Blog Archives
GW8 – The Review… HOW DID YOU DO???
NOTHING BUT BONUS POINTS GW 8
| 20 Oct 12:45 | Tottenham |  |
2 – 4 |  |
Chelsea |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | Fulham |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Aston Villa |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | Liverpool |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Reading |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | Man Utd |  |
4 – 2 |  |
Stoke City |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | Swansea |  |
2 – 1 |  |
Wigan |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | West Brom |  |
1 – 2 |  |
Man City |
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| 20 Oct 15:00 | West Ham |  |
4 – 1 |  |
Southampton |
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| 20 Oct 17:30 | Norwich |  |
1 – 0 |  |
Arsenal |
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| 21 Oct 13:30 | Sunderland |  |
1 – 1 |  |
Newcastle |
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| 21 Oct 16:00 | QPR |  |
1 – 1 |  |
Everton |
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To Know The Game: The Story So Far (Part 1)
With Yirma off on an international break, we thought it was a good time to let our friends over at To Know The Game take over for a few days and present you with their review of the Premier League season so far.
Over the weekend we’ll see what the guys rate as the three biggest surprises we’ve seen in the 2012/13 season, whilst they’ll also rate the title contenders and the runners and riders in the battle for fourth place.
First up though, here’s a look at who TKTG regard as the three most impressive summer signings in the opening months of the season. Enjoy!
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With 7 weeks gone is it too early to make a judgment on players and teams? Well, it may be too soon but that’s not stopping us at TKTG from using this international break to take stock of what we’ve seen in the EPL thus far. The next few months are going to be quite hectic for English clubs, which will see the fortunes of some change while others have probably set their tone for the rest of the season. In this piece, we look at the 3 signings that we feel have made the most impact, followed by our take on the big surprises of the season so far and we wrap things up with an analysis of the race for 4th place and the battle for the Premiership title.
TOP 3 SIGNINGS
Robin van Persie: He scores when he wants!! He scores when he wants!! – RvP at Arsenal or RvP at Man United – the chant remains the same. Look away Arsenal fans but van Persie has been a success at United. 7 goals and 2 assists so far (EPL and UEFA CL) backs up his impressive start to the season. Things will only get better once United learn to play to his strengths and he gels with his teammates – and make no mistake, RvP WILL gel with Kagawa and Rooney. Their only issue might be if Rooney is OK with RvP as the main striker. However, as we have already covered – Rooney is quite liking his midfield role. RVP for the Golden Boot? You bet.
Santi Cazorla: The best import of the season! Hazard who? While Hazard has certainly been impressive; Santi brings a whole new dimension to the game – he can attack; he tracks back; he has great positional play; shoots with his left; shoots with his right – and all that with a smile on his face. Arsenal fans are already calling him their favourite Spanish player ever….move over Arteta and Cesc – Santi is awesome!
Michu: while there was a case for both Kone (Wigan) and Fletcher (Sunderland); we at TKTG felt Michu is more deserving of this spot. Not only does he have the skill but his reading of the game is excellent – he is an “intelligent” footballer. The new Tim Cahill? Even most supporters of the top 4 clubs would want him in their team and that is a testament to his immense talent and massive potential.
Honorable mention: While not a new signing; Raheem Sterling at Liverpool looks like an exciting youngster. Quick, fast, direct he will hopefully continue to do better. He already has 6 starts in the league and could form an exciting partnership with Suarez and Borini.
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For more great articles like this one visit the guys at toknowthegame.com, whilst you can follow them on Twitter at @toknowthegame.
Guest Post: Midfield Selection Advice (By @shots_on_target)
Many thanks to our guest post from @shots_on_target . If you would like to get involved and write your own guest post for Fantasy Yirma feel free to contact us via email, twitter or directly on the site
A few days ago I took a look at 5 budget midfielders whose performances in the Premier League had caught my eye, based on their FPL points to date plus their underlying stats that led to those points. ( http://shotsontarget.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/5-budget-midfield-options.html )
The midfield options for an FPL side are one of the most important areas of the team. Upfront can tend to pick itself at times and many elect to play a 3 man defence so the midfield is all important and a potential conundrum.
