Category Archives: Player Selection
Lamby’s bandwagon
It’s time to jump on the bandwagon, throw away the magic 8 ball, stop asking Siri and join the consistency train.
In other words it’s time to settle down make the safe transfers, especially with the Fantasy Cup and the FY Shield only a few weeks away. It’s time to build a team to allow you break the magical 50 points barrier each Gameweek. No longer do you need that one off great Gameweek, but it is all about being consistent.
So it’s time to jump on that bandwagon, for some of you that that may mean swallowing your pride by picking a player who you have avoided because he was wearing your team’s shirt last year. Or that player, where you pick up the paper and think “He’s a D***”, or that young kid who you still don’t want to believe the hype over. It’s time to be smart.
So, with that in mind, here are the three players who your team can’t afford to be without in weeks and months to come (Remember these are my own views and generally* not shared with the rest of the Admin team.) *never.
Robin van Persie – Yes his price tag is high, I hear some of you cry, but he is averaging 6.5 points a game, and as a special treat for stat fans that works out to a stunning one point every 11.8 minutes that he has been on the turf. Despite Carlos Tevez being cheaper and scoring more points, come January and with Mario Balotelli’s bags pretty much packed for the EuroStar, someone else will almost certainly be posing with the number 45 City shirt and Roberto Mancini – giving Tevez more competition. Even with Tom Glick as their COO – his tight ways may have worked out at Derby but he’s in a different league now – the Al Mubarak family will certainly look to allow Mancini to go on January spending spree, meaning that Tevez could suffer as Van Persie racks up the points.
Marouane Fellaini – The man with the crazy hair has been the heart of anything pretty good that Everton have done this season, and although that hair could be worse it’s not on scale of Tom Huddlestone’s as the ex-Derby man continues to try and score a goal before he can shave it off. Keep with Fellaini while Everton’s great run continues. EDIT: (Fellaini is suspended this weekend)
Jose Enrique – My third is pick is a player that all old school fantasy football players have been waiting for since a young Gareth Bale burst onto the scene and was listed as a defender, however spent the season out on the wing. Once again there is a player that ticks all of those boxes.
Jose Enrique last year was a great buy, he was cheap at less than 5 million and playing in the back line of one of the tightest defenses in the league, but the arrival of Brendan Rogers from across the Brecon Beacons National Park along with his Barcelona-esque free flowing football has unleashed some of Liverpool’s brightest Academy stars such as Andre Wisdom, who has slotted into the defence nicely, meaning Enrique’s pitch time was limited to coming off the bench or covering for injures.
Some even started to think that maybe Jose was one of the chosen three in Brendan’s now infamous envelopes, however against Wigan he was let loose on the wing and with his pace along with Raheem Sterling and the brilliance of Luis Suarez, Liverpool may be starting find an answer to the lack of goals that have caused their fans so much heartache over the past 18 months.
If your money – like the current economy – is tight then I suggest buying Sterling as the front three for Liverpool are going be in the points every week, but for the sake of 0.6 million I would swing in favour of the Spaniard Enrique, as those clean sheet bonuses could be the difference between you and your mate come May.
Guest Post: #FPL Reflection by @RotoZdroik from RotoExperts
This guest post was submitted by Adam @RotoZdroik from US Fantasy Sports site www.RotoExperts.com. RotoExperts feature award-winning experts and analysis across various major sports platforms.
Many thanks to Adam for his contribution and if you would like to guest post for Fantasy Yirma – Contact us at fantasyyirma@hotmail.com
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Wait, Manchester United lost to who? One of the richest and most popular clubs in the World fell to the hands (or feet) of Norwich on Saturday.
That’s right, a team scoring almost three goals per game lost to a team that was scoring less than one goal per game with a goal differential of negative 10. About zero people predicted the Canaries to come away with a win. Don’t forget, they also beat Arsenal and Tottenham (Capital One cup) in the past month, as well.
What does this mean for your Fantasy squad? Norwich is by far the best-valued squad when looking at defenses. John Ruddy only costs 4.6m (at the official game at premierleague.com) and has four clean sheets in his last five matches. He has more points than any other keeper does in the Premier League. Joe Hart has 14 less points yet currently costs 2.3m more. That’s the difference between having Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney on your team.
As for the Canary defenders, none of them cost more than 4.5m. Javier Garrido had the assist against Man United and now has bonus points in two straight games. He has five more Fantasy points than Patrice Evra, costs a lot less and is owned by about five percent less of contestants. Sebastien Bassong and Michael Turner also deserve a mention on the back line, as they have been key in Norwich’s current run.
