Having cast an eye over the Defenders yesterday, we roll out the second in a three-part members series with a look at midfielders. Assessing the key attacking statistics, we analyse the chief creators and major goal threats over the first three Gameweeks of the season.
Pre-ordered Fifa 14
16 days to go! Can't wait for the Career Mode, it looks interesting with the Global Scouting Network and all.Open ControlsThe novel way to buy players. Not sure how it works but here's a sneak peek from EA
http://www.easports.com/fifa/news-updates-gameplay/article/fifa-14-careerOpen Controls
It's going to be a good month for games. FIFA 14 AND GTA V!!!
Open Controls
Baby has started making noise. Should I pke it or something?
Open Controls
Where is the noise coming from?
Open ControlsNo there is definitely an issue she is wriggling now
Open ControlsBaby changed and downed a full bottle. Hopefully sleep until it is her mums turn now.
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😎
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😆 I was only trying to help! You need to blame EpicFail's Missus and her reputation on FFS
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Breaking bad 😯 Anyone else watching???
Open ControlsNO SPOILERS PLEASE
2 more hours in CaliOpen Controls10 mins to go till end. How many more episodes left? OFC no spoilers.
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I've had a little tinker with my team to see what it would look like if I had used my wildcard over the international break. I've done a couple of punts that you will notice, but I'm struggling to choose midfielders. In fact, the only midfielder I'm sure about is Walcott.
Here it is:
Mignolet, Boruc
Enrique, Evra, Coleman, Collins, Chester
Walcott, Eriksen, 9.2, Redmond, Whittingham
Sturridge, Negredo, Giroud
I really can't decide who to pick in my midfield for 9.2m. I've owned Silva since the start, so I could have him for 9.2, but I just don't know whether he will keep getting good returns. Is it worth buying someone cheap and turning Negredo into RvP? Of course, this is all just a play around to see who I could get, but I still would like to see if it's worth doing my WC now, because I'm starting to get more and more issues with my current team.Open ControlsAlso, how far away are the player rankings in the sidebar? Any news?
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GKs looks fine to me..DEFs as well..
i'd choose lamps over silva..and i'd upgrade whitingham to pablo..
still confused myself though (on wc at the moment and haven't decided whether to go with RVP-team)..Open ControlsI'm unsure about any Chelsea midfield/forward until we see a few more lineups from Mourinho after the UCL kicks in.
I'd also prefer Whittingham over Redmond, so Redmond to Pablo maybe? I actually quite like the look of Hernandez, so that could be a good option.
I also think Mirallas might do what Bale and Mata did last year but on a smaller scale. If I'm not mistaken, Bale and Mata were both fairly quiet for the first 4-6 gameweeks and then went crazy. I just wonder how long until Everton start scoring freely again.
I suppose if I was to use WC and get RvP, this wouldn't be a bad time to do it.Open Controlsyeah i think redmond to pablo is a good move..
lamps not sure, i will just hold on the fact that mourinho fancy him playing all the time..so perhaps he shld get most of league game time.
mirralas cld do well, but i reckon it will takes 2-3 more wks..price cld be fallen at that time so i can always buy him back with cheaper price.Open Controls
Template Template
Template Template Template Template Template (nicely done!)
Template TooPunty Unknown OnlyShootsFromLongRange,PickAgain Okay
Template RiskyRotationalisms Template
So Eriksen + 9.2. + Redmond = 22.2
Rather go Bentenke than Negredo as he's more nailed on and most of his team's scoring will go through him, saves you .4, so you now have 22.6
For 22.6, I'd consider:
Michu 9, probably 8.9 soon
Mirallas 7.5, likely at 7.4 soon
Fer 6 (much better Norwich option than Redmond which is discussed in the article you can't see as a non-member)Open ControlsYou really give the best criticism to an RMT 🙂
Open ControlsI highly doubt that. But I am finding thinking about other people's teams and concerns keeps me from fidgeting with my own.
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Not set on Michu yet. I already own Mirallas, and that's who I currently have in the other midfield spot with Redmond to Hernandez done since my initial post. If I'd read the members article I might be more interested in Fer, but for now I'm not.