This article looks at some midprice options, ones that offer no surprise to anyone reading this I’m sure, but their attention is warranted, both on FPL points scored and underlying stats. In a future post (soon) I am going to look at the 5 midfielders in this price range that have come in under the radar.
What to expect of a midprice midfielder?
I’m putting midprice at £6.0 – 8.0m. Based on the rationale outlined in the budget midfielder’s post, I’m gonna aim for a target of 150 FPL points, or roughly 4 pts/game. This will require an offensive points tally of about 60 points, which equates to 10+ goals, or 5 goals and 10 assists.
Looking at last season the kind of players who were getting close or exceeding this tally in the midprice bracket were Ben Arfa, James Morrison, Sessengon, Yaya Toure and Walters – so not too many.
Here’s a look at players this year that are showing some early promise. There are no surprises but I’ve taken their current form based on underlying stats only and projected expected points scored in their next 6 fixtures. I’ve also extrapolated this points projection to a price value based on ?1m netting you 20 pts, as explained a little in the budget midfielder’s post.
Any comments, queries or suggestions, do let me know. Thanks 🙂
Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle (£7.7m)
The most expensive player in this list and rightly so from his form end of last season. I remember reading a piece in the Observer last year that one day he might be “the best player in the world” (his words). He’s certainly an option in this price range. He’s scored two goals this season from only two shots on target but Newcastle have not had the easiest of fixtures so there’s sure to be more to come. Upcoming fixtures are mixed.
Next 6 fixtures: EVE (A) NOR (H) RDG (A) MUN (H) SUN (A) WBA (H)
Current Form Projected Points =27 pts 4.5pts/game Projected Value= £8.5m
Damien Duff – Fulham (£6.1m)
Good old Damien Duff. I don’t know what to make of him really. Fairly unfashionable fantasy option despite his advanced role in a fairly attacking team. This season he had a good game against Norwich at home on the opening day, as may be expected, with 2 key passes, 2 shots and 1 on target (1 goal) but followed that up in two tricky away games against Utd and West Ham with a further key pass, 3 shots, 2 on target, including a goal at Old Trafford. To be honest I would not own him although Fulham’s upcoming fixtures offer hope. Too unfashionable 😉
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Next 6 fixtures: WBA (H) WIG (A) MCI (H) STO (A) RDG (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 26pts, 4.3 pt/game. Projected Value = £8m
Marouane Fellaini – Everton (£6.9m)
Asa lifelong Evertonian I love this guy. Who remembers his Zidane like pirouette against City a couple of years ago? Moyes has been playing him up front in support of Jelavic since Tim Cahill’s form declined last year. He’s scored 2 goals so far and been more involved in the attacking play than any other Everton player. He’s shown he can score goals in the past too. Midway through his first season Moye’s shoe-horned him up front due an all too frequent striker crisis… He bagged 8 goals in 20 something games. This is having played as a defensive midfielder his whole life. Quality. No real tricky fixtures in the next 6 either, and that includes Liverpool 🙂
Next 6 fixtures: NEW (H) SWA (A) SOT (H) WIG (A) QPR (A) LIV (H)
Current Form Projected Points = 31pts, 5.2 pt/game. Projected Value = £9.8m
Kevin Nolan – West Ham (£6.1m)
The only really thing you need to say about Kevin Nolan is … the guy scores goals. Senior career stats are bobbing about the 1 goals in 4 games mark and under Allardyce and playing off Carroll he should thrive, as he’s shown already with two goals. He is well priced and still a differential. If he was in my team I would be delighted. Can he get 10 goals this season? I doubt it, maybe 6-8 and a few assists, but with some tasty looking fixtures on the horizon he is my value for money pick in this price range.