In the other matches, red cards took the headline. Emmanuel Adebayor scored and then was sent off shortly after against his former club. Arsenal went on to score five goals after Adebayor was given the boot. The same story can be said about Brede Hangeland for Fulham. He got a red and offensively challenged Sunderland proceeded to put three in the back of the net. Marouane Fellaini picked up only a yellow card in their road loss at Reading, but that still lead to a two-game suspension for him since it was his fifth of the campaign.
Liverpool and Manchester City were favorites of most Fantasy owners as they combined for an 8-0 score line. In form striker, Luis Suarez, scored twice while defender Jose Enrique scored, assisted and got full bonus points. He was my No. 1 defender in last week’s rankings.
As for City, it took some time but they got back to scoring big against Aston Villa. Carlos Tevez had two goals and two assists while David Silva once again showed life with a goal and two assists. Sergio Aguero made an appearance as well, scoring twice.
Swansea continues to defy odds with their always-productive midfield. Pablo Hernandez, Johnathan de Guzman and Michu all found the score sheet in a road win. QPR lost yet another disappointing game, but this one came at home against the club that is directly above them in the table. Never a good thing.
In somewhat of an upset, West Brom took out Chelsea on the legs of their usually consistent forwards. Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long both grabbed goals while Chelsea looked largely unimpressive for most of the game. West Brom continues to impress every week.
WEEKLY TIP
Instead of going defensive, it’s time to focus on some attacking options.
Man United vs. QPR
United is not happy coming off a loss and QPR gets them at the most unfortunate time.
Everyone knows about Robin van Persie so he shouldn’t come as a surprise. Rooney will be back from illness and couldn’t pick a better time to break his scoring streak. Each of them was rested for their midweek Champions League match. My top defender choice, Patrice Evra, will also have full strength for this one.
The hardest part to decide on United is their midfield. Shinji Kagawa is out for another month which means both Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia will continue to get starts. Each of them presents a risk, especially for their price, but each has plenty of upside in this match.
Stoke City vs. Fulham
This may be a surprise choice, but hear me out. No one else will be looking at Stoke City players for good reason; they only have 10 goals through 12 matches. However, on the other end of this, Hangeland will not start for the first time all campaign for Fulham. Not to mention, Fulham has allowed eight goals in their last three road matches and 11 goals in their last four matches overall.
Peter Crouch is basically their only true forward that needs to be looked at. He hasn’t scored in six straight gameweeks, but that is about to change. Charlie Adam is easily their most popular midfielder and he should grab at least an assist in this one. Jonathan Walters is another option to check out, but make sure he’s playing first as he’s dealing with a knee injury. Defensively, Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth are always good options. Geoff Cameron deserves a look as well since he’s the cheapest of the bunch.
WEEKLY RANKINGS
Goalkeepers
- Anders Lindegaard, Manchester United, 5.4m, vs. QPR
- Tim Howard, Everton, 5.6m, vs. Norwich
- Ali Al-Habsi, Wigan, 5.0m, vs. Reading
- Asmir Begovic, Stoke City, 5.1m, vs. Fulham
- Boaz Myhill, West Brom, 4.4m, at Sunderland
Defenders
- Patrice Evra, Man United, 6.8m, vs. QPR
- Rafael, Man United, 6.4m, vs. QPR
- Leighton Baines, Everton, 7.6m, vs. Norwich
- Jose Enrique, Liverpool, 5.7m, at Swansea
- Ryan Shawcross, Stoke City, 5.2m, vs. Fulham
- John Arne Riise, Fulham, 5.7m, at Stoke City
- Liam Ridgewell, West Brom, 5.0m, at Sunderland
- Ivan Ramis, Wigan, 4.5m, vs. Reading
- William Gallas, Tottenham, 5.0m, vs. West Ham
- Kaspars Gorkss, Reading, 4.0m, at Wigan
Midfielders
- Santi Cazorla, Arsenal, 9.4m, at Aston Villa
- Gareth Bale, Tottenham, 9.7m, vs. West Ham
- Juan Mata, Chelsea, 9.6m, vs. Man City
- David Silva, Man City, 9.3m, at Chelsea
- Eden Hazard, Chelsea, 10.1m, vs. Man City
- Hatem Ben Arfa, Newcastle, 7.8m, at Southampton
- Antonio Valencia, Man United, 8.6m, vs. QPR