I love how you complain about how template my team is and then suggest Benteke over Negredo, which is one of the few chances I had to break the template. Besides, Negredo has already managed to score 2 goals from just 77 minutes on the pitch, so I think he will become a regular starter and hopefully will do well in the near future and Benteke has had 2 gifts given to him (1 which he nearly messed up) and the other goal was practically the only shot he had all match.
I thank you for your response, but I found it a bit demeaning, and to be honest, a bit ordinary.Open ControlsI didn't complain about the template. It is what it is. I think parts of a team that template don't need to be discussed, debated and harangued about in an RMT, because they have been discussed ad nausem in conversations here already.
I think there is no doubt that Negredo has talent but he himself has said that the coach said Edin will start. I like him, I'm just saying he's a risk.
http://www.mcfc.com/News/Team-news/2013/September/Negredo-delighted-to-hit-the-ground-running
Didn't mean to be demeaning.
Redmond gets rare shots from outside the box. Fer gets shots inside the box and is playing "in the hole". Think Fer may replace Snodgrass as the cheap mid to have on Norwich. That's a guess, but an informed one.
I think the new midfield boys on Spurs are a risk. They have to adapt to a new league and new teammates, and most of their fellow starters are doing the same thing. I think they may take a while to gel.
Again, apologies you found it demeaning. It wasn't intended as such.Open ControlsThanks for clearing all that up. That article has made me reconsider this whole WC business. One of the reasons I was wildcarding was to get rid of Dzeko because I believed Negredo would be first choice now, but that article says otherwise. His record of 17 in his last 16 is impressive though...
As for Spurs new signings, there is 2 ways they will go individually. They'll either straight away fire, or take a while to get going. I suppose I was just being optimistic about Eriksen because I don't like most of the other expensive midfielders.
What do you think of
Szczesny, Boruc
Enrique, Evra, Coleman, Collins, Chester
Silva, Walcott, Mirallas, Hernandez, Whittingham
Giroud, Dzeko, Sturridge
for a 12 point hit instead?
The transfers would be Toure -> Enrique, Ward -> Evra, Hazard -> Hernandez and Soldado -> Giroud
Also, I could keep Soldado and just make the other 3 trades.Open Controls12 point hit is hefty. Okay if you're going to do it once all season and never ever again. (sayeth a person who has already done it)
If that's what you want to do, I think you could just do
Hazard to Hernandez
and
Ward to Evra (OR Toure to Enrique)
for this week.
Can do other defense transfer next week. Also, as Giroud has already gone up .2 over the break and Soldado is pricier, think you can wait on that one more week rather than take a hit. (Not to mention the idiotic yet true statistic that Giroud has never scored a goal outside of London in the Premiership.)
(more writing coming, but posting before you go to sleep and I'm writing to no one)Open ControlsSo your current team is
Szczesny Boruc
Toure Coleman Collins Chester Ward
Silva Walcott Mirallas Hazard Whittingham
Soldado Dzeko Sturridge
(just needed to see it for myself)
I have Kolo too. Sticking with him for now. Sakho's new and may need some time training with team. Kolo may have recovered from injury. Glen Johnson is rumored to be out 10 weeks now. Seems doubtful but possible Kolo starts next game. His price is nowhere near dropping on Total FPL so I'd rather wait and see what develops before jumping.
Dzeko. Those quotes from Negredo in the article I posted above gave me some hope. Also, Pellegrini keeps talking about rotation. My gut is that Negredo and Aguero will start in Champion's League, and Dzeko will be the more regular starter in the Prem (possibly because that's how I'd do it if I was the manager - because I'm sure Pellegrini knows his keeping the job partially depends on going far in Champion's League). Could be wrong, and most on this site think I'm wrong. Right now, I see no harm in sticking. This does depend on watching Total FPL to see if he's close to dropping. Think he may eke through the international break without a drop so I get one more week to see what's doing.
