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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

LINK – theAustralian.com

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 1^st,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!

@julianzip

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

Posted on 7 Jan 2014 | Link

January Wildcard Special : Play it your way! Part 2

Jan 5

Posted by FantasyYIRMA

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

Posted in Player Selection

3 Comments

Tags: EPL, fantasy football, FPL, gerrard, January wildcard, RVP, when to use January Wildcard

January Wildcard Special : Play it your way! Part 1

Jan 4

Posted by FantasyYIRMA

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 31^st 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

Posted in Player Selection

1 Comment

Tags: EPL, fantasy football, Fantasy Premier League, FPL, January wildcard, Premier League

The Lamb’s Wild(card)

Jan 29

Posted by FantasyYIRMA

As a Derby County fan, @pedro_lamb‘s only involvement with the Premier League is through the Fantasy Premier League game.

An avid FPL player, The Lamb’s imaginatively –titled team Lamb County have managed to claw themselves up to 32,964th in the overall game this season, as well as 149th in Yirma and an impressive third in the Yirma head-to-head league.

With the end of January approaching, The Lamb settled down to make a decision that he knew would make or break his season, his bank balance and his mood until August. It was Wildcard time.

Here are The Lamb’s thoughts – and only HIS thoughts – as he takes on every Fantasy manager’s biggest challenge.

Warning: the following is not for the faint-hearted:

Who needs goalkeepers anyway?

Well it’s January and my head hurts, as I cut, bring in, drop, select, then re-drop, then re-select, finally drop him and then keep the same player I had to start off with……!!! Yep, it’s the pain of playing your January transfer Wildcard.

So I think I have finally decided on my team. One, because the deadline is nearly here, and most importantly two, if I spend any more time on the website I think my boss may sack me.

I have gone for a very radical move. Very radical.

Prepare yourselves…

My team doesn’t have a first choice keeper… Or in fact a second choice keeper…

I have selected two keepers who have more chance of being elected Prime Minister of Greenland than playing for their teams.

If they do play, I would be more than happy to drop them to have the current Prime Minister of Greenland Kuupik Kleist as my goalkeeper.

This bold – some would say visionary – idea has freed up enough funds to have both Mata and Bale in my team.

The more I think about it, not having a keeper, is it such a bad idea? And the answer is No, because even this season’s best scoring keeper Begovic, is averaging less than 4 points a game, both Mata and Bale are over 5 and over 38 Gameweeks, that is an additional 76 points, need I say any more? *Please don’t – Ed.*

The Lamb shoots and scores with another genius Fantasy Football idea. All hail the Lamb. The days of making Lucas Leiva captain and selecting the potentially brilliant Tom Huddlestone are behind me. This one’s a winner.

—————-

Time for a few more Wildcard thoughts.

I have waited as long as possible in case the transfer windows kicks off in a big way, sadly it hasn’t so I won’t be bringing in some of the young guns from the Championship that have been on every transfer gossip page throughout January.

So it looks like Will Hughes won’t be the big gamble for my team, he would have been cheap and made a lot of points, he could be next years must have cheap player, the new Charlie Adam in fantasy football terms!!! You heard it here first folks. *giggles*

The biggest problem with this window has been the unknown factor. Which of the January signings will actually get decent time on the pitch?

Ba is a prime example. He’s cheap and can score, but realistically are Chelsea going to keep Torres and his £50 million price tag on the bench? I can’t see it and I think he is destined to just make weekly cameo appearances.

Then there is Sturridge, but I am sorry you can’t overlook Suarez, he just too good at the minute, and again I can’t see Sturridge playing every game.

As for City, the main problem is ‘will he won’t he?’ It’s everybody’s favourite Italian again.

If Mario Balotelli goes then maybe I will invest in Aguero, but at the moment two games could go by and he’ll only get a few minutes on the pitch.

Also the inconsistent nature of Arsenal means selecting any of their players is going to be a very irritating. Some weeks they will be brilliant and other weeks they bring a whole new meaning to the word awful.

Despite this I suggest picking Theo Walcott. Now his future has been sorted I think this may settle him and the whole squad down, so maybe that famous Arsenal consistency might just return.

———-

No goalkeepers were harmed in the giving of this advice.