- Pablo Hernandez, Swansea, 6.1m, vs. Liverpool
- Kevin Nolan, West Ham, 6.9m, at Tottenham
- Charlie Adam, Stoke City, 6.6m, vs. Fulham
Forwards
- Robin van Persie, Man United, 13.7m, vs. QPR
- Luis Suarez, Liverpool, 10.2m, at Swansea
- Demba Ba, Newcastle, 8.3m, at Southampton
- Olivier Giroud, Arsenal, 8.4m, at Aston Villa
- Carlos Tevez, Man City, 9.4m, at Chelsea
- Sergio Aguero, Man City, 11.0m, at Chelsea
- Lukas Podolski, Arsenal, 8.2m, at Aston Villa
- Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, 11.8m, vs. QPR
- Rickie Lambert, Southampton, 6.0m, vs. Newcastle
- Peter Crouch, Stoke City, 6.8m, vs. Fulham
YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN
- Robin van Persie, Man United
- Luis Suarez, Liverpool
- Olivier Giroud, Fulham
- Carlos Tevez, Man City
- Demba Ba, Newcastle
The Red Devils were just shutout on the road. They aren’t very happy and go against the last-place club in the league. United averages three goals per game at Old Trafford and RVP will be around all of them.
There may not be anyone else more in form at the moment than Suarez. He has scored in four straight matches. While he’s on the road, Swansea’s defense isn’t impossible to get by.
All of a sudden, Arsenal’s attacking prowess was back against Tottenham. Ten guys or not, they still scored five goals. Giroud is the man of the moment with three goals in his last two matches.
While he probably won’t have another two-goal, two-assist performance at Chelsea, Tevez is still the likeliest of candidates to score in this match. Chelsea hasn’t had a clean sheet in seven straight games.
Newcastle isn’t playing great, but that doesn’t matter to Ba. He will find the back of the net no matter the situation and this situation is friendly for him even on the road.
*Stats up-to-date as of Nov. 19
About the author: Adam Zdroik, Staff Writer View all posts by Adam Zdroik, Staff Writer
GW12 – NOTHING BUT THE BONUS POINTS #FPL
Nothing but the bonus points from the #FPL game from http://www.premierleague.com
| 17 Nov 12:45 | Arsenal | ![]() |
5 – 2 | ![]() |
Tottenham |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | Liverpool | ![]() |
3 – 0 | ![]() |
Wigan |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | Man City | ![]() |
5 – 0 | ![]() |
Aston Villa |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | Newcastle | ![]() |
1 – 2 | ![]() |
Swansea |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | QPR | ![]() |
1 – 3 | ![]() |
Southampton |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | Reading | ![]() |
2 – 1 | ![]() |
Everton |
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| 17 Nov 15:00 | West Brom | ![]() |
2 – 1 | ![]() |
Chelsea |
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| 17 Nov 17:30 | Norwich | ![]() |
1 – 0 | ![]() |
Man Utd |
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| 18 Nov 16:00 | Fulham | ![]() |
1 – 3 | ![]() |
Sunderland |
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| 19 Nov 20:00 | West Ham | ![]() |
1 – 1 | ![]() |
Stoke City |
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THE GW12 REVIEW by @shots_on_target
Thanks as always to @shots_on_target for his great GW Review. You can read more of his quality work at http://www.shotsontarget.co.uk
I’ve included indicators to the team match stats for each team, the little arrows. This is calculated by taking the attacking stat for a team and comparing it against the opposition’s average corresponding defensive stat. If the value is above 1 standard deviation above the mean then it’s a green arrow, 1 SD below it’s red, in between it’s yellow.
For example, in the first game Arsenal’s 7 SOT exceeds Tottenham’s average SOT conceded away from home of 3.8 by quite a bit, so it’s a green arrow (you’ll have to account for the red card yourself I’m afraid). Arsenal’s total shots of 13 is not too far from Tottenham’s away shots conceded average of 11.9 so that’s a yellow arrow.
This adds some context to the stats I believe and tells you how a team performed to the league average. Again using the first game, you can see Tottenham achieved close close to average shot totals against Arsenal despite being down to 10 men for much of the game.

As discussed already in the intro, difficult to judge this game with Adebayor sent off after just 18 minutes. The chances were spread out for Arsenal with the exception of Giroud who is definetly becoming the focal point for the Gunner’s attack.
