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Fantasy Football GW35: Nothing but BONUS POINTS!!
After Suarez went all Hannibal Lecter on us last week GW34 was always going to be a tough act to follow…
Little did we know the drama, the wait… the sleepless night over the carry on that was the Gareth Bale assist! (We acknowledge we need to get out more)
Essentially the kind chaps at the Premier League were kind enough to review the footage from the 2-2 draw between Wigan and Tottenham and retrospectively declare that the ball did indeed touch (barely) Mr PFA player of the year. Great for us #FPL Managers who have him in our team.
This late change transformed a 7 point performance into a 12 as with the assist came 2 bonus points also. Boyce still managed to pick up the 3 Bonus points despite his own goal once again raising a question mark over the bonus point system…
- Elsewhere, Yaya Toure smashed his way through midfield again to collect the maximum in a 2-1 win for City over West Ham.
- Pienaar picked up the maximum bonus allocation as he reminded us that there are alternative options for your #FPL team if you would like a midfielder from Everton.
- Lukaku repaid the faith of thousands of FPL managers who have brought him in for DGW36 with all 3 bonus points to go alongside his goal.
- Crouch was tipped by FY this week as picking up form and while he didn’t get the goal his performance perhaps deserved, he did pick up the maximum 3 bonus points.
- Reading and QPR both were relegated in a drab 0-0 match. Really was not a great game to watch and no players on the pitch stood out. The panel drew straws and decided Guthrie was the stand out player however I’m sure 3 bonus points for him will be no consolation what so ever for relegation.
- The Arsenal – Manchester Utd game may not have the same intensity of previous seasons but was a close fought affair. RVP started so RVP picked up 3 bonus points. With Walcott, Evans and Rooney picking up 2 points each also.
- Frank Lampard is inching closer and closer to the Chelsea all time top scorer record and picked up 2 bonus alongside his goal from the penalty spot with the ever improving Oscar picking up the maximum.
- Newcastle 0-6 Liverpool… Hands up if you had a £5 bet correct score on that?? No.. Didn’t think so. With Suarez out now for the next 10 games I think there was a level uncertainty over which Liverpool team would turn up, yet this was as accomplished performance as you will see all season. Henderson scored twice and picked up the maximum. Downing provided a brace of assists but couldn’t manage to get a bonus point, shame.
As I write this Aston Villa have just put 6 past Sunderland in a mammoth 6-1 win, Di Canio did not knee slide this evening. The bonus points have yet to be announced at time of writing although after smashing in a hat-trick i expect Benteke to be nailed on for the maximum bonus. A goal and 2 assists puts Agbonlahor in the mix for 2points also.
@ryano83
As per usual, drop us a tweet with your thoughts, did they get the bonus points right or wrong? What did you make of the Bale assist? Would you have given it? Tweet us your comments on @FantasyYIRMA or drop a comment below
| 27 Apr 12:45 | Man City |  |
2 – 1 |  |
West Ham |
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| 27 Apr 15:00 | Everton |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Fulham |
| 27 Apr 15:00 | Southampton |  |
0 – 3 |  |
West Brom |
| 27 Apr 15:00 | Stoke City |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Norwich |
| 27 Apr 15:00 | Wigan |  |
2 – 2 |  |
Tottenham |
| 27 Apr 17:30 | Newcastle |  |
0 – 6 |  |
Liverpool |
| 28 Apr 13:30 | Reading |  |
0 – 0 |  |
QPR |
| 28 Apr 15:00 | Chelsea |  |
2 – 0 |  |
Swansea |
| 28 Apr 16:00 | Arsenal |  |
1 – 1 |  |
Man Utd |
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| 29 Apr 20:00 | Aston Villa |  |
6 – 1 |  |
Sunderland |
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Fantasy Football GW35 preview: Defoe to take a bite out of Wigan?
Well he was never going to exit quietly was he?
Sunday saw the last action of one of the Fantasy Premier League stars of 2012/13, with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez leaving the game for the season with a goal in the 97th minute of what was an 11-point performance against Chelsea – not that everyone was talking about that come full-time.
In his absence, forward options are being scoured and teams are being altered, but perhaps his direct replacement was seen earlier on Sunday afternoon.
After failing to start since the 3-2 loss at Liverpool last month, Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe (£7.9m) – another with a history which includes biting opponents – came off the bench to score in Spurs’ fantastic comeback to beat Manchester City at White Hart Lane last weekend.
With Emmanuel Adebayor (£9.0m) struggling having scored just three league goals all season, Defoe’s return to fitness could be perfectly timed for Andre Villas-Boas’ side as they chase the Champions League.
