Guest Post Provided by @ashilparekh
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There are some exciting new additions to the Premier League for the new season. Guest Post writer @ashilparekh takes a look at some of the new imports available for selection for YOUR Fantasy Football team
@ashilparekh has looked at 8 newcomers and provided a rating for each based on the following criteria. Have a look through and let us know what you think of the scores and who do YOU think could shine??
Huge experience at the highest level, has speed and brings quality balance to the side.
Brings versatility to this Swansea side, Monk can even field him alongside Gomis and Sigurdsson behind them.
Preferred Position: Left Wing LW
Also Plays: Central Midfield CM and Attacking Midfield CAM
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | Marseille | 35 | 9 | 3 |
| 2013-14 | Marseille | 23 | 6 | 3 |
| 2014-15 | Marseille | 27 | 10 | 3 |
| Total | 85 | 25 | 9 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4.0/5
His impact depends on where Rodgers play him. Very Attack minded player.
Preferred Position: Attacking Midfield CAM
Also Plays: Left Wing LW and Secondary Striker
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | Hoffenheim | 29 | 5 | 2 |
| 2013-14 | Hoffenheim | 33 | 16 | 11 |
| 2014-15 | Hoffenheim | 33 | 7 | 10 |
| Total | 95 | 28 | 23 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4.5/5
Depay became the second-youngest player to receive the Golden Boot accolade in the Eredivisie, topping the scoring charts with 22 league goals; iconic Brazilian forward Ronaldo still holds that particular record.
Should play as a support striker to Rooney, Can also lead the line if needed.
Preferred Position: Left Wing LW
Also Plays: Right Wing RW and Secondary Striker
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | PSV | 20 | 2 | 3 |
| 2013-14 | PSV | 32 | 12 | 8 |
| 2014-15 | PSV | 30 | 22 | 6 |
| Total | 82 | 36 | 17 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4.5/5
He will become the first ever German footballer to play for the Red Devils.
Has immense experience at the biggest stages but don’t expect much from a Fantasy perspective.
Preferred Position: Central Midfield CM
Also Plays: Central Defensive Midfield CDM and Attacking Midfield CAM
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | Bayern Munich | 27 | 7 | 3 |
| 2013-14 | Bayern Munich | 22 | 4 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | Bayern Munich | 15 | 4 | 5 |
| Total | 64 | 15 | 12 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 3 /5
The poor man’s David Silva?? Assist Based player. Can definitely replicate what Stuart Downing did.
Preferred Position: Attacking Midfield CAM
Also Plays: Left Wing LW and Right Wing RW
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | Lille | 38 | 12 | 18 |
| 2013-14 | Marseille | 36 | 8 | 6 |
| 2014-15 | Marseille | 36 | 7 | 21 |
| Total | 110 | 27 | 45 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4.0/5
Third costliest acquisition in the Magpies’ history. The guy has good experience, can play box to box as well, versatile to adapt many roles.
Preferred Position: Attacking Midfield CAM
Also Plays: Central Midfield CM and Right Wing RW
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | PSV | 33 | 14 | 4 |
| 2013-14 | PSV | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | PSV | 33 | 14 | 5 |
| Total | 77 | 32 | 9 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 3.5/5
Dick Advocaat has now signed Lens for the third time in his managerial career. This is extreme faith or at the very least owes him money!
Lens has good pace, very direct and an eye for goal. Don’t be shocked if the manager starts him as a striker. Potential for Fantasy point returns if he can link up well with PVA.
Preferred Position: Left Wing LW
Also Plays: Right Wing RW and Center Forward CF
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | PSV | 30 | 15 | 11 |
| 2013-14 | D Kiev | 28 | 5 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | D Kiev | 21 | 5 | 10 |
| Total | 79 | 25 | 25 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4/5
8. Gerard Deulofeu (Spain / Catalonia / Everton)
Martinez had stated it was his objective to secure the services of Tom Cleverly and Gerard Deulofeu. The guy has good pace, can create aplenty and has good shooting stats to back him up.
Preferred Position: Right Wing RW
Also Plays: Left Wing LW
Stats:
| Competition | Club | Starts | Goals | Assist |
| 2012-13 | Barca B | 33 | 18 | 6 |
| 2013-14 | Everton | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | Sevilla | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| Total | 75 | 22 | 16 |
Summary
FPL Rating: 4/5
Written by @ashilparekh . Never did what he planned.Never planned what he does. Currently working for bread (with cheese)
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1
Norwich City : Fantasy Football Potential?
Guest Post Provided by @Jonathan_W00d
Norwich City are back in the Premier League. After being relegated in the 2013/14 season, they have come back strong and have returned to England’s top flight at the first time of asking. For myself and many others this, in all honesty, did not come as a huge surprise. They were well equipped for the Championship as their big name players remained at the club. Despite a few hiccups in the first half of the season, they attained promotion via the play-offs and deserve to be in the Premier League.
The Canaries have a solid team that you would tip to stay up this year given the additions they have made and the future ones they may make. One of their most recent summer additions, Youseff Mulumbu, is a quality signing. He has been an unsung hero for West Brom for a number of seasons now, but his hard work has not gone unnoticed. With the likes of Raheem Sterling and Christian Benteke signing for Manchester City and Liverpool respectively, signings like Mulumbu often go unrecognised, but he could prove to be one of the bargains of the summer, especially considering that they acquired him for free. In truth, manager Alex Neil does not have to make a great number of additions to his squad, as he already has a plethora of talent at his disposal. Players such as Cameron Jerome, Nathan Redmond and Alexander Tettey were all superb in the Championship, and will no doubt want to show what they can do in the Premier League. However, it is no secret that adapting to the level required to stay in the top tier of English football is tricky, even when you have only been absent from the league for one season, like Norwich have. It will undoubtedly be a tough season, but Norwich look like a top flight team and have some brilliant players.
