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An apology, by @Mark_Jones86
I’ve let Yirma down.
I know I wasn’t supposed to do it. I know that Yirma legend and Fantasy football God Tom K told me not to do it. I know that, if I could take Saturday afternoon back, I probably wouldn’t do it again.
But part of me is delighted I’ve done it.
It all started, as so many of the most regretful stories do, with Mohamed Diame.
As I watched the West Ham, Senegal and Werder Beertent midfielder roam aimlessly around Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium early on Saturday afternoon, with his team getting ruthlessly hammered by a Swans team with a terrific case of new manager syndrome, a horrible thought crossed my mind.
It was a thought that all of you will have at some point this season, although only the very brave and very stupid of you will act upon it this early.
It was the sight of Diame trudging off the pitch with his team 3-0 down to be replaced by Alou Diarra which finally made it hit home for me. I couldn’t deny it any longer.
My Fantasy football team was rubbish.
I was sure that I had it right at some point during the endless tinkering of the summer, but the collection of 15 players I was staring at now just made no sense whatsoever.
Diame? Darron Gibson? Fabricio Coloccini? Ramires? Ian Harte? It just didn’t look right.
Evidently the big man upstairs (not my large Polish neighbour Jakub) agreed with me, and sent a monsoon to Sunderland to prevent Harte and his special brand of being-useless-from-anything-but-a-dead-ball football from seeing any action at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon. Football was undoubtedly the winner.
There was, however, one man who I thought could save me from this mess.
One man who, like the warrior he is, would lead my rag-tag bunch of wounded, rotated misfits to success, glory and somewhere in the region of a 40 point Gameweek.
It wasn’t Jakub or the other fella, but it was instead another big man who was sure to rise to the occasion and perform on his long-awaited return to his home turf.
Introducing an icon. The one and only. The captain of Manchester United and, for this week only of Werder Beertent. The great Nemanja Vid… oh, Fulham have scored haven’t they?
Bang goes the clean sheet then, but that’s alright. There’s still time for the big Serbian to get on the scoresheet… Perhaps from a cross or a mix-up with the goalkeeper…
My job involves keeping track of football results, so there was literally no escape from the moment when – in the 64th minute of the match against Fulham at Old Trafford – Nemanja Vidic decided to make up my mind for me by hopelessly flicking the ball into his own goal and putting himself in minus points territory.
Now I’m no Manchester United fan, and as such there will always be a part of me that cracks a smile whenever they concede a goal between now and their Intergalactic Cup Final defeat to the Saturn Superstars in 2072 (Sir Alex having retired three years earlier), but this time it was different. I had to act.
So I did.
Straight away the heart of my team was ripped out, leaving only three survivors – all of whom will coincidentally go on to be useless in this afternoon’s Liverpool v Manchester City match.
Out they came and in went the new faces. New, glorious faces. Faces that would laugh at the mere mention of Mohamed Diame.
And then it was done. And then I clicked it. And then I clicked the confirmation bit asking me if I was sure I knew that I was being completely mental. I was sure.
Activate Wildcard.
So I’m sorry to Yirma. Sorry Tom K. Sorry to you if you don’t agree with me. But I’m happy.
Rest assured I’ll be occupying my comfortably mediocre mid-table position come May, something that was in serious doubt for a few minutes there on Saturday afternoon.
I like my team now.
Of course Marouane Fellaini will keep scoring goals. Of course Swansea will carry on keeping clean sheets. They’ll probably keep them in every match for the rest of the season, I suspect.
I hope you all enjoyed the two-week headstart you got on me then, because I’m ready to start now, and I’m finally fully confident in all of my 15 players.
At least until that second Wildcard in January anyway.
I wonder how much Diame will be then?
BONUS POINTS GALORE…. GW2
SUNDAY 26TH AUGUST
| Stoke City |  |
0 – 0 |  |
Arsenal | |
| Liverpool |  |
2 – 2 |  |
Man City | |
As with last week – Bonus points are up very early… we figure the PL guys will get bored by week4 and bonus points will revert back to monday mornings.. so enjoy while it lasts!!
