Fixtures and Monthly Picks Updated
The fixtures table for the next five games has been updated and I’ve given the the monthly rankings a first pass following these changes and the first weekend’s performances.
I’ve also updated the season ticker to allow you to track spells of difficult and easy fixtures over the season. You can find that here.
Looking at the fixtures the likes of Arsenal, Everton and West Ham remain the teams with favourable runs. Neither of that trio put in stand out performances this weekend but all look good sources of fantasy signings based on the fixtures to come.
Blackburn and Newcastle had outstanding results away from home and their fixtures look a little kinder over the next five with week one out of the way. Newcastle in particular, have three home games with Bolton, Hull and Blackburn coming to St James’ Park.
West Brom present an outside bet for cheap players with a run of mid table opposition and three home games over the next five. Sunderland also look to have a decent run of games, as do Wigan once they get the home game with Chelsea out of the way.
United miss gameweek three of course, with their clash with Fulham postponed due to the Super Cup fixture. That’s likely to see all the big money go the way of Chelsea who looked outstanding against Portsmouth and also have a decent set of games - aside from the home fixture with United in gameweek five.
In terms of the monthly rankings - little changed in the goalkeeping category aside form a slight climb from James now that the trip to Chelsea is out of the way. In defence Figueroa and Wheater are new entries. Figueroa taking the place of Scharner who is still struggling with an ankle injury. N’Zogbia also came in with improved fixtures.
The Midfield sees a string of new entries and not surprisingly Deco and Nasri are amongst them after superb performances at the weekend. Gutierrez and Pedersen are also new entries as Newcastle and Blackburn fixtures become more favourable. Arteta is a climber after showing strong form against Blackburn.
Up front Yakubu is a climber while Van Persie drops after his injury kept him benched against West Brom. Clearly there are still doubts over his fitness despite the fact that he is likely to start at Fulham. Santa Cruz is the new entry with form and improved fixtures. Agbonlahor enters the ten with form after his hat-trick. Ashton drops a little with the injury sustained against Wigan as does Bent after his blank at Boro.
No doubt I’ll be tweaking these with team news over the week - I’ll keep you posted on any significant changes.
Mark,Have i done the right think in transfering evra out as no fixture in week 3 , then anfield and stamford bridge, for Bosingwa
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Can Bosingwa get Clean sheet?
I saw him substitued last game,so he didn’t get Clean sheet point.
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Reply by Phil Pino on August 18, 2008 1:45 pm:
Not sure what game you’re playing gah but in the FPL you only need to play 60 minutes to get the clean sheet bonus. To be honest, i can’t see him often playing the whole 90 minutes as he’s up and down like a yo-yo! Plus Ferreira on the bench is a ready-made replacement.
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Reply by gah on August 18, 2008 1:47 pm:
I play yahoo fantasy game~
So Phil do you recommend him(Cheap and starline up)?
I think because CHE score a lots.so coach substitue very
early, is that right?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 2:00 pm:
i like. high five!
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Reply by brooklyn on August 18, 2008 11:11 pm:
so mean
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I was just thinking about how my FPL team might look at the week 11 stage (taking into account fixtures at that point and the fact that you could have an entirely different team then). Ronaldo will be back in the picture by then, which throws things somewhat. Difficult to judge values other than to go by what they are now, but my team could end up looking something like;
2 cheap keepers,
Bosingwa, Wheater, L Young, Steinsson, Figueroa
Ronaldo, Lampard, Fabregas, Arteta, Faubert
Alves, Ashton, Zaki
What’s clear is that you would only be able to afford 3 other top club players, unless you’d acrued a lot of cash, and could go for a top forward or another defender. Or, you could go for only 2 expensive midfielders. I think value strikers will prove very important so players like Ashton & Zaki will be essential to accommodate both the big names and a decent squad. It also goes to show that spending more than 6m on a defender would be unwise, while only 2 top defenders (at most) will be the way forward. This is all assuming Ronaldo is worth going for, of course. i have 6 players of that 13, so 7 transfers in 7 transfer weeks is required for the change (if you consider Ronaldo essential for wk 8 when Man u host West Brom) - because Ronaldo is so expensive he has to be the last jigsaw piece to fit in, or you simply have to use your wildcard to accommodate him. If you are going to avoid using a wildcard to get Ronaldo you actually need to start planning it NOW. If you decide on the wildcard option now, then you can go all out to collect points and/or money from the first 7 weeks of the season, and don’t need to keep a balanced team that is purely focused on the long term, or it doesn’t need to be geared to the fixture list beyond week 8.
Jumping on the bangwagon then, for the budget players like Zaki could actually be a good idea, regardless of what road you go down.