Have to say Everton’s dominance here, especially in the first half, deservered at least a draw, and Moyes was indeed quite vocal about his team failing to finish off opponents. Perhaps need to try and fire up Jelavic in this respect. Le Fondre for Reading was very busy as was Nicky Shorey creating 6 of the home team’s chances.

As expected by many of us, Liverpool were in fine fettle here, both offensively and in defence racking up a tonne of chances and conceding very little indeed. Sterling was amongst the FPL points once again and Enrique‘s position in midfield needs close attention. You no longer need me to tell you that Suarez was Liverpool’s main goal threat though.

West Brom need to be given great credit for the way they are playing this year and are doing the important things right. Shane Long is doing superbly this season and when you take a closer look at his stats from last season they compare well. This was a confusing line-up for Chelsea with them missing a large number of first team regulars in Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mata and Ivanovic. Sturridge‘s continued role and performance in the side will need watching.

Total dominance from City here, who really excelled with Tevez stealing the show statistically although it should be noted Aguero played less of the match. Nasri had a much better game than he’s managed of late and Silva looked like he took up a more attacking role than the creative one. For Villa, well, they can feel hard done by from the penalty decision but would never really have been expected to do much here.
Southampton dominated the stats here in all areas. There defensive performance has been on the up recently although midfielder Puncheon stole the show with a very impressive number of shots. If he can keep his place, even a little, then he becomes a great player to own. What’s wrong with QPR though? Why can’t they score. Some of the players stats here looked good, perhaps lacking accuracy when in the box (Cisse).

A stunning number of shots overall in this game, almost 50 shots in total, averaging 1 every 2 minutes. I’m well impressed! Swansea’s Michu and Newcastle’s Ba, as their teams central strikers not suprisingly had the most of their teams chances, with Hernandez and Ben Arfa chief amongst creativity. Ba’s totals in particular would usually easily be enough for a brace.

Norwich’s defence is much improved and that can be seen in United’s shot totals not exceeding Norwich’s home averages despite some relatively low looking numbers. In contrast Norwich did not put in a display of great attacking verve but got the all important goal and clean sheet. Pilkington‘s winner just reward for his attacking performance. For United it’s still all about Van Persie in the shots department although Ashley Young matching his efforts deserves a mention. Hernandez managing just 1 shot and from outside the box probably tells you about this game.

Another early red card prevents this results from telling the true strory of this match-up but again, as for the ARS-TOT game, we can see Fulham had a good go at Sunderland despite their 10 men with lots of threat from Berbatov, Sidwell and Petric. For Sunderland Fletcher got back amongst the goals and Adam Johnson picked up 2 assists but I wouldn’t read too much into this result for the Black Cats.

This match finished exactly as many people had called it with neither team impressing in a pure attacking sense. A few Hammers had chances to score and Nolan could have added a goal to his collection. Instead it was a rival for his place in the midpriced midfielder’s category, Jon Walters, who picked up attacking points.
Gameweek 12 preview: Big points for the Little Pea?
Did you all enjoy that international break as much as Zlatan Ibrahimovic did? Thought not. Do you want us to get on with the real stuff again then? Thought so.
When we left the Premier League it had just been lit up by a second half showing from Javier Hernandez (£7.6m) at Villa Park, where his two goals and well angled volley off Ron Vlaar’s backside turned Manchester United’s 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win in the manner which seems to be in United’s DNA.
Sir Alex Ferguson responded to the goals by promising Hernandez a start in Saturday evening’s clash with Norwich City at Carrow Road, and then almost immediately withdrew both Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie from their international squads with the kind of injuries that only midweek national service can bring out.
Key to Ferguson’s thinking may have been that of his four recognised forwards only Hernandez wasn’t scheduled to play in an international this week, and so with the ‘Little Pea’ not shooting off to Mexico he’s had a full week of training and setting his sights on Norwich’s less than convincing defence.
One or both of Rooney (£11.8m) and Van Persie (£13.7m and still rising) are almost certain to play on Saturday, but perhaps not from the start as Ferguson entrusts his frequent super-sub with what would be only a second Premier League start of the season. Hernandez might not be a long term option for your team but if you need a forward for this weekend alone then there aren’t many better choices, although there is Luis Suarez (£10.0m).
Now elevated to the status of one of only five players in Fantasy Premier League who’ll cost you a double-figured amount of millions to purchase – Rooney, Van Persie, Sergio Aguero and Eden Hazard before you ask – there is a compelling argument for Suarez being the most watchable player in the English game right now.