| Defenders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Ivanovic | CHE | 6.6 | 5 |
|
Baines | EVE | 7.0 | 5 |
|
Collins | WHM | 5.0 | 3 |
|
Cahill | CHE | 6.5 | 3 |
|
Figueroa | WIG | 4.5 | 3 |
| Midfielders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michu | SWA | 6.8 | 4 |
|
Kightly | STO | 5.5 | 3 |
|
Hazard | CHE | 9.7 | 3 |
|
Fellaini | EVE | 6.6 | 3 |
|
Pienaar | EVE | 6.5 | 3 |
| Forwards Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Torres | CHE | 10.0 | 4 |
|
Odemwingie | WBA | 7.0 | 3 |
|
Van Persie | MUN | 13.0 | 3 |
|
Petric | FUL | 6.1 | 3 |
|
Zamora | QPR | 6.4 | 3 |
| Swansea |  |
3 – 0 |  |
West Ham | |
| Aston Villa |  |
1 – 3 |  |
Everton | |
|
|||||
| Man Utd |  |
3 – 2 |  |
Fulham | |
|
|||||
| Norwich |  |
1 – 1 |  |
QPR | |
|
|||||
| Southampton |  |
0 – 2 |  |
Wigan | |
| Tottenham |  |
1 – 1 |  |
West Brom | |
|
|||||
| Chelsea |  |
2 – 0 |  |
Newcastle | |
| Defenders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ivanovic | CHE | 6.6 | 5 |
|
Baines | EVE | 7.0 | 5 |
|
Collins | WHM | 5.0 | 3 |
|
Cahill | CHE | 6.5 | 3 |
|
Figueroa | WIG | 4.5 | 3 |
| Midfielders Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michu | SWA | 6.8 | 4 |
|
Kightly | STO | 5.5 | 3 |
|
Hazard | CHE | 9.7 | 3 |
|
Fellaini | EVE | 6.6 | 3 |
|
Pienaar | EVE | 6.5 | 3 |
| Forwards Top 5 BP | £ | B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Torres | CHE | 10.0 | 4 |
|
Odemwingie | WBA | 7.0 | 3 |
|
Van Persie | MUN | 13.0 | 3 |
|
Petric | FUL | 6.1 | 3 |
|
Zamora | QPR | 6.4 | 3 |
TIPS OUT FOR YIRMA!! GW2
Tips out for Yirma…
Gameweek 2:
@pedro_lamb
1. Newcastle to beat Chelsea 11/2 LOST BET
2. Everton to beat Villa 7/5 WON BET
3. Southampton to win by exactly 2 goals 5/1 LOST BET
@mark_jones86
1. QPR to beat Norwich 11/5 LOST BET
2. Defoe to score at anytime 5/6 LOST BET
3. Arsenal to beat Stoke 11/10 LOST BET
@ryano83
1. Norwich to beat QPR 11/8 LOST BET
2. Villa v Everton Draw 9/4 LOST BET
3. Swansea to beat West Ham 23/20 WON BET
FY Tipster Challenge
Here within the Fantasy Yirma administration team, we like to pretend we have money. With that in mind we have devised a FY Tipster selection competition.
The loser from the Admin team at the end of the season will pay the £50 prize fund for the mini league!!!
| FY Tipster | GW1 Spend | GW1 Return | Total Spend | Total Return | % Difference |
| @pedro_lamb | £30 | £0 | £30 | £0 |
0% |
| @mark_jones86 | £30 | £0 | £30 | £0 |
0% |
| @ryano83 | £30 | £32.50 | £30 | £32.50 |
108.3% |
Rules:
Each player must place 3 £10 bets (Monopoly) per gameweek. (singles only)
The bet can be on any individual result/market/outcome with the only proviso being that you must stipulate the odds at time of selection submission and it must be from the same odds provider.
In practice this means your 3 £10 bets can be across 3 fixtures or 3 markets within one match.
We challenge everyone to make 3 selections also and we will include this in our table. Make your selection in the comments below.
Get your tips out for Yirma!!!
Fantasy Yirma: Gameweek 2 preview
Gameweek 2 preview: Forwards to earn their Spurs?
Maybe earning his Spurs is a bit less important to Emmanuel Adebayor than earning AT Spurs, but after completing his move to White Hart Lane from Manchester City at least he’s added another quality striking option for Fantasy managers.
The Togoloese forward (£9.5m) is likely to go straight into the squad for Saturday’s clash at home to West Brom after eventually turning his loan switch into a permanent one, with ‘Ade’ adding much needed strength in depth to Andre Villas-Boas’s striking department after the Portuguese was left with just Jermain Defoe (£7.5m) as a solitary senior forward for last weekend’s loss at Newcastle.
