if things do not improve.<br /><br />Remember, if you have a strong bench you may not need to make changes. However, many popular, cheaper players will miss gameweek 17; dont let these absences impact your points tally.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33122633.post-25248184089875759332009-11-23T00:35:00.001+00:002009-11-23T00:36:17.298+00:00Defoe MadnessOn the back of Tottenham's 9-1 trousering of Wigan, Jermain Defoe's 25 point, 5 goal haul means his price is set to skyrocket over the next week or two. The unwashed masses believe any player earning a double-figure points total one week guarantees the same result the following week, and Defoe will be transferred in so many times before the next gameweek that his price should spike by £0.2 - £0.4m. This means a comfortable price rise for any manager who grabs him early.<br /><br />Tottenham are in a fine vein of form at the moment sitting fourth on the table, however their next two games aren't the easiest: Villa and Everton, both away. After those two tough matches things get a little easier, with a mixture of Wolves, Man City, Blackburn, Fulham and West Ham. <br /><br />I am always an advocate of striking when the iron is hot, as the best players tend to go on runs of form. After a 25 point haul Defoe's value is definately going to increase markedly by the next gameweek, so there is value to had there. And over the run up to Christmas, the Tottenham fixture list isnt terrible. If you are looking for a replacement striker or would like more cash in the bank, then a shorter term transfer for Defoe may well pay off. If this sounds like you, act quickly to make the most of his soon-to-happen price rise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0