As far as the Fantasy game goes, Spurs head for Wigan at the weekend before a double Gameweek next week when the north Londoners face Southampton and Chelsea, meaning that Defoe is likely to get plenty of playing time as the campaign draws to a close.
The England forward could prove to be a key man for both Tottenham and for your team as the scramble for league positions becomes more intense, and he could just be the forward to trust in Suarez’s absence.
Those fixtures for Spurs and the return to fitness of Gareth Bale (£10.5m) mean that the Welshman is sure to find himself thrown back into plenty of teams following his recovery from injury, whilst defensively the likes of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (£5.8m) and defender Jan Vertonghen (£6.6m) could also offer much.
Elsewhere, the battle for the Champions League places will go up a notch at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea entertain a Swansea side who seem to have been on a downward spiral ever since they won the Capital One Cup.
Juan Mata (£9.8m) took his tally to 16 assists for the season after being credited with laying on both goals in the draw at Anfield, and with the Spaniard so key to everything his side do then Rafael Benitez surely won’t risk leaving him out for the clash with the Swans.
The form of both Eden Hazard (£9.6m) and Oscar (£7.8m) has been encouraging in recent weeks, but it is still Mata who makes Chelsea tick and who they’ll be looking to in a contest that the hosts will really need to win in their challenge for the top four, especially given that Suarez took a bite out of their hopes on Sunday.
Arsenal are the other one of three clubs that cannot go into the two still available top four places, and they’ll be hoping that champions Manchester United will have taken their eye off the ball as they visit The Emirates.
The absence of Olivier Giroud through suspension means that Lukas Podolski (£8.1m) is likely to come in from the start for the Gunners, whilst Theo Walcott (£8.8m) could also be restored to the central forward role that he so enjoyed earlier in the campaign.
A little higher up the table than Arsenal, Manchester City host West Ham in a contest in which Carlos Tevez (£9.1m) will be looking to keep up recent form against his former club. Having kept six clean sheets in their last seven home games, the likes of Joe Hart (£6.8m), Pablo Zabaleta (£6.2m) and Vincent Kompany (£7.0m) will be confident of keeping West Ham out.
Having scored only a second goal in 26 games at QPR last weekend, Stoke’s Peter Crouch (£6.0m) could be fancied for another strike at home to Norwich, whilst Christian Benteke (£7.3m) will be confident going into Aston Villa’s clash at home to Sunderland.
At Goodison Park, Everton will be going for a sixth home win in seven games as they host Fulham.
Marouane Fellaini (£7.4m), Kevin Mirallas (£6.9m) and Leighton Baines (£7.8m) are likely to garner the most attention, although for a cheap choice it could pay to go with Victor Anichebe (£4.4m), who has started the last six Blues games and is sure to have chances against a Fulham side who have kept just three clean sheets on the road this season.
#FPL Luis Suárez gets maximum Bonus with snappy performance.
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9 of the 10 games from GW34 have been played so far with only Man United taking on Aston Villa in the Monday night match remaining.
Luis Suarez will make the headlines this week, no doubt on both the back and front pages thanks to what looks like an attempted bite on Ivanovic.
Unquestionable talent as a footballer- Suarez is excellent, however the other side of his game appeared today in Liverpool’s 2-2 game with Chelsea. I think I can sum up his performance as follows.
Assist, handball, yellow card, spot of lunch, last gasp equaliser.
From a #FPL perspective this was enough to see him bring home all 3 bonus points and 11points in total. It would seem that the FA will have to take action so if Suarez is in your team at the minute.. you will need to start looking at replacements. Hopefully the FA will make a decision on any retrospective action within the next 24 hours.
Elsewhere… and yes other games have taken place this weekend, Gareth Bale came back where he left off with a goal, assist and all 3 bonus as Spurs came from a goal down to beat Man City 3-1.
Per Mertesacker scored the only goal of the game and fantasy owners that held onto Big Per after he was suspended have been rewarded with over 20 points in the last 2 games alone!
Crouch scored the first goal for Stoke on Saturday against his old club QPR taking all 3 bonus points and ensuring that QPR are all but relegated pending Steve Mc Queen signing on an emergency loan in the next few days.
Sessegnon for Sunderland was a very popular selection last year, not so much this season. Di Canio’s arrival seems to have revitalised him as he bagged another goal and takes all 3 bonus points in their impressive win against Everton.
Elsewhere, Kevin Nolan showed us some of his early season form with another goal and a 3pt bonus haul, Ryan Bennett took the plaudits for Norwich, Jack Cork for Southampton and Newcastle forward Gouffran all with maximum bonus point allocation.