Another goal at Chelsea last weekend made it three in his last three and eight league strikes this season for the Uruguayan, who shares top spot the Premier League’s scorers’ chart alongside Van Persie but will be looking to go out on his own when Wigan come to Anfield on Saturday.
You’ll have read elsewhere and witnessed for yourselves just how much Suarez carries the Liverpool attack – although Raheem Sterling (£5.3m) continues to prove popular after our early nod in his direction – but the forward does come with a cautionary tale, with his four bookings so far this season leaving him just one yellow card away from a one-match suspension. He’ll be fit and available for Wigan though and looks a good bet to find the net.
He’s wanted in Manchester if you believe certain stories, but for now Roberto Mancini will have to make do with just selecting from Aguero (£11.0m), Carlos Tevez (£9.5m), Edin Dzeko (£7.5m) and Mario Balotelli (£8.6m) – it’s a tough life – and once again internationals are likely to play their part for the visit of Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium.
Aguero played for Argentina in Riyadh on Wednesday whilst Tevez didn’t, and with Dzeko and Balotelli also in midweek action then it could pay to bank on Tevez to be the hero against the Villains.
Elsewhere on a Gameweek which could generate a lot of points, the North London derby promises goals and a battle between Santi Cazorla (£9.4m) and Gareth Bale (£9.7m). Spurs defender Steven Caulker (£4.8m) has also shown that he’s got an eye for the net in the past week and could be a good long-term option.
Chelsea’s trip to West Brom is far from simple and with Hazard (£10.2m), Juan Mata (£9.5m) and Oscar (£7.8m) all looking somewhat sluggish against Liverpool last week they could struggle, whilst Everton’s Marouane Fellaini (£7.6m) and Nikica Jelavic (£8.5m) will hope to team up again at Reading.
The meeting of the division’s bottom two at Loftus Road might not look to have many points on offer, but QPR’s Junior Hoilett (£5.8m) is likely to be central to everything the home side do against leaky Southampton, and the presence of our third key player to watch this Gameweek could benefit both Rangers and you.
Sweden 4-2 England – Zlatan Ibrahimovic… say no more…
I realise that historically I may have frowned upon mid-week International Friendlies….
But then Zlatan Ibrahimovic went and did this….
@fantasyyirma
GW11 THE REVIEW!! by @shots_on_target

Many Thanks to @shots_on_target for this weeks GW round up. For more great articles from our very own “Statto” check out his website at http://www.shotsontarget.co.uk !!
Special mention this week to new guest poster Super Grover who has provided Match reports to supplement the tables
Very accurate and clinical shooting by both teams. The game wasn’t quite as open as the score dictates as 15 shots in the box is pretty standard. Just one of those games where everything goes in, except Arteta’s penalty that is!
As for individuals, Giroud is the obvious star here. Superb game all around. Berbatov continues to be superb and appears almost fixture proof at this point. Ruiz would be interesting if listed as a MID.
Cazorla’s numbers weren’t bad, but at his price range he needs to produce more in this kind of fixture. Suspect a number of owners will be rethinking their elite MID options with Mata on fire and Silva back from the injury list.
Sunderland managed to find the back of the net again although Everton were clearly the better side in this one. Everton continue to press forward and are susceptible to counters. All the Blues offensive players were involved (Fellaini, Pienaar, Baines, Jelavic, Mirallas) and any of them could have brought home the points. This team remains a gold mine for attacking fantasy purposes.
Wouldn’t look too much at Heitenga’s shot opportunities. Yes he kicked/headed the ball towards the goal, but if Saturday is any indication he’s going to struggle to ever put one on the goal. With any skill he could have easily netted a brace.
While Sessegnon was a handful and showed some of the form he demonstrated last season they still managed just 3 shots on goal. It is still difficult to consider this team from an offensive perspective other than perhaps Fletcher.
My model predicted about 1.5 goals for Man U this weekend. They scored 3 from onlu 5 shots on target. They continue to confound any statistical forecaster with their absurd conversion rate (now at 46% for the year). Van Persie was the most provocative player, but had 4 shots to Rooney’s 4 in 17 fewer minutes and Hernandez’ 3 in 47 fewer minutes. RVP remains a fantasy monster but at soon to be 13.7 million you certainly are paying for it.