Next 6 fixtures: NOR (A) SUN (H) QPR (A) ARS (H) SOT (H) WIG (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 29pts, 4.8 pt/game. Projected Value = £9.1m
Michu – Swansea (£7.3m)
Michu, Michu, Michu. I am pleased to Michu. Michu were here. I Michu already. A fantasy darling in the making, scoring 15 goals in La Liga last year and 4 already in the Prem. this season. He’s scored with every shot he’s had on target and no one expects him to keep up this goal return but he is still at the sharp end in a very good attacking team. Clearly a bargain at ?6.5m he still offers value after a ?0.8m price rise, however, the fixtures are starting to stiffen up. Don’t hold on too long if the Swansea’s bubble starts to burst, he’s not superman,
Next 6 fixtures:AVL (A) EVE (H) STO (A) RDG (H) WIG (H) MCI (A)
Current Form Projected Points = 25pts, 4.2 pt/game. Projected Value = ?7.9m
Conclusion
Of these 5 I own Michu and have owned him since GW1, and am obviously chuffed with his FPL points so far. Delighted! But I am itching to cash in. I don’t think he can keep this form up, although he’ll probably achive the same ballpark points tally as the others on this list. But you have to take a look Fellaini and Nolan as money saving alternatives. Give me a free transfer and I’d swap my Michu for Fellaini.
Guest Blogger Profile: @shots_on_target
Football and stats fan who finds nirvana within the game of fantasy football!!
Visit his blog for
#FPL key stats, rankings, analysis and point forecasts http://shotsontarget.blogspot.co.uk/
Guest Post: Current Yirma Champion reflects on season so far.
Thanks to current Yirma champion Tom for providing his insight into the season so far. Tom finished in the top 250 last season (Out of over 2.7m players) We are already contemplating copying his team 😉
First of all, an apology for my reply to a question raised in my previous post. I believe I advised the unfortunate user to watch out for Cazorla and Giroud of Arsenal, only for me to go and start with Podolski on opening day.
It’s an interesting time as after only 3 weeks we’ll see a massive differentiation of wildcard use. Some will have played it, some will be playing it right now in this two week window, whilst others attempt to hold their nerve and save it for a rainy (or, as the case may be, snowed off) day. There is no correct strategy here but whichever direction you go in, ensure you have a mixture of the players in form mixed with those who may be creeping under the radar with excellent fixtures coming up.
I’d imagine the likes of Michu, Hazard and Tevez will have found their way into just about every team by now so I won’t mention them. Any player who has scored a goal thus far will have been brought into the limelight so the likes of Nolan, Fellaini, Piennar, Fletcher, etc) will also be making their way into squads, but what about those who haven’t fired yet?
An obvious example of an underperforming team is Tottenham. I haven’t given up on them yet and with Adebayor surely pushing for a start this weekend, things will improve. Dempsey may or may not prove to be a hindrance but I believe there are goals here if you are brave enough to pick a Spurs attacking player.
As a Villa fan I tend to stay away from what inevitably turns to disappointment, but signs of life have surfaced and the team outclassed Newcastle last time out and were held to a draw only by a rocket from Ben Arfa. I’m not sure I’d advocate shelling out on Bent or Bentake up top just yet, but there are certainly goals to be had with a fantastic upcoming schedule.
On similar lines, Dimitar Berbatov poses some interesting questions. It’s another wait and see but if he can get regular games and dictate play surely he’s in line for a great season. Cisse and Ba didn’t become terrible players overnight and should pick up last season’s goalscoring exploits very soon, whilst Danny Graham must be given a little faith despite being completely overshadowed by his midfield so far.
And what about Robin Van Persie? A player plucked from obscurity and thrust into the Premier League spotlight. Well, not quite. I don’t believe in ‘must have’ players in this game, especially at his extreme price when we don’t know how he fits into plans when Rooney comes back and Champions League rotation kicks in. Saying all that, I have him slotted neatly in my team and it would be hard to recommend against him for anyone with a wildcard this week. For those without, I wouldn’t break the rest of my team just to have him no matter what he does against Wigan this weekend. After that fixtures stiffen up and rotation is right around the corner.