*R
As per usual tweet us @FantasyYIRMA – do YOU agree with the bonus points this week?
Who got bonus that surprised you?
Who didn’t get but should have in your opinion?
Let us know and we will be happy to Retweet
| 20 Apr 15:00 | Fulham | |
0 – 1 | |
Arsenal |
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| 20 Apr 15:00 | Norwich | |
2 – 1 | |
Reading |
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| 20 Apr 15:00 | QPR | |
0 – 2 | |
Stoke City |
| 20 Apr 15:00 | Sunderland | |
1 – 0 | |
Everton |
| 20 Apr 15:00 | Swansea | |
0 – 0 | |
Southampton |
| 20 Apr 15:00 | West Brom | |
1 – 1 | |
Newcastle |
| 20 Apr 15:00 | West Ham | |
2 – 0 | |
Wigan |
| 21 Apr 13:30 | Tottenham | |
3 – 1 | |
Man City |
| 21 Apr 16:00 | Liverpool | |
2 – 2 | |
Chelsea |
| 22 Apr 20:00 | Man Utd | |
v | |
Aston Villa |
Fantasy Football GW34 preview: Has Michu’s magic returned?
The sun is shining and Michu (£8.0m) is scoring goals. It suddenly feels like August again doesn’t it?
Swansea’s Spaniard made one of the most spectacular entrances into Fantasy Premier League that we can remember, scoring four goals in his first three games and finishing the year 2012 on 13 strikes. All whilst handily listed as a midfielder.
The goals saw his Fantasy price rocket up from an initial £6.5m, with his ownership percentage increasing each week as a result. However since a goal against Manchester United just before Christmas, Michu has scored just four in 12 games since then. As a player who doesn’t contribute many assists (just two in that time and three all season), the Spaniard started to lose support.
The early season additions to many teams still sees his ownership percentage at a huge 44.1%, above the likes of Luis Suarez (39.8%), Robin van Persie (37.8%) and indeed everyone else, and after a recent return to goalscoring form there will be even more managers who are willing to take him on board in the closing weeks of the season.
Strikes against Tottenham and Norwich in the past two weeks have taken Michu’s tally to 17 goals this campaign, and after Swansea missed out on playing last weekend he has a double gameweek on the horizon in a bid to find even more.
This weekend though he faces a home game against a Southampton side who have failed to win away at a team ranked above them in the table all season, and so Michael Laudrup’s side will be confident of delivering a victory which will keep them in the top half of the table.
Michu is almost certain to be key to those hopes.
Elsewhere on a Saturday which is likely to go a long way towards determining who will be relegated this season, Norwich host a struggling Reading outfit who still look set to go down despite goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (£3.9m) earning them a point from a goalless draw with Liverpool last weekend.
Like Michu, Robert Snodgrass (£6.3m) scored in the last game at Carrow Road – Norwich’s 2-2 draw with Swansea – and the Scottish midfielder is likely to be a key element to the Canaries’ attempts to break down the Royals on Saturday, when Snodgrass will be looking to improve on his record of five goals and six assists this season.
FA Cup finalists Wigan are another side battling the drop, and although they could find it tough this weekend as they return to London to face West Ham, they do so offer intriguing cheap forward options in Arouna Kone (£6.6m) and Callum McManaman (£4.5m).
QPR simply have to beat struggling Stoke if any hope of them staying up is to remain, and so Loic Remy (£5.9m) is certain to be one to watch, whilst Sunderland’s Adam Johnson (£6.7m) is sure to be key to his side’s hopes of a second successive win as they host a strong Everton outfit.
Sunday’s matches bring together four of the top seven in a couple of big-hitting clashes, and whilst Tottenham will be hoping for the return to fitness of Gareth Bale (£10.5m) ahead of their match against Manchester City, it is a return to form that Suarez (£11.1m) will be after as Liverpool host Chelsea. After hitting 11 goals in 10 matches, the Uruguayan now hasn’t managed any in his last four.
Monday night will see Manchester United expect a victory from their home clash with Aston Villa, and whilst Van Persie (£13.6m) managed to find the net for the first time in 12 and a half hours of football for United against Stoke last weekend, it could be Wayne Rooney (£12.1m) who steals the show this time.
Stationed in a deeper role against Stoke, Rooney will be determined to return to a position further forward here, and he could just make struggling Villa pay.
Premier League Results: STAT-TASTIC!
GW33 Match Centre (Part One)
From @Shots_on_Target
With another 360+ of Premier League football to come it could still all happen for your players.