Earlier in the international break there was nothing I wanted more than to bring Hazard into my team on the last day of the international break. His wiggly ankle and other factors have now given me pause. I see no reason why Mourinho wouldn't rest him next week as Chelsea seems to have a few midfielders to spare. I still think Hazard will be the top scoring Chelsea player by the end of the season, but its a question of when to own him right now. Not sure you should sell, but may save you some team value in the interim if you do.
Spurs. If they gel well, seems like Soldado would be the main beneficiary, and if they don't, its not worth owning any of them. Thus, unsure why you're dropping Soldado and picking up Eriksen. I mean, I get that you see some value in Eriksen at 8, but you're making multiple transfers and taking hits to get a player who will score less points on the same team.
Probably missed something else, but think that's all I have in the tank.Open ControlsWow, thanks. I'm glad we got past that initial misunderstanding because that was some great advice. I did check out your team earlier and saw that you had taken some hits. I suppose a lot of the reasoning for my proposed trades is not so much based on solid evidence but more gut feeling.
I can't believe I didn't think about the whole Eriksen/Soldado thing. I've been the biggest critic of Spurs attack so far this season despite owning Soldado yet I wanted to get an unproven spurs midfielder (that's such bad logic haha).
The main change I wanted to make to my team was a slight shift in spending from midfield to defence because of the new bps system. I figured Toure was not going to be available and Hazard was in doubt, even if he did shake his injury so it was a simple reallocation of money, but I suppose I should at least wait until their prices are a chance to drop before I make any decision on them.
I'm not sure whether that Giroud statistic will last much longer, but I suppose until he does score outside of London there will always be a question mark about his potential to score.
All in all it seems as if I could get away with a 4 or 8 point hit and make all the changes I really want to do right now. Plus it will be nice having the wildcard for a DGW or once I make my mind up on what the best squad of 15 players is.
Thanks for all your help!Open ControlsCool. Hope it actually helps.
Yeah. I always take too many hits early chasing a few bandwagons and fretting all my pre-season picks were stupid to get my team flowing right. I'm done with that part now.
Last thing to consider on reconfiguring toward defense for BAPs was this article on the low scoring start to the season (the graph in the middle of the article really says it all) http://www.totalfpl.com/Articles/182/less-goals-this-season-yes-but-to-what-extent
Defenders are definitely getting more BAPs, but I'm still not sure how much that should drive decisions on player selection. I'm staying agnostic on it for now. I'd like to see a higher scoring game week league-wide and see how that pans out before reconfiguring my team. Still have my WC like you, so I'll wait.
Have a g'day; g'night from here.Open Controls
Hey Dude, I honestly think this is a very honest and constructive criticism of an RMT. Very rarely to be seen these days.
Of course, it's still upto you whether you want to take his suggestions/views.Open Controls
Give Silva one more week. Watch the Spurs match. Hopefully that will give you a better idea on how they will be playing with both Lamela and Eriksen. I would not take a punt yet on either until things are sorted?
If TOT start playing 4 2 3 1 regularily, I reckon Eriksen will be an excellent should. However, if Eriksen fails to feature in a 4 3 3 then i think that Lamela is the obvious choice!Open ControlsWhy Eriksen over Lamela?
Open ControlsCheaper, better potential field position. Why would you spend 1m more to get Lamela if you don't mind me asking?
Open ControlsI'm not saying Lamela is a better or worse pick. Just wondering why you picked Eriksen over him. Most people on here are going with Lamela
Open Controls
FFS Origins
What's your FFS origins story?
When did you join and what drew you to FFS?
What did you first post? Any replies and if so, whom?
How much do you think you have changed since you first posted? Or is your persona the same?Open ControlsShouldn't we consult with Stan Lee first to make our story more interesting?
Open Controls'06-'07 living in France, American friend invites me into fantasy football league, though it was American football and said yes as I was curious why it had become so popular, turned out to be ESPN fantasy premier league which was limited to 30 transfers in the season at the time. Didn't know half the players I picked for my team originally. Got interested in proper football. Started going to pubs to watch games. Went in ESPN chat room where there was a guy starting an FPL mini-league from GW10 which I joined which morphed into my FPL league I've been in every season since. During that season, transferred wisely. Won my ESPN mini-league, finished top 5 in my FPL league.
