Monthly Archives: July 2012
Diamonds in the rough
We’ve already had a look at some of the big name additions to Fantasy Premier League this season, but what about the less heralded ones? Their arrivals haven’t been met with the same fanfare as others, but they’re still worth considering as you try and find some value names to fit alongside the big money stars.
Michu, Midfielder, Swansea – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
A quick scan of the top 10 goalscorers’ list in La Liga last season would return the names of all the usual suspects, but below Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the others lies the little-known Miguel Perez Cuesta – or ‘Michu’ to his mates.
In his one and only season with Rayo Vallecano, the 6ft 1ins midfielder returned 15 goals to end the campaign as the Spanish top flight’s joint-ninth top scorer, a hardly insignificant feat at a struggling club. Which brings us to Swansea.
There are so many unanswered questions about just what Michael Laudrup will bring to the Swans following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, but the general consensus appears to be that they’ll struggle to hit the heights that they were capable of last season. This is where Michu – hardly a novice at 26 – could come in.
If he’s half as effective as Gylfi Sigurdsson was in the attacking midfield position then the £2m spent by Swansea to bring him to Wales will be money well invested, and whilst you’ll have to shell out three times as much of your Fantasy money to add him to your side, he might just be a gamble that quickly pays off.
Matt Lowton, Defender, Aston Villa – Fantasy Price Tag £4.5m
Paul Lambert needs to quickly make an impact on an Aston Villa side which could struggle to shake off the negativity of the Alex McLeish ‘era’ (if you can call that an era), and in Lowton he may have found a player who’ll help him do just that.
The 23-year-old right-back arrives from Sheffield United having impressed all who came across him in League One last season, when he even managed to chip in with six goals.
He’ll face a battle with Alan Hutton for a starting berth at Villa Park, but there is nothing to suggest that that is a battle he won’t quickly win, and if he hits his stride early then Villa supporters are sure to take to a player who was loved at Bramall Lane.
The leap from the third tier to the Premier League was one successfully made by Lambert and his Norwich side in the space of two years, and now that the Scot has seen something in Lowton then he too could successfully make that jump – albeit in a much shorter time.
You get the feeling that rather than be intimidated by that scrutiny though, Lowton could thrive under it.
Robert Snodgrass, Midfielder, Norwich – Fantasy Price Tag £6.0m
Leeds United boss Neil Warnock tried to move heaven and earth to keep Snodgrass at Elland Road, and it’s not hard to see why.
The former Livingston wideman has been the heart and soul of the Whites for the past four years, but after failing to achieve promotion with the Yorkshire side he’s finally decided that the top flight is place to be at the age of 24.
Forty-three goals over his time at Leeds shows that he knows where the net is, and the Scot will be looked to by Chris Hughton as one of his main men as the former Newcastle and Birmingham boss seeks to get comfortable behind his desk at Carrow Road.
Snodgrass has crucial leadership abilities that he picked up during his time with Leeds, and so with the Premier League unlikely to intimidate him, he could quickly become an integral part of both the Norwich side and of yours.
Steven Naismith, Forward, Everton – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
Whilst Naismith will be making trips to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the coming season, the newco Rangers that he left behind will be going to Montrose, Berwick and Elgin, and so whilst there was sure to be emotional issues behind his decision to leave Ibrox you can’t argue with the sporting reasons.
The forward had his injury problems last season, but as a hard-working, strong-willed Scot he’s sure to fit in very well with David Moyes’s plans, especially now that the Blues have lost Tim Cahill.
Naismith’s former Rangers team-mate Nikica Jelavić (£8.5m and a popular choice) will of course be Everton’s key man in the coming campaign, but with Naismith, Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini buzzing around him then goals look assured.
The step up from Scottish Premier League to Fantasy Premier League isn’t always as smooth as Jelavić made it look last season, but Naismith has the tools to make a good impact at Goodison Park, and offer an interesting alternative to several Fantasy managers.
Mladen Petric, Forward, Fulham – Fantasy Price Tag £6.0m
With Clint Dempsey looking likely to head for the departure gate marked ‘Anfield,’ the key question facing Fulham is just where will the goals come from now?
The signing of Hugo Rodallega is a welcome rather than inspiring one, but the 31-year-old Petric adds experience and good pedigree.
The Croatian won’t be troubling the top end of the goalscorer’s list in the coming campaign, but if he can maintain his fitness and get a regular run in the side then there’s no reason why the former Hamburg man can’t hit double figures, a reasonable target for the third forward in your Fantasy squad.
Having already played under Martin Jol in Germany, Petric crucially knows that he’ll be heading into his first campaign in England with the trust of his manager. Maybe you should trust him too?
