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For the Fantasy Football enamored amongst us the New Year brings a late Christmas present…
THE JANUARY WILDCARD!!
To help you decide how to best approach the January Wildcard, FantasyYIRMA.com will be running a series of articles looking at different perspectives. You can follow us on twitter for #FPL chat at @FantasyYIRMA
WILDCARD SPECIAL
Play it your way Part 1: LINK
Play it your way Part 2: LINK
Play it your way Part 3: LINK
Next up we are delighted to feature a guest post from the 2012/13 FPL #6 in the World @JulianZip
Julian led the way in FPL last year including a 5 week consecutive run at #1 towards the end of the season!…Being from Australia and not getting to see as much of the Premier League as he’d like makes this even more impressive!!
Such is the feat of his achievement Julian actually featured in the National Press Down Under
Julian epitomizes the stat based approach to the game, a great guy to interact with on twitter – make sure and drop a follow to @JulianZip .
My January Wildcard approach…
While it depends on how you’re going, I’ve always thought that using wildcards early is a good idea. It gives you the chance to get a jump-start on your rivals who have to bring in the best performers bit-by-bit (or take hits) while juggling injuries. My logic is that it’s harder to chase a mini-league lead than it is to keep one. The January wildcard is a little different though, and I’d argue that patience is the way to go with it, if your current team is in reasonable enough shape to get you through a few more weeks…for many of us, niggles to players such as Rooney and yellow flags are making that a nerve-wracking proposition of course.
You can bet lots of people have been counting down until January 1st,desperate to get rid of players who have been causing them angst (Marc Wilson, get out of my life) or to bring in the ones who have been consistently hurting them (damn you Per Mertesacker!). At this time of year though, our squads start to look even more uniform. That means unless you’re in front, or you are really winning the team value part of the game, it’s tough to make real gains.
Big Per giving Julian the thumbs up 🙂
I’m hoping that by holding off until after gameweek 22 I’ll be able to utilise the break, and the few weeks, prior to work on my team value, and by then there could be a ready-to-go Aguero, and hopefully a few new signings that shake things up. You never know, Man United might bring in a creative midfielder, and Arsenal or Chelsea might find themselves a world class striker…well maybe not, but you get what I’m saying…
For defensive choices, I look at fixtures to make sure I have two relatively cheap keepers who rotate well with home games. McGregor and Speroni have worked well in that regard over the last few months, and looking ahead Marshall with Mannone/Speroni seem like options to do a similar job (Szczesny & Guzan look a decent pairing too). I’ll look at two premium defenders, and then three who rotate well for around the following 6-8 gameweeks. Hull and Palace look solid choices given their numbers as far as goals conceded at home go, and West Ham give a nice three way rotation alongside those two.
In the front half I’ll probably be able to afford a few of the fixture-proof heavy hitters…i.e. Suarez, Aguero, Walcott, Hazard… with a few mid-price guys like Lallana and Cabaye, and then budget options to make it all possible – the likes of Sterling, Whittingham, Januzaj, Redmond/Fer, Barkley. My usual formation preference is a 3-4-3, but if things keep going the way they have been striker-wise lately, I’m considering interchanging that with a 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 (so finding a cheap striker, mid and defender who rotate well together fixture-wise).
I like to make sure I have coverage from each of the big teams…but I’m careful not to load up too much on any one, as mid-week commitments mean rotation and fatigue is set to become even more of an issue going forward. In particular what I’ll spend time combing the stats looking for, are one or two options under 10% ownership who are creating chances or getting looks at goal (but who haven’t had huge scoring weeks yet)…they are the ones I’m hoping might provide a point of difference, and who others might be too busy looking in the direction of the current hot picks to notice.
Thanks to @FantasyYIRMA for the chance to contribute – as always, have been enjoying keeping up to speed with everything #FPL via your posts!
Julian has Guest Posted on the site previously – you can see his previous article here LINK
He also contributes to FourFourTwo in Australia and you can view his work here LINK
January Wildcard Special : Play it your way! Part 2
For the Fantasy Football enamored amongst us the New Year brings a late Christmas present…
THE JANUARY WILDCARD!!
To help you decide how to best approach the January Wildcard FantasyYIRMA.com will be running a series of articles looking at different perspectives. You can follow us on twitter for #FPL chat at @FantasyYIRMA
WILDCARD SPECIAL
Play it your way Part 1: LINK
Play it your way Part 2: LINK
Play it your way Part 3: LINK
Next up we are delighted to feature a guest post from the 2012/13 FPL Runner Up @K3LVIN
Kelvin’s team “Why Always Me?” finished second overall (!!!) in #FPL last season beating out 2.6 million (!!!) players which was an unbelievable performance. Not only that but Kelvin was the winner of the FantasyYIRMA mini-league !