Just wondered what people were going to do about Ronaldo. Wildcard (which week?), or not wildcard?
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Reply by James on August 18, 2008 2:11 pm:
I reckon I’d go for something like
————–Reina—Schwarzer——————
Bosingwa—L. Young—Wheater—Figueroa—Cahill
Ronaldo—-Bentley—-Arteta—-Geovanni—A. Young
Zamora/Zaki——-RVP/Berbatov—–Bent/Alves/Carew
That’s more or less what my squad is just now with just a little tinkering. Choices there based on form at the time obviously. Not that difficult to have a not bad team. Would play 3-5-2 mainly, choosing defenders based on fixtures.
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Hi, not played FPL before and only just found this site; its a cracker - keep up the good work!!!
Qu; in Fantasy Premier League you get one free transfer per week and then its a 4 point deduction for every addional transfer. In everyones experience, is it worth the extra money on additonal tranfers week on week?
How much to other people dip into the points for extra tranfers? I have ‘bought in’ three extra players after week 1.
Cheers for any thoughts/comments
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Reply by stevie b on August 18, 2008 2:13 pm:
most people keep it to an absolute minimum. Some will never use more than one, while some use extra when it’s neccessary, or if the fixtures are such that more than one change looks very worthwhile. Some say, on average, they do 1.5 a week. I’m going to try and stick to one, unless my team looks so far removed from what my ideal team would be for that coming week/month that i’m forced to make 2 or 3. Beyond 3 and you need to be considering using your wildcard. With the way the fixtures are, there is an arguement that you make just one most weeks, but when the forthcoming fixtures change quite dramatically in favour of other teams you then make 3 changes to set you up nicely again.
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Reply by Sam (Team Sam) on August 18, 2008 2:20 pm:
There’s not many occasions when it’s worth it really. One case where I consider more than 1 is when there’s one player I think will score big (e.g. Ronaldo at home against West Brom), but to bring him in I’d need to free up some cash by downgrading somewhere else in my team. If you think the points gained will be a lot more than the 4 you spend, then yeah, go for it.
Likewise, if a team has a double gameweek (playing twice in the same gameweek), then a 4 point hit can be worth it to bring in an extra player from that team. As a rule though, it’s usually better to stick to one, and instead look ahead at the upcoming fixtures and plan you’re transfers in advance, i.e. freeing up cash this week, so that next week you can upgrade another player.
One other occasion when I consider a second transfer, is if there’s 2 players I’m trying to get that by getting them, would use my budget up entirely. If these 2 players are absolutely key to your future plans, then it’s sometimes worth transferring them both in at the same time to avoid their values going up and ruining your plans.
Hope that makes sense… basically, in general, think about it like this… if you’re gonna spend 4 points on a transfer, is the second player you’re bringing in virtually guaranteed to score at least 4 points more than the player currently in your squad? If not, it’s almost certainly not worth it
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C
That’s too many. The best players average about 1 transfer a week.
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Reply by stevie b on August 18, 2008 2:16 pm:
Yep, i agree, at this stage it’s too many. From the season start you should have prepared your team according to what the first month and a half of fixtures looked like, coupled with some caution, which meant picking some steady points scorers and dead certs.
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Reply by Bedknobs and Boomsticks on August 18, 2008 2:49 pm:
I’m a 1.5 times a week man. The way I see it you need to make transfers:
a) to get in players who will score the most points
b) to fund more expensive players if you are restructuring your squad slightly
c) to deal with injuries / suspensions (assuming you don’t want to just sit them out
d) if you absolutely can’t make your first squad any better, use your free transfer to tinker with your bench
By limiting yourself too rigidly to 1 transfer per week, your team will quickly begin to fall short of what you want it to look like as you develope a transfer backlog, not to mention the money problems caused by price changes. Its not just a matter of whether the double transfer will beneift you for the next week (is it worth 4 pts), but what effect it wil have on your team for the week after that and so on.
3 transfers is a lot to start with, but if your initial selection hasn’t worked out then there’s nothing wrong with trying to fix it quickly. Just try and avoid knee-jerk reactions.
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Reply by puffinboy on August 18, 2008 2:54 pm:
Looking back to last season, I was about the same - I’d always use my free and used an extra transfer for about a third of the gameweeks. I used three transfers just the once, when an outbreak of food poisoning hit the Puffins after an evening at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants.
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Reply by C on August 19, 2008 7:33 am:
thank for all the feedback - Stevie b, sam, B&B, burton, puffinboy and all. i need to try and stick to 1 per week and plan a long term strategy (with maybe an extyra one or two per month). unfortunately i started on this fantasy football manager lark on Yahoo fantasy football - the free transfer system available on that site has turned me into a bit of tinkerman!!!!