This was about to be the biggest shock of the weekend until a strange and unfortunate penalty decision allowed Arsenal to get back in it at 1-1. After then the floodgates opened, and in truth they probably would have anyway. Oliver Giroud (my hero) absolutely stole the show from the much fancied Cazorla here. He managed an assist (not shown in data) as well as his goal and his key stats tell you the story.
A somewhat professional performance from Everton you could say, doing enough to get a comfortable win without trying too hard, and getting a rare clean sheet in the process. Kevin Mirallas is a genuine quality player and some say the best Belgian at Everton. He and Victor Anichebe are two strong fantasy options from the Merseyside club, Anichebe particularly. I had a good hard look at him myself around January but felt Jelavic would reclaim the striker’s spot, which he did, but Anichebe’s forced his way back into the team on merit and at just £4.3m is an absolute steal. If you own him this DGW well done you.
Fulham scored a goal without having a shot on target, thanks to Delph’s own goal. Fulham puzzle me, It’s rare for a team with an attacking philosophy to register such a low number of shots in a game, something they’ve done many times this season. Charles N’Zogbia has been a fairly steady player of late, and Benteke of course we all know about.
The Mackem fans are in love with Di Canio after this game but they probably got lucky when Pappis Cisse’s goal was ruled out. They certainly had their tails up though and I’m sure a man as outspoken and flamboyant a player as Di Canio would have sent them out on a high. No-one player really stands out though from their team and I think this might just have been a result written in the stars.
Southampton have been playing well recently as you know, but without really setting the world on fire. West Ham too. Here both teams played out for a score draw which would have been an educated guess before hand. Andy Carrol has playing well but comes with a hefty FPL price tag. Gaston Ramirez‘ much reduced price tag now a better option than Puncheon and Scheiderlin in this team, as well as Jay Rodriguez of course, who was benched here due to illness only I believe.
A very rare performance from Carrick here saw him shooting from inside the penalty box three times and scoring a goal, completely outperforming the other so called attacking players in the team. Kagawa, Valencia registering nothing of fantasy interest at all. It’s still about Van Persie for United, despite growing interest in Rooney, again in midfield and not managing to get a shot off inside the box.
If Arsenal was almost the shock of the weekend then this result was the real thing. A phenomenal display in goal from Reading’s McCarthy making 12 saves! The main fantasy story here though is Liverpool and Suarez’ blanks, against all the odds. This is the highest number of shots on target a team has had this season without scoring a goal. Liverpool had that record before this game too, registering 9 SoT without scoring away at Swansea in GW13. On average this season when team’s have 9 or 10 shots on target they’ve averaged 2.95 goals.
As always you can check out @Shots_on_target at http://www.shotsontarget.co.uk . Consistently providing top insight and FPL statistics!!
Fantasy Football GW33 Preview: Arsenal pair can offer double delight
The business end of the season has already both approached and made its presence felt, and as if that wasn’t ramping up the pressure enough this Gameweek has an added element of complications about it.
Whilst some teams such as Tottenham and Swansea will go through Gameweek 33 without a fixture, others – five others to be exact – are playing twice.
For Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Fulham and West Ham a double Gameweek lies in store, and of those sides it is arguably the Champions League-chasing Gunners who offer the best chance for Fantasy points.
Home matches against Norwich and Everton over the next week will go a long way towards confirming whether or not Arsenal will finish in the top four come the end of this season, and two of Arsene Wenger’s men in particular could end up having a huge say in whether or not that becomes a reality.
Both Santi Cazorla (£10.0m) and Olivier Giroud (£7.6m) have impressed at various points over their first season in English football; the Spaniard no doubt more often that the Frenchman admittedly, although both can shine over the next few days.
Four of Cazorla’s last five Gunners league goals have come at the Emirates Stadium, whilst a staggering nine out of Giroud’s 10 Premier League goals this season have come on his home turf.
Both men clearly like their home comforts, and with these back-to-back matches in North London offering them the chance to further improve their records in front of their own fans, then the pair should really be backed to do well for both Arsene Wenger and for you too.
Elsewhere across a Gameweek which has been affected by the FA Cup semi-finals, Manchester United will be seeking to recover from their loss to rivals Manchester City with back-to-back games which could help them seal the title.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men face tough contests though, firstly at a Stoke City side who are fighting for their lives at the bottom before a trip to West Ham in midweek.
With both matches looking to be on the tight, uncompromising side then it could pay to back United’s defensive players as opposed to their more famous attackers.