Defoe scored there of course, and he’ll be looking to take that form into the meeting with the Baggies, where he could still start despite the arrival of his new/old team-mate.
The England man continues to be linked with moves away, but it is unlikely that you’ll see Defoe depart North London at least until Villas-Boas is able to bring in yet another forward, and even then all talk of a transfer seems premature.
Now nearly 30, Defoe has seemingly spent a career on the fringes despite consistently finding the net.
There always seems to have been the feeling that managers can do better than him – either at club or international level – but with Adebayor likely to take a while to settle in after having no pre-season to speak of, Spurs are sure to have to turn to him over the coming weeks. Their next four matches see them face West Brom (h), Norwich (h), Reading (a) and QPR (h). The potential for goals is there for all to see.
That should draw you towards Tottenham’s forwards – perhaps with your Sergio Aguero money – and also to the men playing behind them. If Villas-Boas is to persevere with just the one attacker, then Gareth Bale (£9.5m), Gylfi Sigurdsson (£9.0m) and Rafael van der Vaart (£9.0m) will all be looking to get into scoring and assisting positions behind him.
Elsewhere this Fantasy weekend, the lack of a double Gameweek, the advice to avoid Chelsea players who’ll be inactive next weekend and some very intriguing fixtures make it somewhat of a tough one to predict.
After losing so heavily at West Brom, it would be just like Liverpool to bounce back and get a positive result against Manchester City, but it would take the most confident of Fantasy bosses to turn to the likes of the £9.5m pairing of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez against the champions, despite City’s concession of goals against Southampton and the Liverpool pair’s rest from the trip to Hearts in midweek.
City will miss Aguero of course and so a stalemate could ensue, which is probably what Arsenal would settle for from their tough trip to Stoke where Gunners forwards should probably be avoided.
Manchester United will be determined to bounce back from their loss to Everton on Monday, and with many put off by Robin van Persie’s price tag (£13.0m) it could well be the other home debutant Shinji Kagawa (£8.5m) who impresses against Fulham at Old Trafford, where it goes without saying that the Whites’ players who impressed on the opening day against Norwich – Mladen Petric (£6.0m), Damien Duff (£6.0m) and Alex Kacaniklic (£4.5m) – will find it tougher to shine again.
Other opening day stars Michu (bumped up to £6.7m) and Marouane Fellaini (£6.5m) could have it a little easier at home to West Ham and away to Aston Villa respectively, whilst in the battle of the two teams beaten 5-0 last week, it could pay to focus on QPR’s players ahead of those from Norwich.
Junior Hoilett (£6.5m) – a scorer home and away against Norwich for Blackburn last season – might well shine the brightest.
Fantasy Football: Set Piece takers
So… tis football eve and if you are involved in Fantasy Football you are doing 1 of 2 things;
1. panicking as you finally getting around to pick your team
2. changing your substitute goalkeeper for the 17th time this week.
We all know people who are meticulous in their preparation, we all know players who seem to fluke it week in week out. This post is for both sets.
Hopefully this should help everyone as they make their final decisions.
Huge thanks to http://www.mancityonline.com for providing this list of expected Set Piece takers for every team. Great site – follow them also on twitter @mancityonlineco .
*R
Below are the Set Piece Takers for the Premier League 2012-13, they are in order of the likelihood they will carry out the Set Piece, the first name is the preferred taker. The preferred corner takers are the first two names in the list.
15 Transfers That Shocked English Football!!
We are delighted to be working in tandem with http://www.footysays.com
Following on from Robin van Persie’s completed move from Arsenal to Manchester United, here’s a look at 15 more transfers which shocked English football.
Click here for full article https://fantasyyirma.wordpress.com/fy-guest-posts/
Written by @Lewbob91 for @Footysays
Fantasy Yirma: Gameweek 1 preview
Gameweek 1 preview: The story of the Blues
By now you’ll have clocked it. There can’t really be a Fantasy player who hasn’t.
The 2012/13 season will kick-off with the European champions gracing us with a double Gameweek.
It can’t really get any better can it? You’ve got all those great Chelsea players to choose from and the chance to score double points with each and every one of them, and quadruple with your captain – be it Eden Hazard, Juan Mata or Ross Turnbull. The world is your expensive, Russian oil money-purchased oyster.
