Scout Notes – Gameweek 1 – Monday

I wish I had knee jerked last season and got Yaya and Ramsey in and then I wouldnt have finished 75k!! This season is going to be different.

Knee on acid!!

As tempting as it is, I think Mata -> Fabregas is the definition of knee jerk. Everyone who got Mata in done it for a reason and the reason is still there on the ticker on the right hand side.

can you please sticky me on the previous page. I wrote on this exactly

There's plenty of overused terms for Fantasy Football:

- Template team
- Season Keeper
- Knee jerk

There's nothing wrong with picking form players, but can we say that any player has form after one game? Right now I'm more concerned about the money I might lose, it can be a big issue later on in the season.

The problem is, at least for me, more about who they are offloading. Getting rid of Mata/Hazard for Fabregas isn't exactly the same as swapping Young for Sigurdsson.

Players don't become essential or crap after one game. Knee jerking presumes that they do.

The point is that one game shouldn't be enough to dissuade you from your original choice.

I think Mata is and was a crap choice, but surely if you thought he was a good choice, one game shouldn't change your mind.

Are you persuading me to do Mata to Sterling?

Im jerking Hazard > Fabregas. Will free up enough money to do Costa & Chamber > Aguero & £4m def. The following week. Im set on owning Aguero & captaining for the stoke game. Could be a riot

I agree. Fabregas and Siggy have proven what a few already thought and so those that don't have them are now looking at the best way to get them in. I stuck with Sturridge over Suarez too long last season as I didn't want to 'knee jerk' but that got me no where!

On the flip side I don't get the people bringing in Dier because of his goal. Not even clear if he will be a regular member of the Spurs defence... he is up there with Cattermole

Its about finding the balance between what is a knee jerk and what is just being stubborn for the sake of it.

I think the phrase is over used and is often used to belittle those who decide to do a transfer that they themselves would choose not to do. Often is the case where a certain person won't be able to afford a player if they rise by another 0.1m, but can't get them this week for any number of reasons so blame knee jerkers for the rise.
It's all basically one big stock market, when you're hot you're hot.

I think, after a few weeks, when you can get a proper gauge of form etc., changes naturally materialise. Obviously no one’s starting team is perfect, and you start to realise mistakes if, say, one of your players has blanked for 3 weeks, and another option has racked up the points.

The 2 caveats to this are with too small a sample size, and with a flash in the pan. The latter is how I would categorise the current situation. If you picked a player a week ago, they have not suddenly become a bad option (unless it is a question of game time – see my Jovetic concern below). Players like Mata, Sanchez, Hazard et al are class, and will come good. There is no point chasing points, and the opening GW does not tell us enough to justify wholesale changes.

Then there are the flash in the pan players, that you alluded to Jonty. Those like Arfield and Cattermole, who are not going to repeat those displays on a regular basis (probably again this season). The class of the quality, proven players will shine through, and patience can be key.

It’s a fine line – I have been guilty of hanging on to players for too long, and some seemingly proven players can suddenly flop (Michu and Benteke spring to mind last season). However, on balance, I think patience is the way to go – certainly when you hear people wanting to WC after 1 week. Relax!

It's fine if it's backed up by research, but most of the time it's just because they've had a good gameweek. It's not just about that there are many other factors to consider.

a. Sigurdsson in for Young is a good move because Young has done very little to prove he's actually woth having. The only reason people got him in was because of a fairly decent pre-season. That is not enough information to guarantee he will do anything and now he's at risk of being played as a left back. Siggy on the other hand has done well last season when coming on for Spurs and even better during his previous spell with Swansea. Coupled with the price rise this move makes sense.

b. Mata/Cesc is a similar situation. One gameweek is simply not enough information considering they are both good players - one is not inherently better than the other (unlike the Siggy/Young situation). Sure Cesc assisted, but Mata could easily have done so as well. Cesc plays deeper than Mata and with less freedom. LvG could get his act together and Chelsea may struggle against a parked bus at Leicester. Unless it is absolutely obvious Utd are in a crisis this move does not make much sense unless you are purely building TV.

As long as there is more behind the reasoning to transfer a player than chasing last week's points then that isn't a kneejerk by definition.

I think there is a very thin line between inspired moves, which will bring you higher up the rankings (such as Ramsey , Yaya, Coleman last year) and ones, which will weigh you down.

I wouldn't consider getting someone like Fabregas knee-jerking, as he seemed to be class, but I'd actually focus on the frequency of such moves, e.g. if you do it once/twice for the right player or are hell bent on getting the price raises, it isn't really knee jerking it's more about strategic planning, but if you are like a kid in the candy shop or playground wanting all the toys everyone else has, no good will ever come from it and you end up transferring out the real scorers half of the time.

This and 'casuals'....

People who brought in Ramsey and Yaya were still called casuals until week 38 last season...surely if they're casuals for having two of the stand out players of last year....then anyone without was surely an idiot?

United were great at the international champions cup. You can say it were just friendly games, but it was against topteams and they won it. Also, their manager is Louis van Gaal.. Everyone was getting United players and after one bad game they're getting ditched already? I'll take the -0,1 or more and I sense there's gonna be a lot of tears later for the people who switched Mata for Fabregas. Just look at Mata's fixtures lol!

Glad to see this post, sick of people saying it.

Thats the problem with these FFS terms. There isn't really a clear definition of what they are and as such everyone comes to their own interpretations. I don't think anything can be read into any of the popular terms on here, they simply mean different things to different people. The important thing is to look beyond the term and interpret what the poster is trying to say.

if youve got mata & youre happy to keep him then what does it matter if others choose to jump ship to cesc? to me it just comes across as having a lack of faith in your own decisions to question others.

Our passion for the game means disagreements in strategies builds up tension and aggression.

It's only GW1! Everyone chill out with each other. If you feel obliged to sell Mata then by all means do so. 🙂

Mata at home for GW 1 against Swansea after a good pre season > Cesc at home to Leicester is far from knee jerk....Perfectly good FF managment...even better when you stand to make up to 0.5 on the deal when/if you bring Mata back in.

The mata and cesc debate is quite clear to me. If cesc played for united and mata was still at chelsea and nailed on we would want mata and not cesc.

United got a lot of love in pre season which is suprising considering how poor they were last season. Just take a look at their squad. When will the penny drop?

Great topic.