Goalkeeper David de Gea (£5.8m) had kept six clean sheets in a row prior to the City loss, whilst Rafael (£6.2m) completed 90 minutes for the first time in three games in the same fixture.
It could be a former United player who enjoys his double Gameweek a little more though.
Dimitar Berbatov (£7.3m) has scored five in his last five, and with the Bulgarian facing matches against a leaky Aston Villa defence and then a tired Chelsea he could just be the man to make the difference for Martin Jol’s men.
The forward has also scored four in his last four Craven Cottage appearances, and so it might be the Chelsea game which really sees him catch fire following Fulham’s visit to Villa Park.
Of the other clubs who are playing two matches this Gameweek, the return of Andy Carroll (£8.2m) to the West Ham side and of both Marouane Fellaini (£7.4m) and Steven Pienaar (£6.6m) at Everton should be noted, although the Blues’ other Belgian Kevin Mirallas (£6.8m) has been the man to watch following three goals in his last four games. Sadly he’s listed as a forward.
Elsewhere, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez (£11.2m) will be backed to cause damage to a frequently creaky Reading defence at the Madejski Stadium, whilst Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse (£8.8m) has rediscovered a scoring touch recently and will be looking to score for the fourth St James’s Park appearance running in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby against Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland.
In midweek, Manchester City will hope to keep up their momentum following the win at Old Trafford, and Sergio Aguero (£10.9m) should start against Wigan following his Manchester derby heroics.
If he does, there could be more goals in the horizon.
Follow @FantasyYIRMA on twitter for updates and chat during the games. Shoot us your FPL questions and queries on twitter or in the comments below. Best of luck this GW!
Gameweek 32 preview: Time to switch the Hazard lights back on?
As Fantasy Premier League introductions go, it will be hard for anyone to ever beat the one made by Eden Hazard (£9.5m).
A staggering six assists and one goal in his first three games saw the Belgian explode onto the English football scene, but it also meant that the seven goals and seven assists he registered over Chelsea’s next 27 league games were made to look a little disappointing.
The Blues face a busy end of season schedule featuring matches in both the FA Cup and Europa League, and although that means that Rafael Benitez is sure to rotate his squad across those competitions surely he can trust Hazard to deliver when he needs him too.
Four goals in his last seven appearances for club and country show that the Belgian might just be finishing his first season in England on a high note, and ahead of Chelsea’s game with Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Sunday he could be just the man to trust.
Staying with Chelsea, an injury to Ashley Cole in the FA Cup win over Manchester United also means that Ryan Bertrand (£3.9m) could be a useful cheap addition to your squad ahead of the meeting with Sunderland, who have struggled to score goals all season and are now without the injured Steven Fletcher.
Elsewhere, another full-back could be worth keeping an eye on.
Glen Johnson (£6.5m) has scored three of his last four Premier League goals against his old club West Ham, and with the Hammers making the trip to Anfield on Sunday without the ineligible Andy Carroll then the right back will be confident that he can play a part in what would be a seventh home clean sheet in the last 10 for Liverpool, as well as getting forward and looking to improve on hitting the post against Aston Villa last week.
Speaking of Villa, they go to Stoke in a huge game for their hopes of avoiding relegation, and after Christian Benteke (£7.2m) scored again last weekend then he could be the man to back there.
Gareth Bale (£10.9m) and Robin van Persie (£13.6m) have been men to back for the majority of the season, and after both became the first men to pass 200 points for the season last weekend they both have big games in which they’ll be hoping to increase their tally this time around.
Bale and Tottenham face Everton at White Hart Lane, and given that the visitors will be without Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar for a second successive week then they could find goals hard to come by. There aren’t many better in the division than Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen (£6.5m) at keeping out the opposition at one end whilst providing a goal threat at the other.
For van Persie, Monday night brings a Manchester derby which has been spoiled slightly by Manchester United’s dominance at the top of the table – but should still be watchable nonetheless.
The Dutchman didn’t get credited with the goal at Sunderland last weekend after we’d given him our big build-up, but perhaps he can make up for that at Old Trafford as United seek to take yet another step towards the title.
At the other end, QPR and Reading face must-win home games in their battles against the drop, and with Southampton and Wigan both capable of capitalising on the nervousness that is likely to be all around Loftus Road and Madejski Stadium respectively, then Rickie Lambert (£7.1m) and Arouna Kone (£6.6m) could take advantage. Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez (£5.1m) has also scored in his last two games.
Santi Cazorla (£9.6m) has only scored in his last one, but he could be the man to watch ahead of Arsenal’s trip to West Brom, where the Gunners will be looking for a seventh win in nine.