Yet is it that simple? Chelsea’s matches against first Wigan and then Reading certainly look winnable, but players should be mindful that the price for the Blues doubling up on Gameweek 1 is that they’ll miss out on Gameweek 3, when Roberto di Matteo’s side (if he’s still there by then) will have swanned off to Monaco to take on Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
So the question facing Fantasy bosses all summer has been whether or not to load up on Chelsea players for the first couple of Gameweeks or to stay away. The answer can be found in an annoying club song, because as far as this Gameweek is concerned – Blue is the colour.
Chelsea’s best players are all expensive enough for you to easily be able to find replacements once they miss out on playing in that third Gameweek, and so at least two and perhaps three of Di Matteo’s boys should be in your starting XI come the big kick-off on Saturday.
As for who those players are, well the Blues’ midfield can now be considered a minefield due to all the players that they have at their disposal in there, and whilst it’s tempting to go with the £9.5m pair of Hazard and Mata, perhaps the old stager Frank Lampard (£9.0m) could come up trumps at the start of yet another campaign.
The usual suspects at the back for Chelsea will feature heavily on plenty of Fantasy teamsheets, as will Fernando Torres (£10.0m), a strong captaincy choice at the start of a huge season personally.
As is the nature of the game, when one team has a double Gameweek then another must too, and its newly-promoted Reading who take the honours as 2012/13 kicks off.
They won’t be expected to take anything from Stamford Bridge next Wednesday, but their Saturday fixture at home to Stoke does offer the potential of a clean sheet for goalkeeper Adam Federici (£4.5m, and a useful substitute in your team) and the defenders. They are likely to start with a back four of Ian Harte, Alex Pearce (both £4.5m), Kaspars Gorkss and Chris Gunter (both £4.0m).
Further forward, the Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak (£5.0m) has proved popular due to his success at Fulham last season, whilst midfielder Danny Guthrie (£4.5m) is a good signing for the Royals and has a goal or two in him.
Elsewhere across the division as the big kick-off approaches, the potential for a stalemate between Newcastle and Tottenham should have you looking at nobody but goalkeepers and defenders from the pair, whilst wins are predicted for Arsenal and Liverpool as they start the season at home to Sunderland and away at West Brom respectively. Reds new boy Joe Allen (£5.5m) has proved a popular buy with one in four of Fantasy players selecting him.
Manchester City start the defence of their crown with what could be a goal-filled success at home to Southampton – Carlos Tevez, at £9.0m, looks even more of a steal after that Community Shield goal – whilst Manchester United can take advantage of Everton’s often slow start to the season when they go to Goodison Park on Monday night.
All eyes might be on Robin van Persie (£13.0m) there, but it is the return of Nemanja Vidic (£7.0m) which should have Fantasy bosses cheering.
Follow me on twitter @Mark_Jones86
See more of Mark’s posts at @FantasyYirma and https://fantasyyirma.wordpress.com/
To join the free Fantasy Yirma mini league on the official Premier League game follow this link. Remember Free to Play … £50 to the winner!! What’s to lose?? http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/15005/join/?autojoin-code=44397-15005
Bouncing back?
Don’t forget…
To join the free Fantasy Yirma mini league on the official premier league game follow this link. Remember Free to Play … £50 to the winner!! What’s to lose?? http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/15005/join/?autojoin-code=44397-15005
Injuries, terrible form and appointments with Argentinean golf courses were all reasons why these five didn’t shine in Yirma in 2011/12, but could things be different this time around?
Fernando Torres, Chelsea, Forward – Fantasy Price Tag £10.0m
Just the FA Cup, Champions League, European Championships and Euro Golden Boot award made last term an unforgettable season to forget for Torres, who still comes across as one of the bigger enigmas in the division.
Bit part roles in all of those successes will have created a hunger though, and a desire to prove that the £50m Chelsea invested in him a year-and-a-half ago could still prove to be money well spent. There is a sense that if it’s ever going to happen, it’ll have to happen now.
Last season he scored exactly a quarter of the goals and picked up over 100 less Fantasy points than he managed in his electric debut season at Liverpool in 2007/08, and whilst he is unlikely to hit those heights again he might at least find himself approaching them.
The departure of Didier Drogba and the decision to loan Romelu Lukaku to West Brom has seen Roberto di Matteo place a huge vote of confidence in Torres, and with Chelsea recruiting creative players from all over the world to help him out this summer he won’t exactly be short of goalscoring chances.
He’s likely to take more than a few of them too.
Stewart Downing, Liverpool, Midfielder – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
By now everyone knows the stats, so much so that it doesn’t even matter that they weren’t true.
