You can also catch a whiff of the Strepsils as I join Granville for another 30 minutes of podcasting communication. This week we touch on Ronaldo’s off/on suspension, moan about strikers, preview what looks like another weekend of fantasy misery and then randomly lay into Last of the Summer Wine. Clearly my condition was making me delirious by that point.
Click here to stream Episode Two or right-click and “Save Link As” to download the thing. You can also find us on iTunes (search for fantasy football scout) and subscribe or even review our efforts. Go easy on us, I’m a broken man.
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{ 123 comments }
Okay i am not going too say it,but if i won a race you would say i came f…t
These podcasts are great…
I really mean that no sarcasm intended
was that sarcastic as well?….
before you put me in the sin bin i am a big fan,so show some xmas spirit and let it slide.
some questions:
is evra suspended for gw 17?
is agger a dead man walking?
is malouda on his way out?
and finally what the hell has happended too robbie keane,roy has more chance off scoring!
I don’t think Evra’s supsended for GW 17.
Agger will play when you least expect it.
Malouda will play, it is the Kalouda conundrum.
Robbie will score soon, once Gerrard learns to pass the ball instead of falling flat on his bum.
evra is suspended for gw17
I have Evra, Agger and Malouda in my team…
Yep, Evra is in for the Sunderland game but not the Spurs away game.
Agger’s omission on Monday was surprising given it is a non-Champions League week so there is some lack of predictability about Rafa’s intentions. Skrtel is also on the fringes for a return so when he is fit the other centre-half position will become a hot potato. I will probably bring in Arbeloa who seems settled in the right-back slot.
I read an article yesterday that Malouda’s teammates think he is not pulling his weight in the team and they want Bridge to play in the left-midfield role instead. Again though he was deemed dispensable for the Arsenal game (Kalou got the nod over him) so that position is becoming difficult to read – realistically Cole, Deco (a far cry from his early season form) and Ballack will occupy 3 of the 4 midfield places in the 4-1-4-1 formation but Drogba is due a return in a couple of weeks. That in itself may alter the formation but Anelka clearly needs to start banging in goals to keep his place. I’m looking get rid of Malouda this week but not really sure who to exchange him with in the £7.5 m price bracket.
Even though wk18 is coming up Carrick might be worth a shot if you have a spare MU slot v SU, TH, blank, STK & MID…. short term Nasri, usual suspects Ireland, Geovanni, after this wk SUN hav a good run, Malbranque, Richardson… with POR good run Kranjcar?
Anelka has to keep banging in goals to keep his place. I think Drogba has to get at least 12 to say he has earnt his. Drogba is full of ….
Waiting for Drogba for 2 years!
I think Evra will be suspended after the Sunderland match.. I think Agger will play next match.. Liverpool being out of League Cup, Rafa has to play Hyppia in some league matches as he is not eligible for CL.. Now that he has played the West Ham match, do not expect Hyppia to be back before at least one month maybe for the FA Cup match..
Chelsea will play with 2 wingers for 90% of their matches.. In those matches, he is the best option for Scolari.. Chelsea will only play with Lampard, Deco and Ballack together when they play with 2 strikers..Expect Malouda to play at least 20 of their last 23 league games
I need info on Duff, Dawson and Zaki this week!!!! Think i’ll have to keep waiting
Ahh my weekly fix! Just in time for another long drive to work. Keep it coming boys.
Useful link to show the top goalscorers so far this season, particularly with regards to their home and away form. Ronny hasn’t hit a goal away from home yet and Crouch has bagged all of his goals at home etc.
http://www.statbunker.com/foot.....op_scorers
Anyone know why Defoe’s value has not risen? He was 8.3m last night and still is this morning. He was way over 100% last night?
Why did Defoe not rise in value last night as the CTC site suggested he would do-comfortably?
Did his icon go to a red ‘i’ due to his injury that kept him out of the Hull match? Don’t remember if it did myself but can’t be certain. If so he will have been price protected but the CTC team may have forgotten to set this – in which case his NTI would have been reset to 0 at some stage so anything goes as far as when he will rise in price – but looks as if he will sooner rather than later. CTC isn’t foolproof – another one they seem to have missed is Berbatov who should be price-protected until next Sunday but he’s currently knocking around on the ‘Rises’ page.