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agree with above as regards transfers. 1 should be enough at this stage as you should have set your team out for the first few weeks in mind. Rarely do I make more than 2 a week.
What are peoples opinions on the wild card? Last year in the FPL, I remember using mine about novemeber which worked out ok, but the whole ronaldo issue means I may think of keeping it as a ronaldo card. There is also the idea of using it very early and drafting in the best players from the first few weeks as it will make a bit of money for your team straight away. Is this a viable idea or not? If the players from the best couple of weeks were to improve by 0.2m it could mean a potential £2m profit after game week 2 if you can bring them all in. I dont know how the value of players typically rise though, but does this sound about right?
Any thoughts are appreciated
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Reply by Burton on August 18, 2008 2:38 pm:
Sween
I find that with a few exceptions, the first few weeks are not great indicators of things to come.
I try to save my wildcard for the proverbial rainy day- last season it came in handy for the African Cup of Nations, this year I’m going to try to make it last until the injuries kick in around January.
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Reply by CK on August 18, 2008 2:54 pm:
I used mine wildcard last year exactly as you suggest and I earned about 3million by mid September. It worked out really well. I would do same this year but Ronaldo has put spanner in the works!
I have Carvalhio but want would like Bosingwa. Should I swap or is that silly. Is Bisingwa likely to score more than Carv?
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Reply by Phil Pino on August 18, 2008 3:12 pm:
I’m contemplating exactly the same thing CK! With Bosingwa being 0.5 cheaper and carrying more of an attacking threat i think it’s worth it, especially in the early stages when there’s not a lot of point in transfers as one game is not worth basing opinion on.
I originally had Bosingwa but transferred him out cos of the doubt. If he’s 1st choice (which he appears to be) i reckon his price is worth having him.
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Reply by CK on August 18, 2008 3:22 pm:
Same here mate, I got rid cos of his injury. I like the way he gets forward. Will he play week in week out though?
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Reply by Seven Foot Lemming on August 18, 2008 3:51 pm:
I have the exact same dilemma. Need to decide quickly because Bosingwa will almost certainly rise in price tonight and there’s no point wasting £100k!
I would do the transfer now, but there’s a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that Bosingwa is far more open to rotation/being subbed early on.
Carvalho:
+ Guaranteed to get the points should Chelsea keep a clean sheet.
- More expensive.
Bosingwa:
+ Greater goal/assist threat.
+ £0.5m cheaper.
+ Will rise in price soon.
- Not guaranteed to start/finish matches so may lose clean sheet points.
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Reply by Sam (Team Sam) on August 18, 2008 4:23 pm:
Carvalho still has the threat of Alex on the bench. Think Bosingwa is very much a key part of Scolari’s attacking plan and I expect him to start nearly every game. He runs so much that he may not last 90mins, but I don’t see him being taken off before the magic 60mins mark. Plus, Scolari will probably only take him off if they’re winning, so I think that increases his chance of getting a clean sheet bonus. If they’re winning 2-0 and he gets subbed for Ferriera after 70mins, that means Bosingwa will still get the clean sheet bonus even if Chelsea concede a late “consolation” goal.
Bosingwa definitely offers more bang for your buck
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if you’re not going to get ronaldo in then i guess it doesn’t matter when you use the wildcard. I’d imagine most will wait until he’s back and firing. That’s what i’ll do. I will try to get Ron without using it but it depends on when he does come back and how quickly and easily i can adapt my team to fit the fixtures. I won’t use the wildcard before week 6, that’s for sure. Weeks 6,8 10 & 11 look pivotal in terms of early season fixture runs for certain teams, and this could co-incide nicely with Ronaldo’s return.
It’s all very well making money by using your wildcard early but you’ll have a team which could be just full of early season freaks and when things turn around you’ll be stuffed, needing to replace too many. There is a lot to be said for having a solid team geared for the long haul, but with 2 or 3 sensible medium term bargains, and maybe one player for the very short term.
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im really stuck please help….iv made one sub….but i have carvalho matty taylor and adeboyor and i want 2 bring in boswinga lampard and santa cruz…….which will be a 12 points hit but with next wks fixture il get my points back and more….please help or comment…
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Reply by Will on August 18, 2008 3:16 pm:
I wouldn’t take a 12 point hit on those transfers, carvalho and boswinga are likely to take home the same points next week, and i think its pretty unlikely lampard and santa cruz will score more than 12 points more than taylor and adebayor. Do it gradually, make one more transfer this week carvalho for boswinga or ade for santa cruz.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 3:28 pm:
dont be tempted to do this.
what will most likely happen is you waste 12pts on transfers and discover with horror that your original pairing outscores your new one by 4pts… you will actually be 16pts worse off than doing nothing - then what do you do? transfer them back?