*M
To join the free Fantasy Yirma mini league on the official premier league game follow this link. Remember Free to Play … £50 to the winner!! What’s to lose?? http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/15005/join/?autojoin-code=44397-15005
The Lamb has Spoken…
Disclaimer: All posts from @pedro_lamb represent only a 1/3 of Yirma Management. Typically the other 2/3 disagree
by @pedro_lamb.
So here goes. Today’s thoughts on a few players set to return from injury who you might want to consider as a differential.
Three players, who spent much of last season lying on the physio table, are fit and ready to make an impact! It is time for them to get off the physio table, put down the Xbox controller and make us some fantasy points. Keep a look out for:
1. Tom Cleverley –
He burst onto the scene at the start of last season and then, injury ended his campaign, now he is back and after a great performance so far at the Olympics, he is back and raring to go and his return maybe just what United need, to stabilize their midfield and allow Rooney more freedom.
Rooney at £12m will blow a big hole the purse, however Tom is just £6m if you are set on having a Utd presence in your starting 11=Bargain. He is most certainly going to start most games, this season.
2. Tom Huddlestone –
After a nearly a year out, it is time for him to return and with Modric almost certainly moving to the Spanish capital, it is Tom’s time to step up and show the form he had back in 2010, where he very nearly made it into England’s Euro 2010 squad, and at just £5m he is a steal.
3. My personal cheeky punt is Danny Higginbotham, who is set to return to Stoke’s back line.
At £4.5m he is a great man to add to your squad. Also with Higginbottam’s contract up at the end of the year, he is likely to want to prove he is worth an extension to allow him to play out his career at Stoke.
Right, I have convinced myself… I am off to make some changes to my team.
Lamby
To join the free Fantasy Yirma mini league on the official premier league game follow this link. Remember Free to Play … £50 to the winner!! What’s to lose?? http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/15005/join/?autojoin-code=44397-15005
How much is David Platt???
The official Manchester City cameras were on hand during the pre-season tour to capture this unbelievable bicycle kick from non other than David Platt.
With Man City boss Mancini already trying to clear his deck of unwanted forwards, combined with the ones he wants to keep and the supposed interest in RVP… we worry how he will keep everyone happy now Platt is back on the scene.
Expected Fantasy price tag? David Platt – a bargain at £7m 😉
*R
@ryano83
To join the free Fantasy Yirma mini league on the official premier league game follow this link. Remember Free to Play … £50 to the winner!! What’s to lose?? http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/15005/join/?autojoin-code=44397-15005
The new boys
A quick look at some of the new signings who’ll be making their Fantasy Premier League debuts this season. Can they cut it in Yirma?
Olivier Giroud, Forward, Arsenal – Fantasy Price Tag £9.0m
A Thierry Henry or a Jeremie Aliadiere? A Robin van Persie, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg, or a Francis Jeffers, Kaba Diawara and Christopher Wreh?
Arsenal’s signings can be somewhat hit and miss, but Giroud joins Fantasy Premier League following two prolific years in France, where he helped unfancied Montpellier to win the league last season (an amazing achievement kind of on a par with say, Everton, winning it over here) and he’s bound to have an impact on the Gunners whatever happens with Van Persie.
A big, physical forward, Giroud was seen coming off the bench for France at the Euros – he missed a sitter against Sweden, but don’t let that put you off – and whilst his price is likely to put off all but the most confident of Yirma managers, he’ll be worth keeping an eye on after he’s had a couple of months to settle into life in England.
Marouane Chamakh has put him in his team already.
Shinji Kagawa, Midfielder, Manchester United – Fantasy Price Tag £8.5m
Kagawa is potentially the signing of the summer so far, for a number of different reasons.
Commercially, he’ll fill the Park Ji-Sung sized hole in United’s Asian market, but the Japanese international is much, much more than just a shirt selling signing.
As a key part of the Borussia Dortmund side which won back-to-back German titles, Kagawa scored goals, made assists and linked up the play brilliantly, something that he could do again for United if given the chance.
The trouble is, with Antonio Valencia, Nani and Ashley Young already competing for two spots on the wings and Wayne Rooney guaranteed to start upfront with Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez ready and willing to partner him (oh yeah, Dimitar Berbatov is still there too), just where will Kagawa play?
He might be seen from the bench in the opening weeks of the season as he searches for a position in United’s and your team, but the man from Japan has the quality to eventually make an impact.
Fabio Borini, Forward, Liverpool – Fantasy Price Tag £8.0m
Strictly speaking this isn’t the Italian’s Fantasy debut, as he got 37 minutes – and four points – for Chelsea in 2009/10, but the 21-year-old looks destined for a bigger impact this time around.