Villa didn’t do a whole lot but everything they did was funneled through Benteke and Weimann. While Benteke is a legit fantasy option, Weimann seems like a non-entity to me. This was his first game of any real contribution and Bent remains an ever present option on the bench. I personally see no value in Villa’s offense.
Even game in which Stoke were probably somewhat fortunate to get a clean sheet. Crouch and Walters were involved, but neither are elite options as Stoke isn’t going to put up many crooked numbers this year. For QPR, Taarabt was a menace to both sides as usual, being more than a bit free with his shots. Granero was also heavily involved and Hoillet was solid as well. This is the third game in a row the trio has started together. Any of the three are legit fantasy options if QPR can click into some sort of form. All are on my radar.
Terrible game to watch. From Adebayor’s diving to Mancini’s sideline histrionics. City dominated the game throughout and probably should have scored 3. Aguero and Silva were excellent as expected while I thought Tevez was a bit subdued. Dzeko really was only involved in his goal and a corner, but his presence remains troublesome to Tevez owners. Interestingly Balotelli and Nasri weren’t even included on the bench.
To me, Aguero and Silva are the key options here, with Tevez there if you want to try and read Mancini’s mind. The defense remains stout as Totenham barely threatened and the goal was very soft. Probably should have been a clean sheet for City.
For the Spurs, there wasn’t much to talk about. Adebayor was a flopping menace but didn’t really threaten much. Bale was starved of many real opportunities for him. One thing to note is that Huddlestone took nearly every free kick and 1 of the 2 corners. If that continues that is a bit of a knock on Bale’s value. It did not occur last game though so I wouldn’t look too much into it. Besides Bale, the rest of the Spurs look like non-options right now.
Don’t look now, but Southampton’s defense is improving. It’s still not good mind you, but improvement is improvement. Swansea really didn’t generate much offense and widely-held Michu and Routledge were invisible. For Routledge, this is the 3rd straight fixture that he has been a non-factor. De Guzman was better this week and has been better recently, but probably not strong enough to warrant investment.
For Southampton, Lambert remains a well-rounded asset, especially at home. He now has 21 chances created on the season, third behind Suarez and RVP among all forwards. If he plays he is almost certainly worth the money at 6.1. Ramirez continues to rack up solid numbers in his playing time. He is now averaging 3 shots and 2.2 chances created per 90 minutes, solid numbers for a 6.0 million MID. Lallana remains a solid 6.0 option as well.
Even game. Both teams were somewhat threatening but only generated 4 chances on target. For WBA, Morrison remains the key figure although Lukaku remains a constant goal threat when he is given time on the pitch. Brunt started instead of Gera this week so that probably removes Gera as a budget option. On the other side it was more of a mixed bag. Kone scored but had only 2 shots all day and no key passes. Di Santo didn’t do much either. Watson did manage 3 shots for the second week in a row. Could he become an option with regular playing time?
Shots on target was right, Reading’s defense was the way to go this week! A pretty non-eventful game, with both teams struggling to generate anything with only 13 total chances created. Hoolahan, Snoddgrass and Holt remain interesting options on Norwich presuming rotations issues can be weeded out. For Reading, only Shorey did anything useful by racking up 3 key passes from his very advanced left-back position. Not sure he is worth investment though as they won’t be playing Norwich’s offense at home every week.
Newcastle probably deserved at least a draw here. West Ham continued their run of allowing a ton of shots and not a ton of goals. Currently, the opposition is converting just 17.7% of their shots on target against the Hammers. Don’t expect that to continue. On offense, WHM has been very aggressive getting shots close in and the pattern continued this week. Nolan remains the primary contributor here although Noble is very cheap and remains on all kicks (including penalties).
On the other side it was pretty much status quo. Cabaye outperformed HBA, but Ben Arfa did enough to keep him as a viable, albeit pricey, midfield option. Ba was Ba, with the only difference being that he didn’t score on one of his 2 shots on target. Cisse remains a non option at this time.
Entertaining game to watch. Liverpool came out in a 3-5-2 formation with Enrique and Johnson as wing backs. Seemed to confuse the Reds more than Chelsea and the home team really dominated the first half. The second half saw a switch to a more traditional back four with Enrique playing left-mid and Gerrard dropping deeper to orchestrate the offense instead of Joe Allen (who was putrid in the opening 45). Liverpool were the better team in the second half and deserved the single point.