As endless tweets, Facebook jokes and message board posts will tell you, Downing’s first season as Liverpool’s £20m winger produced zero goals and zero assists – even though the Fantasy stats point out that he set up two goals in a match at QPR, whilst he managed a couple of strikes during the Reds’ run to the finals of both domestic cup competitions.
Regardless of that, his performances were still nowhere near what Liverpool supporters demanded, and the England man will know that he’ll have to step up his displays if his future at the club is to last much longer. Fortunately for him, he might just have the chance to.
With Brendan Rodgers ready to switch Liverpool’s approach to a 4-3-3 formation, Downing would appear set to occupy the wide right position in the front trio alongside Luis Suárez and Fabio Borini, at least until the Reds dip back into the transfer market – although the emergence of youngster Raheem Sterling (£4.5m) is worth keeping an eye on.
It was from a similar position that Downing bagged 163 Fantasy points in his final season at Aston Villa, more than double he got at Liverpool last season and including seven goals and nine assists for those who like to keep a track of such things.
He might not manage the same tally again, but an improvement looks almost certain.
He could scarcely have got any worse.
Carlos Tevez, Manchester City, Forward – Fantasy Price Tag £9.0m
He’s back – for now – and he looks ready to make up for lost time.
Manchester City fans may have forgotten all about Tevez’s indiscretions last season the moment he started banging the goals in, and Fantasy bosses might be ready to do just the same.
The forward’s fine goal in the Community Shield on Sunday could have been taken from the impressive back catalogue he built up in scoring first 210 and then 185 Fantasy points in each of his first two seasons at City, and now seemingly back on board and back in Roberto Mancini’s plans, it might not be the last such wonderful strike.
The prospect of building a partnership with Sergio Agüero should have City fans drooling and opposition defenders dreading, and if Tevez quickly settles down and – more importantly – is kept happy, then his £9.0m Fantasy price tag could suddenly start looking incredibly cheap.
Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United, Defender – Fantasy Price Tag £7.0m
Would Manchester United have won the league last season if Vidic had been around all campaign?
It’s impossible to predict of course, but the presence of a player who scored well over 100 points in four out of his five other seasons in Fantasy Premier League, and 94 in the other one, certainly would have aided a United side who chopped and changed things at the back after the Serb picked up the knee injury in November which ruled him out of the rest of the campaign.
Now fit, the club captain will slot straight back into Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as if he has never been away, and his club are likely to benefit from both his defensive organisational abilities and his goalscoring threat in the opposition penalty area.
A real leader, Vidic’s return isn’t just a welcome one for United fans but also for Fantasy bosses who were frequently left scratching their heads at just which players would line-up for Ferguson’s side last season.
When fit Vidic walks in to United’s team, and could well walk into yours too.
Lucas, Liverpool, Midfielder – Fantasy Price Tag £5.0m
Like Vidic at United, Lucas’s absence from over half of Liverpool’s season can’t be underestimated, but was certainly vital.
The Brazilian isn’t the kind of player who’ll win man of the match awards every week or even get you a lot of Fantasy points, but it was clear to see how Liverpool struggled as soon as he picked up the problem in November which ruled him out of the rest of the campaign, with youthful, often raw players pressed into service in his absence.
Now back and taking his place in the centre of a Liverpool team who are likely to dominate possession in the vast majority of their games, Lucas will be looking to get back to the form which has made him one of the top defensive midfielders in world football, and he could well be regarded as an excellent cheap option for your team at just £5.0m.
Consistency is key for the Brazilian, and if you’re prepared to play a squad game then his valuable input and steady accumulation of points could be just what you need.
*M
Second season syndrome? Part II
Having already had a look at five players who’ll be looking to impress in Yirma for a second year running, it’s time to cast an eye over five more regulars on last season’s teamsheets who’ll be worth considering again.
Michel Vorm, Swansea, Goalkeeper – Fantasy Price tag £5.5m
That odd scratching sound that you heard every Saturday morning for 38 weeks was coming from those Fantasy managers lucky enough to start the season with Vorm as their substitute goalkeeper.
However, the noise of fingernails over forehead grew quieter and quieter the longer that Vorm’s debut Premier League season went on, and suddenly the expensive, big name keeper you’d bought to start for your Fantasy team could be sold off to raise funds that were needed elsewhere. The big Dutchman would do just fine.