I’ve avoided the wildcard this week despite some obvious flaws in my squad. The first bullet point in my last post argued that you should pick players who will play. So naturally I stuck De Gea in goal. Ryan Bennett was an unfortunate pick as he was replaced by newly signed Bassong at Norwich after the GW1 window shut, whilst my GW3 signing Ashley Williams has now been left at the heart of a completely shattered defensive unit. Apart from that I was extremely fortunate to start with Tevez, Hazard and Michu which meant that I wasn’t chasing bandwagons and had the pleasure of seeing other teams panicking to transfer them in. For those yet to wildcard, I salute you, and I hope we will be able to keep up and make our move later in the season? This is where the men are sorted from the boys.
Fantasy Yirma: Winner’s Insight !!
In the past 3 seasons of official fantasy football game Tom K has been exceptionally consistent. 3 top 10,000 performances culminated last year with an unbelievable finishing place of 204th with a massive points tally of 2306.
Let’s put this in perspective people 204th out of 2,500,000+ is not bad at all!!!
We wanted to put Tom on the spot and ask him for some insight on how he manages his teams – he did not disappoint. Here are his thoughts on how to go about looking after your fantasy team and maximising opportunities….
The guys from Fantasy Yirma asked me to write a few notes about how I play the game (and somehow managed to gain top spot in their league last season and the crisp £50 that comes with it!) so here is some insight into how I did it.
Fantasy Premier League veterans will learn nothing new here, and those who take massive selection gambles will be disappointed, but sadly the best way to mini league glory is often the slow and steady approach.
With Gameweek 1 being so important to a Fantasy season, the best piece of advice would be to not leave team selections until Saturday 18th August. Anyone who played last season will know the shambles that took place from about midday on the Friday before kick-off when the FPL website imploded leaving many with skeleton teams. Do not make the same mistake again!
More seriously, I haven’t scouted too many players in detail so I won’t mention specifics as the Yirma boys do a fine job of that themselves.
I am a hugely conservative player so most of what I am about to write is common sense but as that often goes out of the window in Fantasy Football selection, here are a few random thoughts:
- 1. Pick players who start for their clubs. Easy. It’s a squad game and you should make the most of all 15 spots (with the possible exception of second keeper if you have a top quality option as first choice). There are base price options in defence and midfield so if you are looking at this range ensure the guys you are going for actually start.
- 2. Don’t make transfers based purely on price rises/falls early in the week. It is so much more important to have a full strength team rather than an extra 0.1 in the bank, and the risk with an early transfer is that if anyone else is struck down or goes missing then you might be tempted to take a points hit to make amends. Which leads me on to…
- 3. Points hits are often unnecessary. You get a free transfer every week so points hits should only be used in exceptional circumstances. I took two last year and by having a full squad to pick from it’s easy to avoid. Rolling transfers over and using two free transfers at a time is far more sensible.
- 4. Forward Planning. Make transfers with the next five or six gameweeks in mind. Look at fixture schedules to make sure you will be happy with the player for a number of weeks as other priority transfers will crop up all the time.
- 5. Don’t waste the wildcard! I used mine along with many others in Gameweek 36 last season and it made such a difference in getting over the line. Some will argue about getting a bit of extra cash by using it early but for me it isn’t worth it. Save it for the winter or spring and you won’t regret it. Using it for Gameweek 2 is a colossal waste, you have had all summer to tinker so put that itchy trigger finger away.
- 6. Let new players Settle. Let players adjust to the league before taking the plunge. Having a midfield of Hazard, Kagawa, Michu, Cazorla and Holman might be end up being incredible but have a couple of safer picks alongside the new boys just in case they are bedded in slowly by managers or don’t fire from the start. By all means if you like the look of them (I certainly do) then have a couple but remember they are a risk.
Good Luck!!
Tom
Big thanks to Tom for taking the time to submit this post. Best of luck this season – but let someone else win! 😉
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
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
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
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