'07-'11 Moved back to U.S. Got into proper fantasy American football league for first time and got chronic with that. Scoured all the websites with information. Won my league last two seasons. My league hated me and my family started hating my relationship with the American football season, which was difficult, as I only met my wife because I went to her place of work to watch the American football playoffs there. Along the way, became convinced that there had to be something similar for FPL. Eventually found this, and lurked about periodically, but didn't use enough.
'10-'11 Computer stolen in Mongolia mid-season (February). Cluster---k. Can't make that up.
'11-'12 Led my ML until January window, then spent the rest of season in 2nd, finished top 60,000 and pissed off. Spent the last 8 weeks of the season taking reckless punts on Wigan players to try and grab first in my ML that destroyed rank. Only use this site as a lurker still, and should have ante-ed up for membership. Might have saved me some aggravation, and gotten me first.
Now. Started season like a ball of poo, but determined. Membered up and moving on.Open ControlsBrilliant, you truly are a great writer HOH
Btw were you active on FFS before this season? Never seem to have interacted with you before this one.Open ControlsNo. Not previously active. Strictly lurking before.
Oddest transition for me is slowly caring less and less about NFL and more and more about proper football with each year.Open Controls
In the 2011-12 Season i joined FPL for the first time. I was frantically looking through Google to find some injury news on Gabbadion (I think). I searched " Injuries Fantasy Footbal Gabbadionl" and it brought me to the injury page on this site.
I cant remember what my first post was......I think YOU were one of the people that first replied to me 🙂
My persona has not changed.....just a little more confident in posting recommendations.Open Controlswhat is yours?
Open ControlsVery similar to yours.
Joined FPL 2011-12
Joined FFS in Sep 2011, found it through the Scout Page on FPL
I can confirm my first post was not from this account 😉
The first post from this account was an RMT I think and I got a long reply from Jafalad and a sarcastic reply from Christina
As yourself, I've probably not changed much except built more friends on this site and hence, that has helped in making confident recommendationsOpen Controls
I was searching for the top leagues in FPL, and FFS naturally came on the top. I googled it initially only to find the league code as I believed I was deserving of such a league, but ended up being drawn to the resources and advice on offer. Obviously the lurker period followed, before I finally made the first post. I do remember that I used to get several RMT's from Mark himself, and initially became fussy enough that I would repost until Mark would give an RMT. Of course, that gradually stopped, as I learned other posters also knew something about Fantasy Football. 🙂
I think my first visit on this site was 8 years back, guessing the first post was 7 years back....But to be honest I can't even recall.
I think the most dramatic change has been the user landscape. There's been a massive shift, and there are more posts here in the RMT tradition than anything else. Also, as the number of viewers has exponentially increased, it's hard to stay on one page for long. The pages move too fast now for my liking....I hate writing long replies, and don't even know whether the guy has read the message.
Obviously, I have changed. If I didn't change in these many years, something is definitely wrong with me. 🙂Open Controls8 YEARS BACK?! Wow.
you were 15-16 back then? The youngest person on the site I presume?Open ControlsYes probably the youngest and most foolish.
It was grade 9th when I started playing fantasy premier league for the first time, and after that I started watching football religiously.
Definitely discovered FFS towards the end of the year, Loads of talk about The Holy Trinity back then (Gerrard, Lampard, Ronaldo). Kept it secret for a whole year, then the gap grew so much between me and my fellow classmates, that I would give up the game by gw33-34, as the game was already dusted by then. Nowadays, I only care about Overall Rank, the leagues get taken care by themselves.Open ControlsYou need a Gandalf grav, Pratik. Seriously, I think after the Scouts, you may be oldest poster active on FFS!
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Discovered FFS almost exactly 2 seasons ago around GW5. Had got off to a good start and trusted all the 'experts' on FFS to help me achieve a 10k finish. Probably first posted an RMT then went on to jump on every bad FFS bandwagon going. Subsequently I went from 50k to 300k in a matter of months. Luckily managed to claw it back to around 50k by seasons end.