Ade/Taylor are good choices for the early games. Stick with your initial judgement and give it a chance to flourish. one week means nothing in fpl terms.
i wouldnt be jumping on the bandwagons of deco/geovanni/ashton here. great if you already have them though.
for me, good long term choices that have hit form this week are arteta and agbon. both have scored highly in previous seasons and have kind fixtures. for arteta the sleeper may well have awoken, he is the creator and set peice / pen taker. for agbon he has been awesome ever since he came into the prem and looks like he’ll only get better in what is a very attacking team. these are the bandwagons to jump on, if any, imo.
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Reply by Nurse Gladys on August 18, 2008 3:31 pm:
Dr Rog, you currently have 47 patients in your waiting room. Could you please stop fiddling around on that blinking website?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 3:33 pm:
can you deal with them please gladys?
i’m busy contemplating the merits of downing vs arteta
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Reply by Nurse Gladys on August 18, 2008 3:36 pm:
All right, I’ll give them all a tetanus jab and a bag of jelly babies this one time. But this fantasy tomfoolery of yours is going to have to be curtailed, Doctor.
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Reply by Burton on August 18, 2008 3:19 pm:
Moderation Steve. Unless you are playing to get the most valuable team, it’s rarely worth succumbing to the temptation. Try leashing yourself to a mast or something.
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My advice as to when to use the wild card would be when several teams have more than 1 game in a week. Last season I used my wild card when 6 teams had 2 games in a week and scored over 100 (FPL) for that week.
Be careful though as you are stuck with those players after that game week is over.
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Reply by drmoz on August 19, 2008 1:24 pm:
i advise keeping wild card until last 3rd of season (or later). By this stage all the leading teams are very similar so if you’re in second or third place you will need to make fairly extensive “do or die” transfers to overtake the leaders
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thx guy but its so temping….santa vs hull city tho…and lampard vs wigan….
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 3:31 pm:
ade vs fulham is equally tempting to me…
i have taylor too and although he will be on my bench for the newcastle game i’m willing to give him 4 gameweeks before he gets the chop
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Reply by CK on August 18, 2008 3:33 pm:
There will be temptations like this every week mate, if you were to buy players in every week just cos they have easy fixtures you will not do very well. I agree with you on Santa Cruz though but it needs to be a cert to forego 4 points IMO!
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theres a guy on 97 points called ghana premie league and he’s got a rite team ansd he’s made 4 subs already….have a look…
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 3:40 pm:
unfortunate for him then as he is now on 85pts if my math is correct.
unless he’s used up his wildcard, that is
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yeah maybe but have u seen his team its solid
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 4:07 pm:
very strong defence i agree. but man u coming up to some difficult games and he has two defenders from there and they will miss a game in wk 3. his subs bench is whack: schmeical (not playing), fagan (crap team), anderson (not playing, difficult games), meite (crap team). and in his main team reo coker never scores well, and concerns over whether nasri plays when fab comes back.
totally agree that he has sruck it lucky with his choice of captain, strikeforce and midf this week, but look at week 3 - does his team look that solid by then? he has probably realised this and is making transfers now
mind you, its better than mine!
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In gameweek2 which one is better,
Adebayor or Anelka?
THX!!
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Reply by Rob on August 18, 2008 4:02 pm:
I reckon Ade. He’ll be relied on more, and less playmakers around him to take the goals.
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Yeah its solid, but only in hindsight. Had a choice between Agbon or Ade, I took Ade. Didnt think Deco would start (due to reports of knock), so put in taylor. Had I those 31 points I would have had 81, having taken away points for Ade and Taylor. Its roulette at the best of times, but yeah, looks like a decent side. But what side doesnt look decent on paper ?
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I say settle down trade freaks! Give your players a chance to flourish. If you all trade in the same players from GW1 who did well, then the people who already had them are always going to be ahead of you by however many points those players scored in GW1.
Stick with your guns. Adebayor may just silence the critics and score a hat-trick (which he’s more then capable of) and Santa Cruz may do nothing against a hungary Hull side who didn’t look too bad at all in their last match. Not all players fire in the same week and we’re only one GW in so be patient.
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Also fella’s, for those of you who are talking about Ronaldo I thought you may want to read and comment on this comment I put in the other post:
A lot of people are saying they plan to bring him in with the wild card cause they can’t afford not to have him because he scores so well, but if he doesn’t play til October wouldn’t that put him on a level playing field with the likes of Lampard, Fabregas and the like. I mean, going by last seasons stats of Ronnie 280 odd, and Fab and Lamps 200 odd, is two months of missed football worth around that 80pts extra.