What do you think? Who is in your team and who is your captain choice?? Drop a comment below or tweet us at @FantasyYIRMA
@Mark_Jones86 : Di Canio, a few wins and all will be forgotten
We hadn’t had a good one in a while had we? An English football scandal that we could all obsess over for a few days.
Luis Suarez hasn’t handled a ball against plucky FA Cup minnows in weeks, whilst Eden Hazard has probably been put off kicking cheeky Welsh ball boys for the remainder of his career.
What was the best one we’ve had recently? Callum McManaman’s tackle? Rio Ferdinand pulling out of the England squad? They were hardly scandals to get the pulses racing were they? Enter Paolo Di Canio.
Except Di Canio hasn’t just entered English football at all.
Following a season at Celtic in 1996/97 the Italian spent six years as a player in the Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton, achieving cult hero status at the Hammers.
Now a manager, for the past two years he’s been stationed down the divisions with Swindon Town, earning them promotion from League Two in 2012 before resigning due to an ownership row this February with the club challenging for elevation to the Championship.
All of which makes the events of the past few days a little odd.
Following Di Canio’s appointment as the new manager of Sunderland on Sunday, talk has been rife of his alleged fascist beliefs and sympathies.
Of course using the word ‘alleged’ is a bit difficult when you see some of the words that have come out of Di Canio’s mouth in the past, but the focus on his words and much-publicised act in 2005 has dominated the unveiling of the Italian, who had a tough enough job keeping Sunderland in the Premier League without all of this.
The answer to the scrutiny can of course be found in Di Canio’s change of destination, because the journey from Swindon to Sunderland didn’t just take him from south west to north east England, but it took him from the Football League to the Premier League as well. Everything looks bigger from up here.
This is in no way an attempt to defend Di Canio’s past comments, but if they didn’t seem such a big problem in Swindon then why should they be now? Of course the Robins didn’t have a figure as well known as the former Shadow Foreign Secretary David Milliband around to register his displeasure, but any opposition to his Swindon appointment received little attention and was soon forgotten once he started winning.
Under the Premier League magnifying glass everything appears bigger and more exposed though, none more so than during the last major scandals in the division which occurred within a week of each other in October 2011.
Just as there will always be those who now prefer to see Suarez and John Terry as card carrying members of the Ku Klux Klan as opposed to individuals who made a snap decision and ultimately a huge mistake – intentionally or otherwise – so now there will be others who instantly judge Di Canio without ever looking deeper into the story.
Supporters of Liverpool and Chelsea’s rivals repeatedly bring up the Suarez and Terry incidents because they like to see their opponents squirm. It is another one of the less tasteful aspects of the whole sorry business, but doesn’t often get mentioned.
The chances are that most of them and you won’t have heard of the Reading player John Mackie, who was banned for three matches for racist abuse in 2003. That occurred in the old Division One though, where headlines weren’t sought and reputations weren’t damaged as rapidly as they are in the Premier League.
Most of that is beside the point though, because Di Canio’s off-field beliefs will soon become yesterday’s story too.
A couple of wins from his early matches in charge – and given that the first two of them are away to Chelsea and then a derby match against Newcastle then he’s not entering quietly – will see the focus mercifully switch to football for Di Canio, just as it ended up doing for him at Swindon.
Even if he fails to keep the Mackems up in these final seven matches of the season then he deserves a tilt at the Championship in 2013/14, and if he achieves promotion there then you can be certain that all of the talk will be of his managerial skills and nothing else.
We’ll have had plenty of new scandals by then anyway.
Di Canio will be old news.
Fantasy Football GW31: Nothing but Bonus Points!!
With no afternoon kick off today the good folk at PL.com have decided to release the bonus points early today.
It’s another 3 for Van Persie, and Bale continues his great recent form to take another maximum.
Reading through the Bonus points it’s impossible to not feel a but sympathetic towards Gervinho, a goal and two assists yesterday and somehow Arteta manages to get the maximum for Arsenal yesterday.
Suarez managed to get a solitary bonus point for his role in the Sunday game. Liverpool took all 3 points today but Luis may be scratching his head wondering how he didn’t manage to score today with 8 attempts on goal for the in form Uruguayan in the first half alone!!
Meanwhile for City, Silva did a fantastic impersonation of himself from last season with a decisive performance against Newcastle.
Andy Carroll reminded us that he still can score goals and rightly takes the 3 bonus points for West Ham this week. Kone scores again for Wigan and although Wigan’s Double Gameweek 36 seems miles away – he is already shaping up to be a potential mini league decider if he can maintain form for the run in.