Mostly just talked to fellow deadzoners like yourself, Newman, Jafa, Christina, JOA, Isaki, & Nat among others. Personally I have become much more skeptical about particular advice on these boards but at the same time have learned to become confident in my own decisions and have leaned a lot from everyone here on how to be successful in FPL.Open ControlsNice one Ryan.
Do you remember how almost every post in the deadzone 2 years back used to result in a long discussion? Good ol' days but naturally the site has developed so much since then and along with it, our community expanded for the good.Open Controls
Euro 2012 was the first experience of the site, now that was a fun time to be on here! helped me finish 90th too 😀
Open ControlsEuro's were a lot of fun! Thought summer would be dull but turned out to be interesting with also the Euros/ Friendly World Cup games and the origins of Forca/Jedmonds
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My mate Carl told me about it.
Open ControlsHaving read a few responses its interesting that people only became interested in football after playing FPL. I'm the same, had a mate who got me into it and I knew none of the players and wasn't even that interested in football. Now I love it all because of FPL 🙂
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Initially used it purely to check injuries, finding the forum a bit weird.
Later realised I like weird.
Was a very regular poster the second half of my first full season, getting into all sorts of debates, but lately work plus being the dad of a now three year old slowed me downOpen Controls
Top 20 'keepers in FIFA 14, Szczesny is not even on the list.
http://www.easports.com/fifa/news-updates-gameplay/article/fifa-14-top-20-keepers
Wenger, you have been warned.Open ControlsPlayer rankings are always a joke on FIFA though
To think this is the first year where Petr Cech has 85 or more is ridiculousOpen ControlsMarchetti at 84 😆
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fifa ratings are a joke
Navas is rated 85
Walcott rated 81Open ControlsRating for Top 20 Players in sooo funny/debatable.
20. Cavani 87
19. Mata 87
18. Ozil 87
17. Bale 87
16. Thiago Silva 87
15. Vidic 87
14. Lahm 87
13. Rooney 87
12. Silva 88
11. Aguero 88
10. Schweinsteiger 88
9. Robben 88
8. Ibrahimović 89
7. Xavi 89
6. van Persie 89
5. Iniesta 89
4. Falcao 90
3. Ribéry 90
2. Ronaldo 92
1. Messi 94
Bale, Ozil & Rooney are rated 87, behind Silva, Kun & Schwein at 88.
Robben at 88 & RvP at 89??
The gap between Ronaldo & Messi and the rest is also insuting.Open ControlsRvP is so slow in Fifa 13. Hard to play with him !
Open ControlsIt's how we utilize the skills of each player in Fifa. It's always easier to play with Ronaldo, Walcott & Bale when you can just outrun defenders! 😆
Open ControlsSLOW?! SLOW?!
Are you mocking at me? 🙁Open ControlsLOL....yeah....he did score a hatty against you...:-)
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Ronaldo should be 94 with Messi being 96. These two are so ahead of the rest it's unreal. So what if they are overpowered in the game. They are over powered in real LIFE!
Open ControlsYou are right.
There is no denying.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world. Messi is from another planet.Open Controls
Bale will feel the most insulted from that lot. Easily in the 89-90 range.
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Neymar? 😯
Open ControlsList of the Top 50 players be found here.
http://www.easports.com/fifa/news-updates-gameplay/article/fifa-14-top-50
Yep, no Neymar 😯Open Controls
Maybe the best episode of Breaking Bad yet 😯 😯 😯
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Possibly-Punty WC players: your opinions, please.
I haven't watched any of these players yet this season, besides Yaya. Please state why I should (or shouldn't) consider them, in your own opinion.
Not really looking for alternatives to these players (I know them just as well as any of us), but rather your read on why they would/wouldn't make the cut for your own team.
1) Frank Lampard (UCL notwithstanding.. i know that angle)
2) Eden Hazard (same as #1... might he drop to 9.2 before next weekend?)
3) Pablo Hernandez
4) Michael Dawson
5) Yaya Toure (he doesn't strike me as an offensive force. no pun intended)
6) Kevin NolanOpen ControlsBeen watching Liverpool, United and Southampton for the most part. Something about those red shirts.