Basically no matter how good the efforts of whoever does predict the price rises, they never will get everything right
May aswell make your own mind up! but we know that is hard for some people
thinking for oneself? what’s that?
Yes, I agree with everything you just said, and everything everyone else just said!
Make our own minds up! About what?
Excellent – looking forward to listening this on the way home from work today. Last week’s pod was great, especially Mark’s rant about how you don’t have to earn the right to wear pink boots. Actually found myself laughing out loud at that, and getting funny looks from everyone else on the bus.
I’m new to the FPL game this year and yet to use my wildcard and was wondering what the opinion is on when is best to use this.
- After Jan transfer window?
- Before a double gameweek for a few sides?
- In the last few weeks to specify squad to teams with a great run in?
Squad at the mo
Swartz, Turnbull
Bos, Evra, Belhaj, figs, L Young
Ron, Lamps, Geo, Ireland, De Ridder
Defoe, Zaki, anelka
Cheers guys
Any words on Bentley?
Will score a hattrick, come next weekend. I hope.
Shit
278 episodes to beat!
Just finished listening to the podcast, a great listen as always. Cheers lads
As if you’ll beat Last of the Summer Wine
Good luck!
Agger will play vs Blackburn and I agree with Granville on the podcast, blackburn will score
I currently have agger, carragher and reina so will benching either agger or carra
Not sure who to bench as I reallt think Blackburn will score
Liverpool are gna slip up
Blackburn are average i dont agree…i give em a chance ofcourse but i dont think so!
I disagree lads, I dont think Blackburn will score. They are distinctly average and won’t break Liverpool down. equally Liverpool will struggle to score IMO
for what it’s worth, I also think Blackburn will stuggle to score.
I just have a feeling this unpredictable season will continue
West Ham came close on monday too
Guess you never know
Fantasy football is just free gambling for pride anyway!
Who knows, obviously Liverpool are much the better side, but Blackburn must be feeling the heat at the moment and they played pretty well at Portsmouth, so maybe they’re due at least a goal against a big 4 side.
zaki keep until GW 18 or transfer out like a sheep?
dont think he wld do much agst arsenal anyway
Depends if you think he already peaked and there’s little risk of getting stung buying him back in a few weeks, or you think he’s worth keeping and have enough depth to field a full team in gw18 anyway.
I’m holding, but I bought at 6m, would lose too much value if I sold and rebought, only play 1 or 2 up front, and think Wigan have more in the tank anyway.
Advice please! getting rid of Terry and bent. Who should I get in? Johnson and Robinho or Defoe and Laursen????
defoe and laursen. pompey are bleeding goals. villa surprising good in defense. defoe far more consistent than robinho
Hi Mark and Granville I think when scores are level the person with the least transfers made leads.By the way I captained reina. I dont view lampard and ronaldo obvious choices every week!
That’ll be me leading then 18-20. Well done captaining Reina, maybe I’m just too greedy not captaining defenders/keepers
Agger will play consistenetly, rafa just has to give hyypia the odd game here and there. No real surprise. Liverpool will be very frustarted at the draw with west ham and will rip Blackburn apart. Its just the way it goes in the premier league. They’ll grab a clean sheet and will win easly. Will dominate and maybe wont be a goalfest, but they’ll be in complete control.
well, thats what i think.
After Monday’s debacle, I think they owe it to the fans, themselves and fantasy managers to give Blackburn a good tonking.
Isnt that what people was saying after they drew blank with fulham?
Enjoyed the podcast lads, keep up the great work!
Any news on when the FPL will be passing on the VAT rate cut?
Ha. Can you imagine how messy it would get with player values having 2 decimal places? There would be some crazy price fluctuations .
Good podcast guys, get well soon!
IMHO, I’m very seriously considering two budget strikers, and going with premium defenders and midfield, 5 across the middle.
I’m fully fed up with the striker deabcle
You are a wise man
Think I’ll be doing something along the same lines. I have Cisse, Robinho and Defoe, but would like to do Bentley -> Young if I downgrade Cisse.