On Liverpool, Suarez continued his excellent recent form and seemed more restrained than usual (a 5th yellow on his mind perhaps). His shot and key pass numbers were down a bit but that was more of a reflection of the dominance by Chelsea in the first half. Sterling again created a couple opportunities with his pace. I purchased Sterling at 4.7 and am thrilled with his production. At his current price, I am not sure I wouldn’t be happier trying my luck with Taarabt. On the backline, both Johnson and Enrique were involved offensively, although Enrique’s clumsiness was apparent to my eye. Gerrard was a non-factor as he spent most of the second half directing things as a holding mid. He also gave up corner duties to Suso.
For Chelsea, Mata, Hazard and Torres were all heavily involved. Oscar was excellent but he remains a bit deeper than the other two #10s and thus doesn’t have the same fantasy potential in my opinion. Torres was Torres, getting a hold of a good number of solid chances but failing to put any in the back of the net. Hazard and Mata both remain solid fantasy assets.
Big thanks again to @shots_on_target for the Stats and new guest poster SuperGrover for his match reports!! Visit http://www.shotsontarget.com for more great articles!!
Fantasy Football Selection -Madness behind the method?? by @ryano83
We had a great email come through from @pojokmonas which spoke of the personal dilemma suffered by his mini-league opponent who, as a hardened Arsenal supporter simply cannot bring himself to pick Robin Van Persie in his Fantasy Football 11.
“A friend of mine, who loves Arsenal, was very disappointed that Robin van Persie moved to United. Last season, he put Robin van Persie as a captain, whenever he was available to play. This season however, he swore that he will never EVER play RVP, or like he calls the striker… (Editor: careful this is a family site! ha)
So far this season, he is still maintaining decent form in our fantasy mini-league. Regardless, when RvP plays well, you can be sure he always get mocked for his stand.
It doesn’t end here, there are plenty other people who have installed self-imposed rules on themselves.
There’s one team that always selects De Gea as a goalkeeper even through periods of rotation by Sir Alex. One manager never selects players when they are against Liverpool. Another always has to have three Tottenham players no matter what.
This subjectivity can cost a manager as I mentioned earlier. When a player is in form, valuable points can be lost by these rules. On the other hand, does it push managers to be more creative to find alternatives?
Are there any restrictions that you put personally on your team?”
We talk about the method behind the madness in many scenarios – but in this case it is clearly the other way around if we took a logical approach??
So what other self-imposed rules do people live by when it comes to fantasy football selection?? Certainly we’ve all heard of a similar dilemma to the Arsenal Fan-RVP selection issue. It’s not always a bad thing though… I know a good few Liverpool fans who swore blind they wouldn’t select Torres following his move to Chelsea – and in fairness that worked out for them ok last season!
My personal favourite are the die hard fans… We have in our mini-league a Derby County fan so devoted to his club he has Tom Huddlestone in his #FPL team week in –week out in some strange form of ritualistic homage to the man. While this is clearly questionable (Especially when he was on the long term injury table) I respect his dedication!
And it’s not just club rivalry or devotion!
From a personal point of view I have a self-imposed rule that I don’t believe in having more than one player, per club, per position. There have already been a few weeks this season where I could have done with both Hazard and Mata in my team! I know I am not alone in this rule, but it did get me thinking… what other rules do #FPL managers inflict on themselves??
A quick twitter poll threw up the following results – but there are more! Drop us a comment underneath and we will post them all on twitter.
Fantasy Football – How do you select yours??
Thanks again to @pojokmonas for getting us all thinking!
By @ryano83 for @fantasyyirma
Yes- if a midfielder or forward doesn’t have a shot in an easy home game he’s sold…
(@shots_on_target is a friend of the FY site and this rule comes as no surprise to us!)
I don’t. Keep it as objective as you can.
Yep. I can’t have any Liverpool players. Just can’t do it.
Do not waste points on transfers.
3 arsenal players. No RVP or Nasri. Never use more than free subs.1 mid and def cheapest option in game.