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1) I would seriously consider him. Mourinho loves him and Lampard needs regular games to stay in form. He can be rested in the midweek games. Lampard will score goals and get assists, his deeper role doesn't prevent him from making late runs into the box and he is on penalties.
2) Yes I would consider him as well. I believe he is more nailed on than Lampard and he has the most created chances so far. He lad is world class and will do well this season.
3) This guy is miles better than Routledge and Dyer so I would expect him to nail down a spot now that he has adjusted to the PL. He was a very expensive signing and we are starting to see the best from him now. At that price he could be great value provided he maintains his form.
4) Avoid. Too much of a rotation risk with plenty of competition at Spurs for the CB spot.
5) Avoid, he plays far too deep and won't get in advanced position this season. He has a mean free kick but thats the only thing going for him at the moment.
6) I'm a bit 50/50 on Nolan mainly because he has been a bit deeper this season according to average position charts. Its a surprise and I wonder if this is because of his age or whether Morrison coming on from the bench is taking over in more advanced positions. Monitor for now.Open ControlsHow can you have not watched them but know them as well as anyone?
Open ControlsWhat I mean is that I have not watched any matches so far that showcase 5/6 of these players. I can read box scores and stats with the best of them, but i haven't gathered any intangible evidence with my own eyes yet.
What I claimed to "know as well as any of us here" is not these 6 players, but rather what the alternatives to these 6 players are. Just take it easy, Walter.Open Controls
1) Aside from rotation concerns at Chelsea, he doesn't play in a particularly offensive role, but he is on penalties when he's on the ground, which makes up for it.
2) 9.3 is a lot to spend on a guy that may get rotated a lot, but he is well worth the money if he can maintain a starting role
3) Perhaps Bony and Michu will take some points away from him as the year progresses. Apart from that, a very good mid price option.
4) Not nailed on.
5) Plays a holding midfield role and relies on set pieces to get points, better options close to his price.
6) Decent option, he plays a slightly withdrawn role but always manages to get involved in West Ham's best attacking moves. If West Ham have good fixtures, he should do well.Open Controls
Anyone play Uncharted Drake's Fortune? Started it for free on playstation plus, takes up a huge amount of space I will need for GTA5. Worth trying to complete it before the GTA5 release?
Open ControlsCUBA TORRES!!!!!!
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Fantrax FPDL Red Division -- RMT
Lloris
Walker (Lescott)
Santi Lamela Mata (Navas)
Benteke Dzeko (Berbatov)Open ControlsNice team! Got a few risks in mine:
Cech
Koscielny - Nastasic - Rafael
Ozil - Eriksen - HBA - Snodgrass
Aguero - BentOpen Controls
@TM245, i'll give you rooney for benteke
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so difficult to tell-good players-unfamiliar with scoringg
Open Controlsszez
colo,bassong,jag
pablo,michu,brady bunch
biter,drogba 2 ,wantaway?longOpen ControlsBiggest thing to sort out is formation:
1-3-2 / 2-2-2 / 3-1-2
Scoring is very close to FPL but no bonus, no captaincy, no autosubs -- we are going to be suffering from benching decisions every week.Open Controls
DeGea
Vertonghen---Vidic---Mertesacker---(Sakho)
----------Mirallas-----(Cabaye)
Ricky Lam-----RVP----(Andy Caroll)Open ControlsOnly playing six outfield players? Risky.
Open ControlsHehe am I right in thinking you may have won it?
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DRAFT-rolling out of the draft pub-interesting experience declan played it very cool
Open ControlsI just changed Lampard for Eriksen. I love Lamp but I can't risk his rotation. Eriksen will be nailed on and doing damage.
Open ControlsThoughts on my UCL Fantasy team, please.