The former Utrecht goalkeeper impressed everyone as Swansea’s last line of defence last season, keeping 14 clean sheets and only conceding two goals in his side’s first eight home league games of the season.
The question of whether or not Vorm can sustain that form is like everything else that surrounds his club since the departure of Brendan Rodgers though – unknown.
New boss Michael Laudrup is sure to bring in the type of expansive, stylish football that Rodgers favoured, but with key men potentially leaving then results could well be mixed, meaning that trusting the big Dutchman to start for you this time could prove a hasty decision.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal, Midfielder – Fantasy Price Tag £7.5m
What do Arsenal want Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be? A very good player for them, obviously, but Arsene Wenger’s summer signings hint at another season as an impact player for the youngster who fleetingly impressed for England at the Euros.
For someone who only turns 19 next week that isn’t such a bad thing of course, but there were glimpses towards the end of last season that showed ‘The Ox’ could maintain a strong hold on a first-team place if given the chance.
Will he be given that chance though? The signing of Lukas Podolski has placed one of the most internationally experienced top level players in Europe squarely in Chamberlain’s position, whilst Santi Cazorla only increases the already vast midfield options available to the Gunners. Jack Wilshere might even be seen at some point this season too.
The belief amongst many is that Wenger is grooming former Southampton youngster Chamberlain to become a more effective version of former Southampton youngster Theo Walcott, and whilst that is all well and good, for as long as Walcott is at the club – which admittedly might not be for much longer – then it is difficult to see Chamberlain making a sustained impact.
This could be a frustrating campaign for the youngster and those who pick him.
Jose Enrique, Liverpool, Defender – Fantasy Price Tag £6.0m
Much like Liverpool as a whole, Enrique’s league performances steadily got worse the longer last season went on.
He’d started well, but like everyone at the club he’ll be looking forward to putting that league campaign behind him, and the arrival of Brendan Rodgers will have invigorated a squad which was in dire need of a spark.
Enrique was Liverpool’s third top points scorer behind Luis Suarez and Pepe Reina in 2011/12, and whilst Rodgers is sure to change a lot about his new club’s style of play he is likely to have found the two first choice full-backs he inherited at Anfield to be to his liking.
Liverpool will look to use those full-backs in attack as much as possible in 2012/13, and whilst a personal preference would be to choose the added goal and assist threat of Glen Johnson (£6.5m), if you haven’t got the extra cash then a move for Enrique could prove a shrewd one if he starts well again.
James McClean, Sunderland, Midfielder – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
Yes, he’s down as a midfielder again.
McClean’s haul of 101 points last season wasn’t bad at all for a player who didn’t start a match since New Year’s Day, and the Irishman again looks likely to start on the left of Sunderland’s front three.
Things have been remarkably quiet around his club all summer – at the time of writing only Carlos Cuellar has joined for first team duty, but interest remains in Steven Fletcher – and with that suggesting Martin O’Neill is more than happy with the squad at his disposal, the Sunderland boss looks set to go with the same again as he starts his first full season with the club.
McClean’s impact on Sunderland last season saw him quickly become a mainstay in the team, and he’ll be raring to go again after only sampling 14 minutes of action during the Republic of Ireland’s disappointing Euro 2012 campaign.
He’ll get far more time in the Premier League, and could once again prove to be a terrific addition to any midfield – if a more expensive one this time around.
Ashley Young, Manchester United, Midfielder – Fantasy Price Tag £8.5m
It was an up and down debut season at Old Trafford for Young – up as he ran towards the penalty area, down when he got int it – and both the arrival of Shinji Kagawa and consistent form of Antonio Valencia could make this a difficult campaign for him.
Nani is still around too of course, and with the rumours surrounding Robin van Persie refusing to go away then the vacancies in the forward positions at Manchester United could soon be even scarcer than ever before. We haven’t even mentioned Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez yet. Oh, and Dimitar Berbatov too.
All of which leaves Young in danger of being squeezed out, and even if he does start matches he is unlikely to finish them due to the vast resources available to Ferguson.
He’s been far from a failure at United of course, but his impact tends to come in short bursts, and he might have to prolong those if he is to hang around in Ferguson’s team, and yours.
*M
Diamonds in the rough
We’ve already had a look at some of the big name additions to Fantasy Premier League this season, but what about the less heralded ones? Their arrivals haven’t been met with the same fanfare as others, but they’re still worth considering as you try and find some value names to fit alongside the big money stars.