Most of the season I’ve had 2 top defenders and 3 buget, but I’m leaning towards 3 top defenders (Laursen, Bosingwa, Vidic/Evra) and 2 budget.
I’d end up with
Reina
Laursen, Bosingwa, Vidic, Carra
Ronaldo, Lampard, Ireland, Geovanni, Kuyt
Fuller, 5.4Mil
It’s radical, but if recent weeks are anything to go by it might just workout OK
I’ve been thinking along similar lines.
At present it’s:
Reina, Schwarzer
Bosingwa, Agger, Johnson, Garrido, Figueroa
Ronaldo, Geovanni, Nasri, Kuyt, Lawrence
Defoe, Fuller, Anelka
I could change to:
Reina, Schwarzer
Bosingwa, Agger, Johnson, Evra, Laursen
Ronaldo, Geovanni, Nasri, Kuyt, Marney
Defoe, Fuller, King
What do you think?
Get Berba in after GW 18…
I was running three up front, now Im gonna go for two and have built up my defence..
Ive got Arbeloa, Carragher, Evra, Bosngwa and Zayette as sub
In midfield Ive got Valencia, Ronnie, Geovanni, Ireland and Marney as sub
Im p1ssed with my strikers at the moment… I would fcuk em off if I could and Just play all defenders and Midfield as the strikers this season am sh1te.
I’m thinking pretty much the same, but with Delap instead of Kuyt, and Robinho up front.
I’ve been using the tactic of playing 1 up front and putting my resources into defence/midfield for a while, but the current situation with strikers is making that task hard for me- who can I rely on as a single striker?
I have Defoe, Zaki and Bent in at the moment, and would like to think I can rely on Defoe but I’m not sure I can.
I’ve just realised that all my woes are Harry Redknap’s fault: he left Portsmouth and Defoe stopped being such a safe choice. He joined Tottenham and Bent went on a great run of form, inspiring me to get him into the team, and since then he’s done nothing, leaving me with 2 potentially great but currently unreliable strikers. Damn you Harry, damn you to hell!
Dilemma’s Dilemma’s huh. Any advice on who i should get rid off or bench:
Reina (Schwarzer)
Bosingwa, Belhadj, Traore (Hangeland, Zayette)
Ronaldo (C), Arteta, Lamps, Delap, Ireland
Bent, Crouch (Fuller)
Belhadj and Traore havent done me any favours of late. I was on hols last week to and thus went for the Defoe switch to Crouch cos i didnt know his status……argh!!!
Strong team.
I would personally downgrade Arteta and upgrade one of your defenders to give you another top 4 defender but I suspect a lot of people wouldn’t go with that strategy.
I think Belhadj or Traore to L Young would be a decent transfer as it’d give you more options in defence (might want to wait till after the WBA game though).
My personal decision would be to ship Delap for a durt cheap player and get a better striker for Bent or Crouch later on.
great podcast, very impressed
Great podcast, and I too am miffed about the whole Defoe debacle.
On a side note, looks like Scholesy’s back tonight, just wish they were on telly.
There actually was no Defoe debacle – just a lot of knee-jerk transfers of him, when Portsmouth reported that he was going for a scan to see IF he needed surgery. Without wanting to sound too smug ;o) I waited until the end of the week to see what tha outcome would be, suffered the 0.1m price drop and played him on the weekend.
The only debacle is the sheep mentality of all those who dropped him because of mass-panic. Learn to think and act for yourself!
The real Gandhi was much more forgiving
Would you care to share a smug comment on Ronaldo also?
Not as simple as that, theres also the fact that he hadnt been playing well recently and neither had Portsmouth really. Factor in those things and its not really surprising so many shipped him out.
The thing with Defoe situation was that there was conflicting news coming from different sources. Adams was optimistic that it was cramp, then 24 hours later, Defoe was quoted as saying that he’d thought he may need surgery. The confusion really didn’t help anyone.
Exactly… it wasnt a sheep mentality, it was the headlines of “Defoe facing 6 weeks out” that made a lot of people transfer him out. Given the information presented to us at the time, it was the right thing to do…
A bit like Tony Blair going to war in Iraq
No, it wasn’t the right thing to do, as hindsight as shown. The problem is that too many people are worried about player’s prices – when are FPL players going to realise that this is largely a distraction and that POINTS are what matters?!?!