Sirigu
Boateng - Lichtsteiner - Jordi Alba
Hamsik - Ozil - Vidal - Oscar
Ronaldo - Cavani - Luiz Adriano
(D.Lopez Bruno Ambrose Papadopoulos)Open Controlshi guys..team wc for the moment:
migs xx
zab collin chester xx xx
lamps walcott JWP xx xx
benteke giroud xx
shld i go:
a. rvp-less (gazza, vidic, Bturner, nani/HBA, coutinho, soldado) - no manU attacking if HBA
b. rvp-less (boruc, vidic, yangaM, silva, hernandez, soldado) - no Liv attacking
c. rvp-less (gazza, vidic, Bturner, eriksen, silva, sturridge) - no manU attacking
c. rvp team (gazza, vidic, Bturner, brady, HBA, RVP) - no citeh,liv, spurs attacking
been playing with wc since 31st aug, but still can't decide. not so tempted to Rvp team, as i lost other top team attackers.
comment, suggestion, thoughts all appreciated.. pls help!
*if u think a, nani or HBA?Open ControlsDraft team
Begovic
Zabaleta--Cole--Ferdinand
Willian--Nolan--Sess
Sturridge--Rooney--Eto'oOpen Controlswhat?
Open Controls
That could be a very nice front 3. Shame you can't play them all at once
Open Controlsi'll give you rooney for ozil, SW6?
Open Controls
2-2-2 or 3-1-2 for you once your team is healthy
pretty good, all things considered
however, next gameweek, you may have no healthy strikers (Sturridge thigh, Rooney face, Eto'o ankle (which was at today's international))
watch the waiver wire for strikersOpen Controlscheers, it is a marathon not a sprint and i thought in the long run they would come good, might have to just play the one striker up front this week, and then when they're all fit, change to 2, i thought because sturridge is playing on monday night that might give him time to recover?
Open Controlsyeah, probably just do a 3-2-1 this week with Sess, Nolan and Sturridge until you know more.
know how it goes in a draft, and you did well to get three good strikers for the season
need to see what Mourinho is going to do with Willian & Eto'o before playing them
no substitutions makes things more challenging, for sureOpen Controls
Do I need to WC this team? looks bad, no ft
Mignolet
Zabaleta / Rangel / Chester / Touré / Clichy
Walcott / Ben Arfa / Snodgrass
van Persie (c) / Negredo (vc)
Gazzaniga / Rodriguez / Walters / PozueloOpen ControlsPersonally, yes.
Open ControlsNo, you don't.
Snodgrass to either Hernandez or Fer seems like the first step.
Waiting for more injury news out of Liverpool Thursday or Friday before making any decisions about Kolo.Open ControlsGK is good
DEF isn't terrible. I'd never pick Clichy, but he's still a City defender. Toure may play, and Rangel's fixtures coming up are much better.
MID is also servicable. Walters has decent stats, IIRC, and Snodgrass is back. BenArfa is a cult differentiator and plays his tail off.
FWDs look ok, if you're staying with rvp, but J-Rodriguez is a rotator now.
I don't think WC is a must.Open Controls
I'd just WC the manager. 😉
Open Controls
yeah, im taking any trade offers for eto'o or rooney, a midifelder would be preferable...
Open Controlserm, you need one healthy striker
Open Controls
Hey guys, we might want to avoid confusion and stick to FPL here. Great fun drafting. I am going to email the league tomorrow with quick reminders about Free Agent pool, scoring/formation, and trading -- any other questions or suggestions, use the chat function on the homepage. Cheers.
And Santi, I will hold on Benteke for now -- Rooney's noggin is crushing me enough in FPL as it is.Open Controlsalright TM, offers still on the table, just think about it 😉
Open Controls
OK, very bizarre question given the typical context on here, but:
Taarabt or Odemwingie? (draft league free agents). Replacing a 5th defender choice of Nasty (by accident)Open ControlsOdemwingie might make good at Cardiff
never met someone who owned Taarabt and didn't regret it, although some seem to look forward to regretting it againOpen Controls
RMWCT:
Mignolet Boruc
Evra Zabaleta Coleman (Collins Chester)
Walcott Lampard 8.5? Hernandez (JWP)
Giroud Sturridge Soldado
Still not sure if to go RvP or not... My mind says no, my conscious says yes...