Now before you all rip into me I do realise that 80pts in two months is a lot and highly unlikely but let’s assume Ronnie does a little worse then last season and the likes of Lamps and Fab do that little bit extra. Does anyone agree that Ronnie may not be all that crucial this season if you have more then enough fire power in your midfield. A penny for your thoughts.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 4:22 pm:
before i thought he was indispensible… but his price is too high and i am skeptical he will match last season… only if he starts banging in a couple of goals every week will i be forced to use the wildcard on him (because of the captain issue and losing ground in the league on those that have him)…
ron (14) + a cheap mid (4.5m minimum) = 18.5mln
for that you can have cesc and young (or lamps + arteta/downing/petrov/rosicky etc) which i think would score better and gives you more flexibilty to rebuild your team should an injury cause you to rethink your strategy.
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Anybody interesting about A.Dossena
he is so cheap and can be liverpool
starter, maybe can get good clean sheet!!
Is he a good choice?
THX!
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I have a League in the Yahoo Fantasy Football League that needs one more player to give us five players and qualify in the league groupings. The name of our group is Wine Country FA. We are located in Northern California and love wine. If you work on your fantasy team (as shown by a decent start! ) Then please join our wine drinking group! 21751-13891
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ive switched torres in for ade…..i think wen fab gets back he should provide more service for the front man. plus torres seems to be more prolific at home.
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Not sure on Boswinga either, may get rotated. Certainly in the long term, when Chelsea start playing in Europe he will rotate more. What about a Liverpool defender - Carragher? Nice fixture this week and he is almost immune to rotating Rafa.
On the when to play wildcard question, I use mine on a gameweek where a team(s) has multiple matches i.e. 2 or sometimes 3. If the fixtures pan out right this can give a massive advantage. So when United v Fulham is rearranged (date anyone?) this would be an example of a chance to take advantage.
On the amount of transfers per week question I would only make 1 change a week unless I haven’t got 11 playing as effectively you are saying that you are convinced the extra player will score or keep a clean sheet just to break even.
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Hey guys anyone currently playing the daily mail football fantasy?? Just noticed that the best leagues have cash prizes and so am looking to join one or set up a league… I know its early in the season but at the moment i am 164th overall so hopefully can contribute to anyoneones league i join
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Reply by James on August 18, 2008 6:28 pm:
Read: “Hopefully I can win your money”
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Stay away from Liverpool defenders. I thought Agger was always going to be a starter if healthy just like Carragher.
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I took it on the chin with Jagielka and have since dumped him for Bosingwa.
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Bosingwa cost what … 16 million? I would expect him to be a starter, but like you say, Europe could change that, as it could with all the big defences. Non issue imo.
Dossena is a whole new proposition. Rafa is known for erratic rotations. It`s Reina or Carragher for me and Reina is cheaper. You can make a solid pick of 3 budget defenders this year, with l.Young, Figuereo(not sure that will last) and a Bolton boy, Cahill in my case. I am not so sure good budget keepers exist this year, and if the fixtures favour, you can play 2 or 3 of those defenders, whereas you will only have one keeper.
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Reply by brooklyn on August 18, 2008 11:35 pm:
For Chelsea, I don’t think their transfer fee factors much into the decision on whether they should start or not … just look at Sheva.
Boswinga may end up being a nailed-on starter but I don’t think the 16 million fee will have much to do with it.
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Neville/Brown scenario anybody got opinions on whether Fergie will stick to one, i have Neville thought he was a bargain until sunday when he didn`t play
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Neville/Brown scenario anybody got opinions on whether Fergie will stick to one, i have Neville thought he was a bargain until sunday!
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Reply by Phil on August 18, 2008 8:06 pm:
I think fergie will use G. neville sparingly, kinda like Giggs & Scholes. I suspect, if he stays fit, he’s earmarked for starting in the Champions League matches more than the prem. His lack of pace will be exposed less in europe?
I’d steer clear of both tho. Bosingwa is same price and offers better value this season.
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i’m trying to figure out these weeks with multiples fixtures for one team and i don’t quite understand when the roster is finalized. i’m trying mark my calender ahead of time so that i don’t miss these opportunities but i’m confused when i’d have to submit my team by. for example united has two fixures in one week on oct 29 and nov 1…so when would the team need to be submitted by?
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Goodness everyone, calm down on the transfers! The guy who won FPL last year used (IIRC) 28 across the whole competition! Or maybe it was 32…but whatever the figure it was less than 1 a week! In 2006/07 I finished about 800th, and I think I only paid the 4 point penalty for extra transfers once or twice when there was a ‘double gameweek’ coming up.