Mirallas also gets 3pts from the Bonus committee and rightly so! If you haven’t already seen his goal yesterday – check it out!!
@Ryano83
| 30 Mar 12:45 | Sunderland | |
0 – 1 | |
Man Utd |
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| 30 Mar 15:00 | Arsenal | |
4 – 1 | |
Reading |
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| 30 Mar 15:00 | Man City | |
4 – 0 | |
Newcastle |
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| 30 Mar 15:00 | Southampton | |
2 – 1 | |
Chelsea |
| 30 Mar 15:00 | Swansea | |
1 – 2 | |
Tottenham |
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| 30 Mar 15:00 | West Ham | |
3 – 1 | |
West Brom |
| 30 Mar 15:00 | Wigan | |
1 – 0 | |
Norwich |
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| 30 Mar 17:30 | Everton | |
1 – 0 | |
Stoke City |
| 31 Mar 13:30 | Aston Villa | |
1 – 2 | |
Liverpool |
| 01 Apr 20:00 | Fulham | |
3 – 2 | |
QPR |
FantasyYIRMA CUP kicks off tomorrow!!
Firstly – If you are in the #FYCUP congrats – there was a huge demand to be one of the 256 entries. Apologies if you missed out on taking part this time but there will be more in the future.
Best of luck to the teams playing in the competition! Please use #FYCUP throughout and I will retweet as much as possible on twitter. Thanks for your continued support!
Ryan
OK so… down to business. One team per person only. To try and keep it as fair as possible the 1st week matches will be drawn automatically by the Premier League website.
The draw will be made after 11.30am on Saturday 30th of March. Check on www.FantasyYIRMA.com for your official source for #FYCUP information and Fixtures.
After the first week the participants in the Cup go from 256 to 128. From this point on (GW32) I will have to draw the cup matches manually (This is because the PL website would treat it as an 8 Week long Head-to-Head league, and with 256 teams this would clearly not work.)
Each team still in the #FYCUP after the first Knock-out round will be allocated a number 1-128 and we will use a randomiser program online. Fixtures will be released at least 48 hours before the gameweek starts (GW32-28 Only)
Big thanks to both @StanJames and @FFMiphone for putting up the prizes for the #FYCUP
PRIZES
In addition to the already generous prize pot the highest Gameweek score (For teams still in the Cup) will receive a FREE copy of the Fantasy Football Manager app from @FFMiphone
*If the winner cannot use the app prize they can pass it on or ask for us to draw another prize winner.
To clarify :
1. you are still eligible for the one off @StanJames Bonus Prize even if you get knocked out in the first round. I will be tracking scores of all 256 teams throughout the competition.The bonus prize is given to the best individual GW score across all 8 weeks regardless if you are knocked out. Only the 256 original cup entrants are eligible for this prize.
2. The app prize from @FFMiphone is only applicable to the top point scorer who is still in the competition. If the same person wins more than once the prize automatically goes to the 2nd place point score from that gameweek.
Here are all of the teams competing for the #FYCUP title!! Are YOU in???
Tweet me @FantasyYIRMA with your twitter name if you are one of the teams below.
| #Topallyear | Downing Syndrome | Liverpool Red Soxs | SheenArmy #winning |
| #wembleytwice | Dream2Win | Lontong Garasi FC | Siltamäen Pallo |
| @FPLHints (Twitter) | Drubbin United | Los Cogoteros | Slave Feet |
| @Gemmabaggies | Duff & Duffer | Machu Picchu | sliveDdeR |
| 11 Men 1 Cup | Duncan United | Magical 15 | Soggy Busquets |
| A game of Jones | Dynamo Dan Dan | Man Red | Solopsism FC |
| Adonteng FC | EAsoccer | Manchester | Spartonz |
| Alice in Hangeland | Eggys 11 Poachers | Markin Don’t Play Fc | spherebuilders |