As Brendan Rodgers’ first signing for Liverpool, the forward will be eager to repay the trust of a man he’s already played for in Chelsea’s reserve side and at Swansea on loan, and with the Reds all set to play Rodgers’ attractive, possession-based style of football, the youngster is sure to have a key role in the side – certainly more key than Andy Carroll anyway.
Nine goals for Roma in Serie A last season after largely coming off the bench show that he knows where the net is, but Borini could also rack up the assists playing in one of the wide positions in Liverpool’s front three, with his partnership with Luis Suárez looking particularly attractive.
As always with new signings there is a danger that Borini won’t hit the ground running, but crucially he already knows that he’s got the confidence of his boss, and at 8.0 he might prove to be a bit of a bargain.
Eden Hazard, Midfielder, Chelsea – Fantasy Price Tag £9.5m
Look how many midfielders Chelsea have got! Just look at them!
They might have more players in there than more than a few countries have got representing them at the Olympics, but undoubtedly Hazard is the most intriguing ahead of the new season – considering that it’s likely to take the Brazilian Oscar a few months to settle in.
Hazard will be ready from the off though, and after months and months of transfer speculation the Belgian could well be ready to show just why he was the man everybody wanted.
Chelsea’s double gameweek in the first week of the season will have already drawn Yirma managers to their players, and Hazard might just hit the ground running in the same way that Deco did when he first joined the Blues in 2008 and immediately went into everyone’s fantasy teams.
The danger is that Hazard dips in form after that initial impact, but the warning to fantasy managers is already there.
Pick him from the start, or you may be sorry.
Lukas Podolski, Forward, Arsenal – Fantasy Price Tag £8.5m
The 27-year-old Podolski reached 100 caps for Germany during Euro 2012, an amazing achievement whatever your age, but have Arsenal signed the player who performs so consistently for his national team or the one who couldn’t save Cologne from relegation last season?
Podolski struggled the last time he made a big move – to Bayern Munich in 2006 – and after he returned to Cologne with his tail between his legs many in Germany wondered if he was able to handle the big time.
He’s more mature now of course, and is likely to start on the left of Arsenal’s front three when they kick-off their season.
He’s not going to be a prolific goalscorer, and his assists rate is sure to depend on whether or not Van Persie is around to finish off the chances he creates, but if Podolski finds his feet then there’s nothing to suggest that won’t be a good addition to any team at a reasonable price.
He’s an improvement on Gervinho anyway, although whether that’s praise or not is debateable.
*M
Yirma.. “The Numbers”
Morning all..
As of Sunday 29/07 more than 160 people have signed up for the mini-league!
Great going so far and I fully expect the number to climb during the week.
Delighted to see the website pass it’s first 100 hits and @fantasyyirma also passing the 100 follower mark.
Thanks for signing up! We will be launching some new pages this week, looking a new transfers, Yirma Scout selections and a potential podcast to look forward to!
@fantasyyirma
*R
Fantasy Yirma 2012/13
New Season Greetings!!
As with last year there is a FREE league running again.
Last year saw more than 300 join up to have a go at Yirma.
The format for the main league remains the same as last year… Free to play £50 First Place.
We are working on trying to get some additional prizes and will have everything in place by Gameweek 1.
Code to join this league: 44397-15005
http://fantasy.premierleague.com
Spread the word… as of 26th July we have just over 100 players.
Congratulations to Tom Kingscott for picking up the £50 First Place Prize for last season.
The standard was extremely high with Tom finishing 204th overall! (from more than 2.5m entries!!)
Follow us also on our twitter account @fantasyyirma
*R
Yirma’s back!
We know what you’re like.
As soon as Sergio Aguero’s shot hit the back of the QPR net to seal Manchester City’s first title in 44 years last May, you were already thinking about how that would affect his transfer value in the 2012/13 season of Fantasy Premier League. Well wonder no longer.
We’ve had to put up with Spain’s passing, Andy Murray’s crying and now the world’s athletes competing with tube strikes for national attention, but we know and you know that the focus has always been on what promises to be the biggest season of Fantasy Yirma yet.
Behind the scenes, the FY Directors of Fantasy Football are working hard on a number of exciting initatives for the long season ahead, including this web page which will keep you up to date with all the latest goings on in the league(s) and provide previews for each and every Gameweek.
With more players expected in Yirma than ever before, this promises to be the best, most keenly-contested season yet, and you can keep up to date with it both here and on Twitter @FantasyYirma.
Oh, and Aguero? 11.5. A bargain, no?
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