Anyway I have a question - is there an FF Scout Minileague in the Telegraph game? I have a nice little team in there, currently about 16,000th, but nobody to play with!
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Nearly 30,000 people have transfered in Deco and Agbonlahor - why hasn’t this increased their price? surely 30,000 should action a £0.1m increase?
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I agree gordon, by this time last season i’m sure the price would have changed. I wonder if they’ve changed it slightly?
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Reply by Bedknobs and Boomsticks (Naboombu Utd) on August 18, 2008 6:43 pm:
I think prices may be locked down for the first week. Not a statement I’m confident in, seeing as I did the Carv for Bosingwa swap this lunchtime in case his price changed. Prices generally change in the early hours. Even if they don’t change in the next few days, it’ll have sorted itself out by next week.
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Reply by CK on August 18, 2008 7:45 pm:
I’m thinking of bringing in Bosingwa for Carv too mate? What u reckon? ie: Why did you buy him? I’m just worried he’ll be rotated and can’t see Carvahlio getting rotated
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 7:50 pm:
i think Bosingwa is key to scolaris plans to make chelsea play ‘attractive football’. with cole and bos they can now have fullbacks which bomb down the wings and create the width that chelsea have been lacking
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Reply by Bedknobs and Boomsticks (Naboombu Utd) on August 18, 2008 7:55 pm:
I love Carvalho, he always seems to do the businesss with goals and boni, but Bosingwa should do the same with assists. Carv spent a fair bit of time on the bench at the end of last season (I don’t know where I would have been without super Nyron Nosworthy coming off the bench some weeks), so I don’t see the rotation threat as being any worse. Basicly you’re getting the same package for 0.5m less, and without really needing to do any other transfers now’s as good a time as any.
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Reply by Shower on August 18, 2008 7:02 pm:
last season im 99% sure only 4 or 5 players increased in value by 0.1 and the same or even less fell in price. in the first few weeks i recall there were very few changes probably due to the unpredictablity of teams and players at the start of a new season.
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Looks like Ashton should be ok and is likely to start at Man City. Turns out it was just cramp!
Link below:
http://ukpress.google.com/arti.....DyaoRdYbig
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Reply by the Moz on August 18, 2008 8:55 pm:
Yo, You are the man!
Great News but he must be a bit embarassed by it!
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I agree that transfers should be few, i made too many last year and it cost me my league.
But, i have 2 man u players and 1 fulham player, and i need to get that down before gameweek 3… So im thinking of transfering bullard out for guiterrez / osman this week, then tevez out for alves next week. That way, i can bring in one of my subs.
Really like my team atm tho, it didnt do amazing, but its got potential
So it looks like after GW3, i will put it back to how it is now.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 18, 2008 9:32 pm:
maybe an idea to do just one transfer then and bench the other two during that gameweek?
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Reply by James on August 19, 2008 8:03 am:
The fine art of picking subs will actually get some points.
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Reply by Michael on August 19, 2008 8:44 am:
My bench scored better then some of my starters.
Seol 7pts, subbed in for Tevez
and Cahill, I think 7pts from memory. Wasn’t happy that I didn’t start him as my defence (Shorey, Laursen, Evra) didn’t do to well. Definate starter this week so I hope Shorey doesn’t score better then Cahill. Sorry to the fella’s starting Shorey.
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so guys, been away at home for the weekend. whats the ins ands outs. Any general opinions?. Adebayor is a big question mark in my team at moment
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Hey guys i have made a few changes to my team as i only scored 37 points last week . Tell me what you guys think . Cech. Clichy. Bosingwa. Evra. Fabregas. Arteta. Lampard. Modric. Van persie. Fagan. Agbonlahor . Please let me know . This is my first season playing fantasy league . I have seen that they will take 20 points for my changes . Why
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Reply by Bomber on August 18, 2008 9:52 pm:
As otherwise it would be way too easy.
You get 1 free transfer each week, additionals cost 4 points. Nice looking but you might want to think about changing fabregas as he’s currently injured.
not worth 20 points though
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Reply by CK on August 18, 2008 10:13 pm:
Fabregas is injured!! (?)
Pick players according to the fixtures not just big names. Also, read the rules! 4 points per extra player purchased on top of your weekly freebie.
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Reply by Beeeez Dad on August 18, 2008 10:16 pm:
Johann, As noted by Bomber, you only get 1 free transfer each week, then it’s 4 points per transfer after that. So, it looks like you’ve made 6 transfers already this week - 1 free plus 5 more at 4 points each.