Kelvin had an unbelievable season and is a genuine fan of FPL. Having led the overall game for large parts of the year the league was decided on bonus points following the final gameweek of the season.
Take nothing away from this man – what he displayed last season in terms of judgement and consistency was extremely impressive!
You can find out more about Kelvin’s fantastic 2012/13 season here: Great Read! Link
Big thanks to Kelvin for his time and contribution to the site with this excellent post.
Make sure and follow Kelvin on twitter if you are not already on @K3lvin
Here are his thoughts on the January WC…
A January wildcard strategy is crucial to maximising its worth, the problem is the way different people should play it will vary. From those leading in their mini-leagues to those chasing and hoping to catch up. How, and more crucially when it should be played will depend on each managers individual circumstances. Here are a few things I’ll be considering when I play mine.
1. Patience
Most managers will play their wildcards early. If your squad is decimated by injury and players who aren’t getting the minutes this is a perfectly good way to use your wildcard. However, if you’re patient, can hold on and see what your competitors are doing, and can wait to see what players come and go in the Premier League, you’ll stand a much better chance of coming out of it with a well balanced team that can make up points or extend a lead in a mini-league.
2. Anticipation
We all know who the keys players are now, and who most people will be transferring in – Hazard, Cabaye, Lallana, Walcott, Suarez. Try and get these players in advance and get onboard the price rises without the use of a wildcard. Don’t forget though, this can work both ways. Players with high ownership who haven’t performed recently or are injured will plummet in price – Mignolet, Terry, Ivanovic, Ramsey, Ozil. Move these players on now, and if you want them back get them in when you play your wildcard.
3. Timing
Play your wildcard as late as possible. Don’t get overly worried by other player’s squads or team values. Identify the key players you want, ‘cover’ essential players where necessary (Suarez for example), and try and spot a few bargains who others will overlook.
Remember at the start of the season when Van Persie was a “must have”? Well whilst everybody is else is loading up on Aguero, Suarez, Rooney, Lukaku and Remy, who’s to say that come the end of January Van Persie isn’t going to be back and firing again… if you wait you’ll find out. Or maybe rumours of Chelsea signing a striker who can score finally come through.
Patience, anticipation and timing are key – the longer you hold your wildcard the stronger it becomes.
A few players returning from injury you may want to monitor who’ll offer a different approach to your wildcard:
Enrique £5.6m, Liverpool
Nastasic £5.1m, Man City
Michu £8.5m, Swansea
Gerrard £8.7m, Liverpool
Van Persie £13.6m, Man Utd
FantasyYIRMA would like to take this opportunity to highlight Kelvin’s chosen Charity cause. When Kelvin won the FantasyYIRMA mini-league last season he donated the prize money to a local charity
The charity Kelvin decided to support is called the Candlelighters. They do some absolutely amazing work for kids who are growing up with cancer, and if anybody is ever looking for a charity to support they are a great cause.
Part 1 available here: LINK
The good folk at the PremierLeague have outlined the basics for us. How you decide to play it is up to you! Good Luck
#FY
January Wildcard Special : Play it your way! Part 1
Firstly, Happy New Year from the #FY team.
For the Fantasy Football enamored amongst us the New Year brings a late Christmas present…
THE JANUARY WILDCARD!!
To help you decide how to best approach the January Wildcard FantasyYIRMA.com will be running a series of articles looking at different perspectives.
WILDCARD SPECIAL
Play it your way Part 1: LINK
Play it your way Part 2: LINK
Play it your way Part 3: LINK
First up we are delighted to feature a guest post from the 2012/13 FPL CHAMPION Matthew Martyniak
Matt finished top of the #FPL tree last season beating out 2.6 million (!!!) players to take the title. Big thanks to Matt for his time and contribution to the site with this excellent post.
Make sure and follow Matt on twitter if you are not already on @spiderm4tt
Here are his thoughts on the January WC…
Here is Matt en route to Hong Kong last summer as part of his prize for WINNING 2012/13 FPL
How will I use my January wildcard…?
This is a question I am often asked; ‘How will I use my January wildcard?’
In the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) we get two wildcards (WCs). One is the ‘normal WC’, which can be used at any point throughout the season, the other is the January WC, which can only be used in January, hence its name.