Michu, Midfielder, Swansea – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
A quick scan of the top 10 goalscorers’ list in La Liga last season would return the names of all the usual suspects, but below Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the others lies the little-known Miguel Perez Cuesta – or ‘Michu’ to his mates.
In his one and only season with Rayo Vallecano, the 6ft 1ins midfielder returned 15 goals to end the campaign as the Spanish top flight’s joint-ninth top scorer, a hardly insignificant feat at a struggling club. Which brings us to Swansea.
There are so many unanswered questions about just what Michael Laudrup will bring to the Swans following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, but the general consensus appears to be that they’ll struggle to hit the heights that they were capable of last season. This is where Michu – hardly a novice at 26 – could come in.
If he’s half as effective as Gylfi Sigurdsson was in the attacking midfield position then the £2m spent by Swansea to bring him to Wales will be money well invested, and whilst you’ll have to shell out three times as much of your Fantasy money to add him to your side, he might just be a gamble that quickly pays off.
Matt Lowton, Defender, Aston Villa – Fantasy Price Tag £4.5m
Paul Lambert needs to quickly make an impact on an Aston Villa side which could struggle to shake off the negativity of the Alex McLeish ‘era’ (if you can call that an era), and in Lowton he may have found a player who’ll help him do just that.
The 23-year-old right-back arrives from Sheffield United having impressed all who came across him in League One last season, when he even managed to chip in with six goals.
He’ll face a battle with Alan Hutton for a starting berth at Villa Park, but there is nothing to suggest that that is a battle he won’t quickly win, and if he hits his stride early then Villa supporters are sure to take to a player who was loved at Bramall Lane.
The leap from the third tier to the Premier League was one successfully made by Lambert and his Norwich side in the space of two years, and now that the Scot has seen something in Lowton then he too could successfully make that jump – albeit in a much shorter time.
You get the feeling that rather than be intimidated by that scrutiny though, Lowton could thrive under it.
Robert Snodgrass, Midfielder, Norwich – Fantasy Price Tag £6.0m
Leeds United boss Neil Warnock tried to move heaven and earth to keep Snodgrass at Elland Road, and it’s not hard to see why.
The former Livingston wideman has been the heart and soul of the Whites for the past four years, but after failing to achieve promotion with the Yorkshire side he’s finally decided that the top flight is place to be at the age of 24.
Forty-three goals over his time at Leeds shows that he knows where the net is, and the Scot will be looked to by Chris Hughton as one of his main men as the former Newcastle and Birmingham boss seeks to get comfortable behind his desk at Carrow Road.
Snodgrass has crucial leadership abilities that he picked up during his time with Leeds, and so with the Premier League unlikely to intimidate him, he could quickly become an integral part of both the Norwich side and of yours.
Steven Naismith, Forward, Everton – Fantasy Price Tag £6.5m
Whilst Naismith will be making trips to Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the coming season, the newco Rangers that he left behind will be going to Montrose, Berwick and Elgin, and so whilst there was sure to be emotional issues behind his decision to leave Ibrox you can’t argue with the sporting reasons.
The forward had his injury problems last season, but as a hard-working, strong-willed Scot he’s sure to fit in very well with David Moyes’s plans, especially now that the Blues have lost Tim Cahill.
Naismith’s former Rangers team-mate Nikica Jelavić (£8.5m and a popular choice) will of course be Everton’s key man in the coming campaign, but with Naismith, Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini buzzing around him then goals look assured.
The step up from Scottish Premier League to Fantasy Premier League isn’t always as smooth as Jelavić made it look last season, but Naismith has the tools to make a good impact at Goodison Park, and offer an interesting alternative to several Fantasy managers.
Mladen Petric, Forward, Fulham – Fantasy Price Tag £6.0m
With Clint Dempsey looking likely to head for the departure gate marked ‘Anfield,’ the key question facing Fulham is just where will the goals come from now?
The signing of Hugo Rodallega is a welcome rather than inspiring one, but the 31-year-old Petric adds experience and good pedigree.
The Croatian won’t be troubling the top end of the goalscorer’s list in the coming campaign, but if he can maintain his fitness and get a regular run in the side then there’s no reason why the former Hamburg man can’t hit double figures, a reasonable target for the third forward in your Fantasy squad.
Having already played under Martin Jol in Germany, Petric crucially knows that he’ll be heading into his first campaign in England with the trust of his manager. Maybe you should trust him too?
*M
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