Of course, getting the right players in will result in an increased squad value over the season, but ditching Defoe because of an imminent drop and nothing more than speculation about an injury was a clear mistake, especially with Blackburn at home coming up.
It’s a good point. I myself have been victim of taking player values over possible points sway my decision making – Zaki this week being a case in point. However, I still feel that in the case of Defoe, all the noise pointed to a few weeks of absence and it was that, and the availability of tempting options in his price bracket – Agbonlahor, Bent etc – that convinced so many Defoe owners to get rid.
I agree it was a bit like Tony Blair going to war in Iraq – i.e. completely wrong and unjustifiable and he rightly lost his career on the back of such a terrible decision. Good point well made!
Not quite, because Tony knew the intelligence was baloney whereas the FF managers believed it.
Mark,
Time to take Fabregas off the suspension tightrope – he has had 5 yellows and missed the game at Man City.
Cheers.
Yep, missed that. Thanks Martin
Can ya names be used by someone else… Im Gandhi the original Gandhi…
Gandhi, get ya own fcuking name…
Hi Original Gandhi, sorry to “steal” your name, but I don’t think it was copyrighted.
I see from your posts that you generally like to shout your mouth off at people, with deliberately mis-spelt swear words – I’m guessing you’re about 12 on that basis.
I’m happy to be New Gandhi, as I really, really, wouldn’t want people to get us mixed up.
Now now chaps…settle down. How bizarre is this – two Ghandi’s going at it.
Sorry Mark, some ppl clearly dont understand Gandhi’s principles
Hey gandhis, why not get yourself a nice little avatar each?
Mate I probably better educated than you… A degree in Engineering BEng Hons and I am currently studying for a degree in Maths….
Yes I know it aint copyrighted, but your the one using my name so people will think that your stupid arrogant comments will be coming from me…
All I am saying is that you could choose what ever name you want, so why copy mine?…
Thats all…
Call ya self the New Gandhi… Im fine with that… you obviously havent got the intellect to think of your own name
I can instantly tell that you’re not the real Gandhi.
That is directed towards the Fcuking Ghandi of course.
A new idea – Denilson.
We all want to free up cash for defenders, so how about him as a differential to Delap, Geovanni etc.
Walcott is injured so his place is more assured nowadays. Denilson’s had a poor run (which coincided with Arsenal’s) but last week he played and got an assist. If he plays, he scores well. I can see him producing over the next 4-5 weeks like he did at the start of the season. What do you think- I’m not the most up to speed on Wenger’s selection policy so any flaws with this plan? I’m thinking of swapping out Bentley and bringing him in to save 1.3m.
The other option I’m thinking of is Krankjar (saves 1.0m) but he’s never set the world alight in previous seasons…
thats a decent shout on Denilson, good value at 5.9…i think krancjars a good shout too tho if he recovers from injury and has a run in the side, he hsnt played much yet this season but has already got a goal and a few assists
Think ya funny, I love to punch ya lights out….
thats not very Gandhi like is it? you are clearly the imposter
OG 4 LIFE
gandhi is dead
Well he might be… but he had sons also called Gandhi who also got murdered… I’ve had this nickname for years… anyway this impersonator above who is calling everybody sheep aint me…
Otherwise I might start posting comments under other people names and upsetting people…
what does everyone think to my team
schwarzer
bosingwa arbeloea johnson
ronaldo gerrard lampard lennon
king fuller bent
????
Has the podcast got shorter? I’m sure it had been 45 minutes of Scout wisdom.
I unerstand that the last 10 minutes had to be cut because Mark was off his nut on paracetamol going on about Adams being an arse
Drugs are bad
Either that or Granville needed to get off for a bit of late night shopping with his boss, sorry, wife.
LOL, I just mentioned Verbal’s post to the ‘Boss’ and she quite taken with her new found fame. Surely we haven’t invented FFWAG’s
Paracetemol is bad, take more than 16x 500mg and you will die from liver failure!
Liverpool failure?
Yeah we cut it back to 30 mins this week – we knew it was time to pull the plug when I started ranting about bad Sunday night sitcoms. The length will vary week to week between 30-45 mins I imagine.