While some FPL managers cannot wait for the January WC activation date after the Gameweek twenty (GW20) deadline to ‘sort out’ their FPL team due to injuries, suspensions, poor players etc; there will be plenty of FPL managers out there, like myself, that are fairly happy with their FPL team and squad, and therefore feel that they do not need to use it immediately, as one or two free transfers over the next few GWs could ‘fix’ any small problems they may have.
So when is the best time to use it?
I have always said the best way to use a WC in general is – when you feel you need to use it.
Here I have previously discussed my thoughts on the best way to use a WC: Link to FFPundits
The best way I feel to utilise a WC is to either to prepare for a double GW (DGW), or to ‘clean up’ your team after a DGW. The reason why I feel it is best to use a WC around DGWs is so that you can have many DGW players in your FPL team in order to maximise your GW score potential. These are the WC tactics I successfully utilised during my FPL title win last season. I used my January WC to prepare for DGWs (DGW22 & 23), while my normal WC was used to ‘clean up’ after a DGW (DGW1).
Here is my FPL title winning review article that explains my WC usage last season: Link to FISO
Other reasons for activating the WC is for restructuring your team due to injuries, suspensions, poor FPL players, and/or gaining team value by ‘jumping on’ the player price rises.
The January wildcard is same as the ‘normal WC’….. But it is also slightly different!
The January WC should be utilised in the same way to an extent as the ‘normal WC’. However, the January WC differs slightly from the normal season WC. This is because the January WC, as obvious as it sounds, can only be used in January! Other differences are when using this WC are that the player price gains in January may not be as profitable as during early season WCs due to the already moderate to high ownership on the best FPL players. And unless there is snow over the next few weeks to disrupt Premier League fixtures (This cannot be relied on!) then the chances of a DGW occurring this January is unlikely.
So if there are no DGWs in January, which is looking highly likely to be this way at present, and I am happy with my team and my squad that has no major pressing injury/suspensions/poor form concerns, and also with a slim chance of me making any ‘useful profit’ from player price gains……then when is the best time for me to use the January WC?
I will most probably wait until the end of January before I activate it..…..most probably after the GW23 deadline. This way I can keep my January WC as ‘insurance’ just in case there are any major injuries, suspensions, and poor form that may occur to my FPL team over the next few GWs.
Also it can be advantageous for me to use my January WC as late as possible due to the January transfer window that closes at midnight U.K. time on 31st January only a few hours before the GW24 deadline. And as we all know, many of the Premier League transfers during the January transfer window mainly occur during the final week of January, and even right up to very last moment.
However, it is not just important for me to look at the players transferring to and from Premier League clubs to see whether I want them or not – but it is also important for me to look how that player, or players, may ‘impact’ their Premier League team once they have arrived or departed…..and therefore, will this ‘impact’ help or hinder my other players I have, want or not want, in my FPL team/squad?
So in having the option of transferring in/out FPL players during this period via my January WC may hopefully prove fruitful for my FPL team in the subsequent February GWs, and beyond.
Good luck with your January WC everyone – use it when it is right for you!
I would just like to say thank you and best wishes to FantasyYIRMA and to all the FPL managers out there – I hope 2014 brings you all many green arrows!
Happy New Year everyone!
Matt (@spiderm4tt)
FPL Champion 2012/13
FantasyYIRMA would like to take this opportunity to highlight Matt’s personal charity Fantasy league. You can read about it here http://www.justgiving.com/Matthew-Martyniak where he is raising money for the incredibly worthy charity, Save the Children
The good folk at the PremierLeague have outlined the basics for us. How you decide to play it is up to you! Good Luck
#FY
Arsenal vs Chelsea: CONFIRMED LINEUPS
Dec 23
Premier League Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea | Mon 23rd December 20:00 Indifferent recent form aside, Chelsea’s tendency to show up against the Premier League’s biggest teams makes this fixture an extremely prickly one for Arsenal to negotiate. …. #Arsenal team to play Chelsea: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud […]
Off the Mark: Why Manchester City could be four days away from becoming champions
Even the most one-sided Premier League title races were never won in December, but each and every winning team will always be able to point to the month as a key one.
Fixtures come thick and fast and there is no international break or FA Cup weekend to get in the way, and as such the momentum that you pick up now can prove to be crucial later on in the season.
But for Manchester City – who are 13/8 to win the title with Coral – it isn’t so much the next month that will be important, but more the next four days.
A real Jekyll and Hyde team, City’s home league record of played seven, won seven, scored 29 is in stark contrast to form on the road which features four defeats and just four points.
