It’s a fickle world in fantasy football, and having been the hero of the show thanks to his penalty save against West Ham last week, Jussi Jääskeläinen is well and truly the villain of the act today when he struck Roger Johnson around the chops and was duly sent off for his actions.

Knee jerkers across the continents of the globe groaned as the Finnish goalkeeper laid his hands on the Birmingham centre-half this afternoon, leaving Bolton with an uphill task to get back in the game and walking away with a hefty -3 points total for the gameweek – I have a feeling Granville is going to be miffed…

The Europa League may well be European football’s consolation prize but no side wants the indignity of an exit before the group stages. Sadly for Aston Villa, that’s the fate that befell them as Rapid Vienna denied the Villa Park faithful some air miles with two late strikes to send Kevin McDonald home to refresh his CV. Goodnight Vienna Kevin?

Over in Turkey, Liverpool were unconvincing again but at least booked their progress with a 2-1 win over Trabzonspor, while Man City, their untroubled conquerors on Monday, looked at ease once again as they dismissed the challenge of Timisoara by a two goal margin at Eastlands.

Back in the cosy comfort of domestic football, a second-string Birmingham were in action in the Carling Cup, stuttering to a 3-2 victory against the might of Rochdale.
Here’s our notes from last night’s action…

In a deal that took their spending past the £100m mark this summer alone, Man City completed the signing of Mario Balotelli from Champions League winners Inter Milan for £22.5m. The move, re-uniting Roberto Mancini with the undoubtedly talented youngster, gives Balotelli the chance to start afresh in a new country, having courted controversy in an almost continual basis in his adopted homeland.

Although many of the issues were outwith his control (including appalling crowd-related racism) there’s no denying the 20 year old has a petulance that’s hard to deal with. There’s the media spats with his own team-mates, throwing his shirt to the ground as a response to fan frustration, being photographed in an AC Milan top, and exasperating Jose Mourinho to the point where the Special One admitted:

I can’t accept that from someone who is still a nobody, who hasn’t made it yet, who is still a talent with potential. He needs to train harder, to understand what are the important things for me which I think are important for him and his future. Because if he was to train half as hard as players like Zanetti and the others, he would be one of the best in the world. But he only trains 25 percent as hard.

Clearly, if Balotelli applies himself at City, he should be a huge success. Judging by his volatile nature, however, that could be a big “if”, though given that he only turned 20 last week, there’s plenty time to apply himself in the right way, under a manager who perhaps knows him best of all.

Things couldn’t have gone any better for Newcastle and Andy Carroll. A hat-trick in the 6-0 demoliton of Villa in the first home game of the season was an outcome that few could have predicted. Throw in an assist for Nolan’s goal (almost) and the inevitable Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points and it’s clear that we are set to see the fastest moving Fantasy bandwagon of the season so far.

Priced at just 5.0 in the FPL game Carroll soar straight to the top of the shopping list to a position previously occupied by Marlon Harewood after his brace for Blackpool on the opening weekend.

Carroll may cost that 0.5 more but is a far better prospect. A constant threat in the air with decent enough mobility and touch, Carroll looks set to play a similar role to that of Kevin Davies for Bolton – with the promise of a few more goals thrown in. Given the number of ball he wins and “passes” he’ll contribute in the opponents half, you can see Carroll collecting regular Bonus Points in Newcastle victories in a similar way to Davies for Bolton…

The watchwords are caution and patience. Despite high hopes and aspirations, we’re best served by lowering our Fantasy expectations when it comes to new arrivals to the Premier League. For every immediate success, several hopefuls will flounder. For most, there is a period (sometimes an extended period) where they struggle to get their feet underneath them and adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League game and/or simply to living in a new country.

For others, it is just a matter of opportunity and getting chances, and they jump right in and shine from day one. Fortunately, Fantasy Football is forgiving and we can place them on our “watchlists” and wait to see who will hit the ground running. They are the exception not the rule, but who, if anyone, will be this year’s version of the 2009-10 Thomas Vermaelen or the 2008-09 Amir Zaki or Jose Bosingwa or Fernando Torres? We take a look at some of the contenders…

Every year it seems just that little bit harder to make a team from the £100 million budget. Last season’s bargain basement players are this year’s mid-priced options, while the emerging talents are now fully fledged superstars in the eyes of the Fantasy Game pricing gurus.

Any Tom, Dick or Jon Reeson will tell you that the key to succeeding in this game then, is spotting those up and coming young talents just as they break into the first team, or those foreign players bought last year who have now settled and are ready to burst onto the scene in a big way.

Most top Fantasy managers will have ended up with Branislav Ivanovic in their team at some point last year, and Leighton Baines and Jose Bosingwa were the gems from the previous season. Who will be this year’s “Breakout” players? Here’s our take on some possible candidates…