It sounds like you didn’t understand this, but if I were in your situation now, I’d consider using your wildcard to get those 20 points back. If you’re not aware, you get one wildcard for the entire year. During the week when you play your wildcard, all of your transfers are free. So, if you want to replace Fabregas for example, you can, but then click on the “wildcard” button when you get to the confirmation page, and once you do so, it will make that transfer free, as well as all of the past ones. Alternatively, if you really like your team as it is, you could still make another transfer to move someone out - again click the wildcard button at the end - and then immediately move that player back in since your transfers this week are free.
Others may disagree with this suggestion, but my thinking is that 5-6 transfers is a lot, even during the wildcard week. So, for my money, I think I’d go ahead and reluctantly play the wildcard now to these 20 points back. I may have to pay points in the future if I end up with another big transfer week (but at least then I’ll be doing it by choice, rather than by accident as appears to be the case for you now and likely not to be much more than the 20+ points you’re already looking at now).
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What a week….leaving geovanni on the bench and making adebayor captain just some of my mistakes, but i’ll get it right soon…..just wondering fpl price changes, crackthecode website doesn’t seem to be working properly, are there any other sites, that predict changing prices of players??
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Just a quick thank you to Mark for a fantastic website. You helped me win a little money last year (and no I won’t blame anyone if I don’t win it this year!!), so much respect for all your help. As much as I hate ads, you should really consider putting a couple on here to make a little well deserved money yourself for all the time you put in (on the assumption there aren’t already subtle ones on here). I don’t think anyone here would begrudge you that just reward!!
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
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Thanks guys . Well i am not going to do anything now i will wait for friday and see if i need to make any changes to the team . But is this a team that i can keep more or less . Yes and thanks mark what a site .
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The people that win are those that start of with the right guys so dont have to make many corrective transfers (eg last season having laursen, ferdinand and lescott off the bat).
We think that prices are going to update tonight.
Ive just brought in gabby and bosingwa (for VP and Baines).
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I disagree with this fear of transfers if you think the transfers are value and will pay you back in the long run go for it!(as long as you don’t do it too often)
For instance last season I made three changes and got elano in and the gamble paid off.
Its all luck/and deciding are the extra transfers worth it.
This week I made the following changes
17 Aug 19:32 Tevez (10.0) Agbonlahor (8.0) 2
17 Aug 16:06 Lampard (11.0) Deco (9.0) 2
17 Aug 16:06 Paintsil (4.0) Bosingwa (6.0) 2
For start gw3 week I will change van p for aston or alves for adebyor (depending on form of either. My logic behind this is so i can get fabregas instead of de ridder.
Yes I know I will have cost myself 12 points in two weeks but at least the players are in my squad. I will calm down after that and let it settle. unfortunately disastrous choices of van p as captain and non playing tevez in week one drove me to this!
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Reply by Beeeez Dad on August 19, 2008 12:16 am:
Feel your pain re Tevez and RVP. I had the same, but with Tevez as captain. Felt pretty good to still be in the top quarter. I also expect Tevez to make up on lost opportunities in a big way, so not sure I would have let him go if I was you, but I can’t even think about Agbonlahor anyway since I’m already AV maxed out with Laursen, Young, and Young.
Re transfers, you make a fair point. No need to be afraid of them. But, they do eat away at your score, so it’s prudent to exercise some discretion. And, unless you’re simply trying to play a value game, it is pretty funny to see people jumping on this week’s “hot” item. I think the comments were mostly directed at those posters. As for me, I keep trying to cut back, but seem to end up in the 1.2 or 1.3 / week area. I want to limit it to no more than 1 / week, but there’s always some tinkering to be done and every 3 to 5 weeks I just can’t help myself from making that second one for one reason or another.
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Hi guys, can anyone tell me if it’s possible to join more then one league? I am currently in one with friends but I would like to join the scout league too. If it is possible can you please tell me how I go about doing it and what the scout league code is. Thanks.
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Reply by Beeeez Dad on August 19, 2008 12:06 am:
You just have to have the league’s code. Go the league page and add it. I don’t think there’s any limit on leagues. I’m in 3, and saw a team that was in 7.
FYI, I thought about it, but at least thus far I haven’t joined this league - call me paranoid, but last thing I want to do is lead my competitors from other leagues to this league and then have them somehow find this website!!!!!
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Reply by moo juice on August 21, 2008 6:28 pm:
The limit is ten.
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Hey, does anyone know if Matty Taylor took the set pieces for Bolton? I read there that Steinsson certainly took some? Was going to pull him out for Arteta but now can’t since his price went up - AAAAAHH!
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Which way would you go?
D.Bent - Santa Cruz - [Yakubu - Faubert]
OR
D.Bent - Santa Cruz - [Adebayor - S.Reid]
The options in [ ] being my dilemma.