I won’t pick suarez because of what he stands for #nastyplayer
No Hazard, no matter what
GW11 NOTHING BUT BONUS POINTS!!! #FPL
| 10 Nov 15:00 | Arsenal | ![]() |
3 – 3 | ![]() |
Fulham |
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| 10 Nov 15:00 | Everton | ![]() |
2 – 1 | ![]() |
Sunderland |
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| 10 Nov 15:00 | Reading | ![]() |
0 – 0 | ![]() |
Norwich |
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| 10 Nov 15:00 | Southampton | ![]() |
1 – 1 | ![]() |
Swansea |
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| 10 Nov 15:00 | Stoke City | ![]() |
1 – 0 | ![]() |
QPR |
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| 10 Nov 15:00 | Wigan | ![]() |
1 – 2 | ![]() |
West Brom |
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| 10 Nov 17:30 | Aston Villa | ![]() |
2 – 3 | ![]() |
Man Utd |
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| 11 Nov 13:30 | Man City | ![]() |
2 – 1 | ![]() |
Tottenham |
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| 11 Nov 15:00 | Newcastle | ![]() |
0 – 1 | ![]() |
West Ham |
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| 11 Nov 16:00 | Chelsea | ![]() |
1 – 1 | ![]() |
Liverpool |
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Gameweek 11 preview: Rebel without a clause
Theo Walcott still hasn’t signed a new Arsenal contract.
He hasn’t signed it at the time of writing, he’s not likely to have signed it by the time you’re reading this, and he probably still won’t have signed it when you come back to these pages ahead of Gameweek 12.
If Walcott (£8.7m) wasn’t so bland as to make a legion of football fans yearn for the post-match interviews of Michael Owen then his dispute with Arsenal could almost be portrayed as a dramatic stand-off, with the nippy winger-but-wants-to-be-thought-of-as-a-forward and Arsene Wenger drawing pistols at dawn and seeing which one backs down first.
In reality it’s just a stare-off, which will only end one day when one of the parties gets bored and decides that their time will be spent better elsewhere, be it Walcott wandering off to pastures new or Wenger realising that one of the most dynamic players in the Premier League really is worth hanging on to after all.
What it has created is a situation in which Walcott is determined to perform well to simultaneously try and prove that he’s worth keeping hold of and to impress potential future employers at the same time.
Recent goals in the Capital One Cup and the Champions League have staked Walcott’s claim for a starting berth in Wenger’s league team, and with Gervinho injured and Jack Wilshere suspended for Saturday’s home game against Fulham, the Frenchman could do worse than to hand a starting place to a player who will be desperate to impress.
Of course it would be a gamble to transfer Walcott into your team given the uncertainty over his position at Arsenal, but ahead of a Gameweek which could go one of several different ways given the fixtures it might just be a gamble worth taking, especially when you consider his differential potential (he’s owned by 1.3% of teams), the possibility that he could be played upfront and the idea that he’ll be playing for another team in January. Liverpool have been linked, and he’d start every week there.
For now he’s still at Arsenal though, where Olivier Giroud (£8.4m) and Santi Cazorla (£9.4m) will be other players worth considering if you think that the Gunners can beat Fulham at home on Saturday. Bacary Sagna (£5.4m) is a defender worth keeping an eye on now that he’s returned to the team and dislodged previous Fantasy favourite Carl Jenkinson (£5.0m).
Elsewhere, this intriguing Gameweek offers up very few strong defensive options given the close nature on paper of many of the matches, but one of the strongest surely comes at Goodison Park where Everton take on a Sunderland side who have scored just once in their last five in league and cup – and that goal came from Newcastle’s Demba Ba.
Leighton Baines (£7.6m) could be a wise move as Everton bid to end a run of four straight draws, with Nikica Jelavic (£8.5m) and last weekend’s top points scorer Marouane Fellaini (£7.2m) sure to be popular picks.
Manchester City haven’t convinced recently and their match with Tottenham on Sunday looks to be one which will include goals, whilst Chelsea will be backed to beat Liverpool especially given that Juan Mata (£9.4m) will return after missing the Swansea game and Oscar (£7.8m) will look to repeat the goal he scored in the Champions League in midweek.
Cheap striking options over the weekend can be found in Reading’s Jason Roberts (£4.5m) and Arouna Kone (£6.5m) of Wigan but for our final forward we look towards Manchester United, and not towards the player you think.
Whilst Robin van Persie (£13.5m) now features in over a third of teams, Wayne Rooney (£11.8m) can only be found in 8%, and as United click ominously into gear you have to assume that that number will only go up.
He may have missed a penalty against Arsenal last weekend but Rooney made up for that with an assist, and as @shots_on_target suggested last weekend he could be the way to go ahead of a welcoming set of fixtures for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, starting with Aston Villa on Saturday.


















