For me, Cameron Jerome is a must in a fantasy team. He netted twenty-one times in all competitions last season, alongside a fair number of assists. He is big, powerful and sure to put defences through their paces. Other Norwich players to also consider would be the likes of Nathan Redmond, who contributes well to general play, along with good pace and skill. With this he is likely to get a number of assists. Michael Turner could also be an option. The towering centre-half is always an aerial threat from corners but may be a risk given the calibre of players he and his defensive team mates will be facing.
There are however, a few players from Norwich who I would certainly avoid selecting. While no doubt a solid keeper, John Ruddy will be under a lot of pressure. With newly promoted teams, a lot of the time it is down to the goal keeper to keep their side in the game. While Ruddy is certainly capable of this, he is unlikely to keep many clean sheets and therefore is not a good selection for a fantasy team. Another player to avoid is Louis Grabban. Although he scored a respectable twelve goals last season in all competitions, he may not be played a great deal this season. He may either not be picked or may be sent out on loan at some point, so Jerome would definitely be the better option here. When choosing a squad, look out for those Norwich players, there are a few hidden gems in that side.
Happy anniversary to us!
Yes, FantasyYIRMA is 100 Gameweeks old this weekend. No, we can’t believe it either. We don’t look it at all.
Thanks to everyone who has kept reading and enjoyi… well, thanks to everyone who has kept reading these previews for two and two-thirds of the seasons we’ve been producing them. They’re sometimes right, they’re sometimes wrong, but one thing that you can never accuse them of being is dull. Well, you could, but we’d stick our fingers in our ears and ignore you.
Anyway, as a tribute to ourselves (such a modest bunch), this week’s preview is going to be written in the style of the very first one way back in 2012, when the world was a much different place, Vines were still things that grapes grew on and European champions Chelsea faced a double Gameweek against Wigan and Reading to kick off their season.
Enjoy!
FantasyYIRMA Gameweek 24 Preview
Last weekend’s 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Manchester City was a somewhat disappointing affair.
Missing the banned Diego Costa (£11.0m), Jose Mourinho’s side seemed happy to settle for their lot once Loic Remy (£7.2m) had given them the lead, safe in the knowledge that they were only ever going to concede one goal given their defensive prowess, and just conceding one goal was fine by them.
It could have been more as City pressed, though, and key reason for that was the threat of Sergio Aguero (£12.7m). As the Argentinean steps up his route back to full fitness, City’s fixture at home to Hull this weekend looks perfect for him.
With a full week of training behind him, Aguero is likely to spring into battle against Steve Bruce’s men and he looks to be the obvious captaincy choice for many this weekend, although the brave amongst you might be tempted to give the armband to David Silva (£9.4m) after a run of five goals in his last seven games.
Aguero would be the smart and popular choice though, especially seeing as there are selection issues affecting the other one of the Premier League’s front-runners as they go to struggling Aston Villa.
Cesc Fabregas (£9.6m) is still doubtful and Costa is still banned, so other than the knowledge that Eden Hazard (£10.8m) will probably have a stormer at Villa Park, it might pay to focus your attention on Chelsea’s defence against a side who have scored only 11 league goals all season.
The recent introduction of Kurt Zouma (£4.6m) back there might be one to keep an eye on, but at the other end of the expense scale it is still impossible to look past Branislav Ivanovic (£7.2m) as the daddy of all Fantasy Premier League defenders, and he looks a safe bet for the weekend.
Elsewhere, there are huge derbies taking place in North London and on Merseyside, but with such fixtures often close to call they don’t offer too much to the Fantasy manager.
Having said that, were Harry Kane (£6.1m) to continue his goalscoring record against the club he represented as a boy then he’d become even more of a hero to the Spurs fans, whilst any unlocking of the Everton defence by Liverpool is likely to be done by the quickly improving Philippe Coutinho (£7.6m), who has a goal and five assists in his last seven Premier League games, and got that brilliant winner in the FA Cup at Bolton on Wednesday.
Manchester United face a tricky trip to West Ham, with their selection issues only seeming to increase now that Louis van Gaal has got almost everyone back fit again, but Daley Blind (£5.1m) might be someone who is worth keeping an eye on after picking up two assists last weekend.
The suspended Ryan Bertrand (£5.8m) is a big miss for Southampton as they go to managerless (for now) QPR, but the Dutch winger Eljero Elia (£5.6m) has looked lively for the Saints in recent weeks and he could exploit any space left by the home defence.
However they do on Saturday, the R’s players are likely to have more than one eye on the big clash between Burnley and West Brom at Turf Moor on Sunday lunchtime, and given all the rumours linking him with a summer switch to Liverpool, Clarets forward Danny Ings (£5.7m) will be desperate to show that he’s still committed to the cause.
Ings has scored in his last two home matches, and you wouldn’t back against him adding to that tally.
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For the 100th time, thanks for reading.
#COMPETITION 100th Gameweek Preview and we’re giving away a @CampoRetro shirt! RT & follow both to enter #100YIRMA pic.twitter.com/3kGRni6M6e
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) February 4, 2015
https://twitter.com/lennysaints/statuses/492289546101719040
Both myself and Mark finished in the top 10k for the season which means that we both finished ahead of 99.7% of all 3,218,887 players in the game. Not bad eh?
I also have just noticed that when the season started for 2013/14 I was clearly too excited about picking my team that I forgot to design a kit!
For those that don’t know – the concept of FantasyYIRMA actually started back in 2006 when a drunken conversation back in Belfast around what to name our 6 person mini-league led to the following comment…
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