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What is a ‘decent’ weekly score?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 19, 2008 8:51 am:
i’d be disappointed if i didnt hit 50 each week net of transfers. anything after that i view as a bonus…
in a bad week your minimum should be 25 assuming you have 11 to start and a few gameweeks a yeat you might well get 100+ scores…. if you look at it the top guys generally get around 2300 kinda area at the end of the season which would correspond to averaging 60pw net of transfers.
i think you should be aiming for 2000pts over the season which is ~ 52pts per week
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 19, 2008 8:55 am:
also you shouldnt worry that you are not blitzing the league… i think its better to be consistent and just stay in touch with the leaders (much like how a real prem team is run) and plan the assualt for the 2nd half of the season.
teams fall away after xmas due mainly to apathy so just be consistent and you will find it easier later on if you are not having to push the boat out to play catchup…
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Reply by James on August 19, 2008 9:23 am:
Agree on that.
I think last year I was making stupid gambles and not playing Ronaldo as captain towards the end, purely to try claw my way back into top position. It seemed impossible mission when so many teams in my league were 60% similar or more.
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2 rides and a hand shandy at least mate…
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SH*T!!
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sh*t!! Wrong Website!!
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hey guys. what are the thoughts on Djourou? he has already jumped .1 in FPL. any chance he is a fixture in the defence now over Toure?
somehow I doubt it but I’m not sure. would you pick him up or is his time as a 90 minute defender for Arsenal a flash in the pan.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 19, 2008 11:53 am:
he is cover for toure - toure is now fit so i doubt he plays
maybe he is a sub late on in games
people are flocking to him as he scored 9pts, plays for a top 4 club and he’s only 5mln. he is the equivalent of last years Wes Brown but only if toure or gallas pick up a long term injury.
when Song comes back from the olympics its possible Djourou drops down the pecking order. wenger prefers Senderos also and hes currently injured.
Arsenal CB order of priority:
Toure
Gallas
Senderos
Djourou
Song
Nordveldt
Coquelin
he is a bad investment given current information, imo
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Reply by Christian on August 19, 2008 12:41 pm:
What happened to Arsenal’s Traore? Big talk early on about him possibly playing left midfield, and now with their midfield woes he seemed a shoe in and being rated as a defender and only 4.5m, let the good times roll…. any Ars nuts out there able to give me an answer?
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100!
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Reply by puffinboy on August 19, 2008 5:31 pm:
Every thread gets 100 these days, Phil. But were you there when Shorey became the first to reach the magic figure in December? What a day - it were like WW2 ending, having the Queen around for tea and GB winning 16 gold medals. The whole of the country celebrated.
We thought Mark was dead, though, and that put a bit of a dampener on things.
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Traore was injured.
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thanks guys. one more question.
Gerrard, Agbonglahor/Torres, A. Young
which is the better duo to own?
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Reply by Maureenho on August 20, 2008 9:25 am:
Torres/Young
Agbonlahor had a decent game against a fairly uninspired man city, so I wouldn’t be getting my knickers in a twist over him just because he’s picked up an early hat trick. I do think Carew is a bigger threat than Agbonlahor, especially with excellent service from Young and Barry.
Torres is capable of winning games on his own for Liverpool, and Young has been proving since last season and all through pre-season that he’s highly capable of getting good points.
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Reply by Maureenho on August 20, 2008 9:26 am:
ps. why doesn’t my gravatar show up on my posts in here, but it does show in ‘recent comments’ in the home page?
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Is there a list anywhere of players involved in international friendlies this week?
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Mark,
Have you any updates on the RVP ‘injury’ situation? Is he actually injured or just being kept in cotton wool? Chance of starting on the weekend?
I am close to subbing him out for Santa Cruz for the coming weekend but the Fulham game is also an interesting prospect for points if he can fire up.
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Reply by Michael on August 21, 2008 1:56 am:
He played for Holland Wednesday night and scored, so I’m guessing he’s fine. Wenger’s just a dick who can’t coach!
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Clichy or Evra?
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Ashley young or arteta
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I got it right last week with Deco, but do I stick with Deco although Chelsea has a tough game at Wigan or do I go with Santa Cruz, A. Young, Bentley or Keane.
Was leaning towards Santa Cruz but it is been suggested that Young is a better option, any suggestions?
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Who do I pick as my Captain?
I got it right last week with Deco, but do I stick with Deco although Chelsea has a tough game at Wigan or do I go with Santa Cruz, A. Young, Bentley or Keane.
Was leaning towards Santa Cruz but it is been suggested that Young is a better option, any suggestions?
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