| All That Ales You | El Carnero Sagrado | MATTLEE FC | spicy mchaggis |
| AM FC | eL TOrNaDO | McCarthy Dundon Gang | Sporting Lesbian |
| Anural FC | England | Mlowe City | Sporting Lesbian |
| ApacheCommunications | FC Bull Mtn. | Mogganaut Express | Sultans from Sharm |
| Ässad | FC ClumsyWolfsburg | MoneyBull | Super fox, Mr? |
| ATeamOfGaryBreens | FC GRU WWA | MoreSkillThanLuck | Supershri United |
| Babaji | FC Mansås | Moves like Dejagah | Tankilopes |
| BADGEGONE | fc matthews | Mr Sitter | Tastes like FIsh |
| Baldy Rovers | FC Olim | Multiple Scorgasms | Taylan |
| Bamboo XI | FC Siltamäki | nadeem | Team Baba |
| Banana Skin Warriors | Feldinho utd | Nameless XI | Team Elite |
| Banderaši | ffmiphone | Never give up 11 | Team Webb |
| Barcaspoona | Finger Puppet Mafia | New Jack City | Terminaylor |
| Belo Horizonte | Four skins are back | Nice To Michu | TFC XV |
| Benjies Bombers | FourFourTweet | Nico’s Newbies | That’ll Do Pig |
| Bennie and The Jets | fratpack | Norfolk & Hope Again | thatWallace |
| BENTEKKERS! | FreeBar Utd | Norfolk n’ Way | The Agueroplane |
| berbatov-blagoevgrad | Garrens FC | Not obsessed fc | The Ansu Tables |
| Bernie, the bolt! | Gervinhos4head | NOVRISINA PRAJOGO | The Bookies Favorite |
| Bigo1 | GoalkeeperUNION | Numero Uno | The Choc Ice’s |
| Black Magic | Gob’s Chicken Dance | NwcoVictoriousSecret | The Devil’s Stars |
| Black Magic | Golfies 11 | Nyamasville AFC | The Dice Men |
| Blaugrana | goonerdhanus | Oceansx11 | The Dogknobbers |
| Blisters paw | Graham Rix U16s | O-dot | The Doomed United |
| Blueheaven | Gunner Galacticos | oh hewwo stwanger*** | The Entertainers |
| Bongo XI | HappyAnkit | Ollie’sFearlessFinns | The Midget Wrestlers |
| Boo Boys | Hardly Athletic | One Girl, Two Cups | The MLN’s |
| BOO BOYZ | Haynes’s tweeters | Only a Mata of time | The Real Mata |
| Bouf, mange mon but! | He Who Dares Wins | Paling Menangan Dewe | The Special Juan |
| bOUNCEBACKABILITY | Heart Shaped-Box | PANZER | The Team Tinkerer |
| Bridgehill United | High Flying Birds | Papa Fleming | The Untouchables |
| Brown Star Belgrade | Hmmmmee _—/ | Parpy United | Theo Theo Theooo!! |
| Burnley Reserves | Holly George Rovers | Pathetico Madrid | Thunderous Rack |
| CanIgetawhoopwhoop! | I havent a Kalou | patrickdrd | TLB United |
| CANYOUSKORDIS | I Michu Already x | paul26cfc | TobyCats |
| Casterly Rock Rovers | Ice Cream “Kone” | Phil Dowd’s Shroud | TOKNOWTHEGAME.COM |
| Champ19ns | Inter Minaan Bread | Phil Rolex | TOKNOWTHEGAME.COM |
| Champions of Europe! | Iraqi lobster 11 | Pistolero’s | TOKNOWTHEGAME.com |
| Champs | iRed Boys | Postmen Never Learn | Toon Raiders |
| Champs in Champs* | It’s the ball ox | Premier Tykes | Trendy |
| CHANGE NAME | Jenko’s FC | Prosp7r Utd | Trumpton 2nd XI |
| Chirag Sucks | Jimmys pocket rocket | pt96 | Tycho Rovers |
| Chrisy ’63 | Jingle Bale | PunkUndertaker | United > City |
| Cleveland Browns | Jol-ly Good Fellows | Raith Ravers | Vision 2013 |
| Cow Tipping Dwarfs | JT’s Black Stars | Real Ale Madrid | Wareing’s XI |
| Damage limitation | Jumpersforgoalposts | Real Gs Playaz Club | Wayne’s Worldies |
| darc | justalittlebit | Real Mattrid | Waynesidiotsfc |
| Davy Jones’ Locker | Juventarse | Real SoSoBAD | Werder Beertent? |
| Debbie Does Gallas | KAkUNi F.C [GAhEy] | Rebel Rabble Utd | WeWonTheDouble |
| Decos Champs | Katzmajik | Red’s Riders | White Walkers |
| Delstroopers | KTBFFH | robbo | Whoventus? |
| despool | Kucking Funtz | Russells-Rangers | WhyAlwaysTeamMe#DH5 |
| Dirty Jersey FC | Lamb County | school of science | Wonderful Wizards |
| DisLackofSikElephnts | Le Crazy Derps | Scribbles FC | World greatest team |
| Dodgy Dazzlers | Ledge Utd | Seaside Utd | Yourmissusisinmybed |
| Doris FC | lionstroop | Shawlands Rangers | yu_LEO FC |
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