Losses at Cardiff, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland are what leaves Manuel Pellegrini’s side six points off the top of the table going into these midweek round of fixtures, but the next four days would appear to offer City the perfect chance to get their away hoodoo over with.
The 3-0 weekend win over Swansea was a fifth success in the last six games in all competitions for Pellegrini’s side, with all of those wins coming at home and featuring a grand total of 25 City goals. Now though, they head for the relative discomfort of The Hawthorns and St Mary’s.
Tonight’s fixture at West Bromwich Albion would appear to be the perfect test of City’s resolve, so much so that it might not be too over the top to bill it as one of the most important matches of the season so far.
Win it, and the Blues will have a spring in their step heading into Saturday’s meeting with Southampton, another huge test and one that passing will create elevated levels of confidence that Pellegrini’s men might not ever come down from.
If they can pick up six points out of six over these next four days then it is not difficult to imagine City never looking back, and springing into their next fixtures with the swagger of potential champions. And following hot on the heels of those West Brom and Southampton games is the small matter of the visit of table-topping Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium.
The prospect of shooting down the Gunners will already have excited Pellegrini’s players, but if those players can come through this week with a couple of wins then they’ll enter that game in even higher spirits.
For Arsenal – who face home matches with Hull and Everton over this period that City will be on the road – the sight of a revved up and fully-charged Manchester City in their rear view mirror is sure to see the nerves kick in, and they more than anybody will have one eye on events at The Hawthorns and St Mary’s over the next few days.
Neither are easy fixtures of course – West Brom drew at home to Arsenal and won at Old Trafford this season, whilst Southampton’s quality has been there for all to see throughout the campaign, and they stuck a knife into City’s title ambitions with a 3-1 home win over them last February – but there is little doubt that a team with the quality Pellegrini has at his disposal can collect maximum points.
With Sergio Aguero as dangerous as ever, Alvaro Negredo looking as though he was born to score goals in England, Jesus Navas having got over a difficult opening few months, Samir Nasri repeating the form that made him such a hit at Arsenal and Yaya Toure still a dominant force, City have plenty to be proud of this season.
But the fact remains that all of their best moments have come in Manchester.
If that can change over the next four days, then we could be looking at the 2013/14 Premier League champions.
***
City 1 Tigers 0
A month isn’t allowed to pass by without someone in a position of power at a football club doing something which makes the rest of us wonder if they actually understand the game at all.
Assem Allam, the Hull CITY owner, is the latest to take the prize after he slammed the club’s fans for their protest over Hull CITY’s potential rebranding.
Those Hull CITY fans were as terrific as their team Hull CITY were in their deserved 3-1 victory over Liverpool, and seeing as those Hull CITY supporters will still be there whatever happens to the club in the future – whether they are beating Liverpool or Lincoln – then they should be the ones consulted on any potential name change, not that there’s anything wrong with Hull CITY in the first place.
***
Backing the Mackems
Sunderland have only picked up one point and haven’t even scored a goal on the road under Gus Poyet, but at home it’s been a different matter.
A win in the derby against Newcastle and against Manchester City set them up nicely for a tough home double header against Chelsea and then Tottenham, and although the Blues might prove to be too strong they could heap the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas with a win on Saturday.
Off the Mark: Of course Arsenal can win the league… but they’ll need to get lucky
Another week, another impressive Arsenal result, another few days of hearing that they can’t possibly win the league.
The Gunners’ impressive 2-0 victory over Liverpool opened up a five point gap at the top of the table, the kind of advantage that would be described as ‘commanding’ or ‘dominant’ were it being enjoyed by say, a Manchester City or a Chelsea.
But instead there is a sense that everyone is just waiting for Arsene Wenger’s men to slip up, for them to succumb to the same old failings and to fall away from the challenge of what would be a first trophy in nine years.
That might still happen of course, but claiming that Arsenal definitely won’t win the league this season is simply wrong. Of course they can win it.
They have comfortably been the most impressive side in the division during the opening quarter of the campaign, and what’s more they have the points to prove it.
Since the embarrassing 3-1 opening day defeat at home to Aston Villa – a loss which led to some of us calling for the club’s attitude to change – the Gunners have won eight of their nine Premier League matches.
Whilst City and Chelsea – the two clubs that the bookies fancy more for the title than Arsenal – have been losing at places like Cardiff, Villa, Everton and Newcastle, Wenger’s men have plotted a serene course, only dropping points at a West Brom side who were a week on from a win at Old Trafford.