Why hasn’t Defoe risen in value? He was well over 100% on CTC last night?
I suspect that he will rise tonight. Not the first time that a player rose the following night after CTC had him going up in price the previous night. Happens all the time. CTC is just a good guestimate. Has anyone checked to see if Djimi Traore went up in value instead?
I bought Defoe last night based on CTC saying he was gonna go up in price (112% at 11pm last night), yet his value still hasnt gone up.
Yeah agree, guesstimate/take it with a pinch of salt
what is CTC please?
Yeah, been wondering myself-He isn’t price protected and it isn’y as if he is only close to 100%
CTC is normally very reliable
I reckon he is price protected. I know his name isn’t on that list, but he must be. For how long, I don’t know. Hopefully not long (I got him
).
So what happens? His NTI is set to zero and he starts over once he’s off the list? I was hoping to make some money on him before he/Adams screw people over again
Anyone know the definitive answer inc when he may have been protected and how long it would last for?
My team is boring me.. its doing well but theres no real differentiators anymore. Its like the Most Selected XI or something.. any suggestions for change? Really want to dump the Fatman and Delap for two mid price mids in the hope they will do better. Lampard didnt really produce at the start of the season and isnt doing so now either.. Deco limiting him? He’s quite expensive too!
Jaaskelainen. Schwarzer
Arbeloa Laursen Bosingwa Agger (Meite)
Ireland Ronaldo Lampard Delap (Marney)
Robinho Defoe (Beattie..ha!)
1.0 m in the bank
Cheers
Hmm, Lamps -> Gerrard, Delap -> Lennon ? (Depending on what you paid)
If ya want another bargain go Geovanni…
but lots of people have him too..
Valencia, Bargain!
He hasn’t done much more than Delap and would cost me 1.1 more! Thinking maybe Lampard & Delap out for Arteta and A Young.. Surely those 2 will score more than Lampard & Delap.. Delaps 15 minutes of fame is over
give it time…..
Arteta and Young are sound options, but I thought you wanted your team to be a little varied and loads of people have Arteta and Young.
True.. hmmm. As soon as I take lamps out he’ll start scoring. Might just leave it as it is. cheers
Thats why I said Valencia…
I liked the idea of Valencia actually and had thought of bringing him in this week, but if you have Ronaldo in your team then you’re in a situation where 2 of your midfield are definitely not playing in GW18. Any injuries would leave you up slack alley!
At the mo, Ive got Evra, Valencia, Zaki and Ronnie, so for GW 18 Im fcuked
Just transferred Berba out, but Im gonna bench Zaki and Ronnie and possibly Valancia… and hope theres no injuries or my players play that week…
soon after I bringing the Berb back in..
Do you think I can buy Alex this week? I know Ivanovic has started twice when Alex has returned but I think Scolari did not want to risk him against Arsenal..
Now that the pair Terry-Ivanovic has conceded 2 against Arsenal, I can see Scolari having some reshuffling in his defense. Carvalho being absent at least until end of the year will assure some very precious pts for a mid value defender like Alex..
Does someone agree??
Carvalho out until the end of the year? I thought he was close to getting fit again – doubtful for this weekend but likely for the next.
i am being stubborn and sticking with alex. Bolton are physically a strong team and i fancy scolari to go with him over ivanovic who looked a bit out of his depth against the gooners
I think the imposter “original Gandhi” is actually Fran
Is it because I said you were thick Fran
Barry or A Young for the long term? Ignoring price, im minted : )
Mmm tough one…normally it would be Young all the way but I like Barry in this 4-5-1. He seems to be breaking into the box an awful lot.
Yeah Ashley Young has been a BIG let down this season, thought he would bag loads of points!
Who would you play this week? I already have reina, carra, geovanni btw
Agger, King, Miller?
Hi guys
just want to say another great podcast this week. some valid points in there including the point about anichibe, although i think in the long term pienaar is the better option for everton. cheap as chips and always capable of assists with his set pieces and tricky wing play.
cant beleive all the people selling ronny. hang your head in shame people, i exepct a goal, assist and clean sheet for the world player of the year this week
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