The notion that the table toppers haven’t been seriously tested was put under a decent threat from a Liverpool side who certainly worked hard at the Emirates last Saturday evening, but the manner in which Brendan Rodgers’ men were kept at an arm’s length and eventually brushed aside showed the quality that Arsenal possess, and more importantly the individuals who they have to enforce that.
As we mentioned when discussing Everton recently, squad depth is incredibly important in the Premier League, and a look at Arsenal’s substitutes on Saturday suggests that theirs isn’t the greatest.
Lukasz Fabianski, Thomas Vermaelen, Nacho Monreal, Nicklas Bendtner, Carl Jenkinson, Chuba Akpom and Isaac Hayden hardly strikes you as the bench of potential champions, especially when you compare it to the riches that Manuel Pellegrini and Jose Mourinho can keep in reserve.
Of course that will change for Arsenal when the likes of Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Mathieu Flamini return to full fitness, but right now the Gunners are relying upon their first team to do the business. Luckily for them though, they’ve got one of the best of those in the division.
Wojciech Szczesny is maturing into a fine goalkeeper, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are a solid unit, Mikel Arteta is a calming influence, Aaron Ramsey might have made some sort of goalscoring pact with the devil, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla are outrageously gifted and Olivier Giroud is a growing, increasingly imposing presence.
Keep those eight fit and healthy and Arsenal are as good as anyone on the continent, never mind the Premier League.
Of course, they are going to require a large slice of luck for that to happen, but any notion that the Gunners ‘can’t’ win the title should be met with a read through that list of players.
This week brings tests away at Borussia Dortmund and then Robin van Persie’s Manchester United, but why spend time worrying about them? Why spend time worrying about anything at the moment?
Arsenal have been superb and fully deserve their place at the top of the Premier League table, a table that they have a fantastic chance to still be at the head of come May.
They just need luck to stay on their very talented side.
Hughton and Jol in a sack race
The fact that Norwich kick off two-and-a-half hours later than Fulham on Saturday could be hugely significant.
Both Martin Jol and Chris Hughton are facing uncertain futures at their clubs, with another defeat at the weekend perhaps proving the final straw.
Jol’s Fulham face the trickier test with their trip to take on a Liverpool side determined to bounce back from the Arsenal loss, and with an international break looming it could be seen as the perfect time to bring in a new man.
It is Norwich though, off the back of their 7-0 mauling at Manchester City, who could be under the most pressure.
Fail to win at home to a solid West Ham outfit in front of a primetime Saturday night audience, and Hughton could be facing some difficult questions.
If Jol loses heavily at Anfield though, those questions will be coming to the Dutchman a little earlier.
Having a Hull of a time
Hull are in the top half, six points clear of the drop zone. In previous years, that’d be enough for Phil Brown to start breaking out in song.
Thankfully those days are long gone now, but Steve Bruce has got plenty to crow about during what has been a very impressive start.
Relegation certainties for many, the Tigers are on the prowl and could be worth backing to get a good result at Southampton this weekend.
Southampton v Hull – Draw or Hull Double Chance is priced at 11/8 at BetMcLean.com
Everton Vs Tottenham LINEUPS CONFIRMED and Preview
Nov 3
Lineups provided approximately 1 hour before kick off Everton team (to face Spurs): Howard, Coleman, Baines, Jagielka, Distin, McCarthy, Barry, Osman, Pienaar, Mirallas, Lukaku #EFCTHFC — Everton (@Everton) November 3, 2013 Team – Lloris; Walker, Chiriches, Dawson, Vertonghen; Paulinho, Sandro; Lennon, Holtby, Townsend; Soldado. #THFC #COYS — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 3, 2013 #SuperSunday If […]
Crystal Palace vs Fulham: Monday Night Football Preview
Oct 21
With just one Premier League match remaining for Gameweek 8 we turn our attention to Crystal Palace vs Fulham. It has been a strong week in fantasy terms with a Gameweek average above 50 points. Players like Berbatov and Gayle amongst others feature in plenty of FPL teams so there are still points to play […]
West Brom vs Arsenal: The Lineups AFC CONFIRMED
Oct 6
West Brom vs Arsenal: Sunday 6th October KO 4.00pm Team news released approx 1 hour before kick off Albion team v @arsenal: Myhill, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Yacob, Mulumbu, Amalfitano, Sessegnon, Berahino, Anelka. — West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) October 6, 2013 Albion subs v @arsenal: L Daniels (gk), Popov, Morrison, Brunt, Lugano, Long, Rosenberg. — […]
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