I also need a 8.5mid in there or drop Boruc to up that to 9.0mil mid?Open ControlsJust think of the £9M options in mid if you knock your second keeper to a £4M non playing option. Tempting isnt it
Open Controlsexactly this ^^ ... coutinho, michu, etc
wild idea: try to turn that 8.5 into David SilvaOpen Controls
RVP is a decision you have to make. Site is divided 50/50 on the issue.
You should also decide while on WC if you're going for Suarez for his first game back GW6 or not. Don't buy him, but do have a plan how you'd have money to buy him if you want to.
Back 7 are template and fine.
Midfield:
- Oscar is 8.5 if you want to keep things as they are, and you're a fan
- I'm not a fan of picking 35 yo Frank Lampard. Wait and pick up Mirallas after he drops to 7.4. Wait and pick up Michu after he drops to 8.9, or Coutinho at 9, or Lamela at 9. Both Michu and Mirallas drops should happen by Friday, would still get them if they didn't.
- Not bothered about doubling up on Swansea for now. Schedule through week 17 is pretty nice. Would mark my calendar to be rid of all Swansea players by game week 18 when their schedule goes south and fatigue from playing Europa games starts to show more (in 2nd half of season).
- Walcott & JWP are template enough and need no comment
Strikers:
- prefer Bentenke over Sturridge; monitor Sturridge's injury, or just monitor his twitter page https://twitter.com/D_SturridgeOpen Controls
Whats the deal with draft teams? Too late to get in on it?
Open ControlsI think the last slot in my league (which hasn't drafted yet) was just filled. Check with Conrad or Tristen.
Open ControlsHere is the link if you want to contact Conrad --we have been working on filling the leagues and capped it at 40 instead of the original 50, I think.
https://sites.google.com/site/thefpdl/home
His email is in the contacts link.Open Controls
A) David Luiz + P Hernandez
B) Coleman + BarfaOpen ControlsNight Cheeseoid.
Open Controls
Happy with this team atm, what do you guys think? Im on a WC
Boruc-Marshall
Zab-JEnrique-Coleman-Collins-Chester
Walcott-Coutinho-Brady-Barkley-JWP
RVP-Benteke-SoldadoOpen ControlsTemplate LikeIt
Template Template Template Template Template (way to go!)
Template LastChanceSaloonTemplater RVPmidfieldTemplatitiesX3
RVP Template Template
Template is not bad. It means it is a fairly typical pick here and does not need further debate as these are players often discussed on this site.
Looks like you'll be playing a 4-3-3 most weeks.
The debatable bit is, do you want:
- Coutinho at 9 or Michu at 8.9 (hasn't dropped yet, but probably will later this week)
- Coutinho & Brady or two mid-priced options, e.g. BenArfa & Nolan, Mirallas & Fer, Mirallas & Hernandez, et cetera
Good to go.Open Controls
JWP and Chambers
These two are both teenagers and won't be starting together on the same side of the field for much longer at Southampton. One of them if not both of them will make way for JRod/Ramires & Clyne before long. I think its pointless to bring one of them in at this stage as its a certain transfer you'll have to make down the track.Open Controls
Not seen Southampton play this season ,but agree with what you are saying.
Very rarely do teenagers get regular starts for a long period and two in the same team is even more unheard of.Open ControlsWhich 4.5m midfield option is secure, though?
Open ControlsShaw is a teenager too. Coach doesn't seem to mind.
JWP has been given set pieces.
Think Chambers might go but JWP *might* stick. Time will tell. Waiting on JWP. Happy to pick up at 4.6 instead of 4.5 if he does stick. No rush yet. 2 more game weeks until the Suarez decision comes.Open Controls
Early Bird Update
For those who have had a good start this season, this league is for you.
To qualify all you need is to have scored:
67 in GW1
49 in GW2 with no hits or 54 with a hit. More hits equals higher score needed.
48 with no transfers in GW3 or 54 with a hit.
Code is 58-338 for those who pass these three points.
225 qualified. Plenty get knocked out each week.
http://torresmagic.webs.com/earlybirdmillionaireclub.htm for more details.Open ControlsAcqua you are smashing me in NFL...
Open ControlsThe Sturridge dance still in its developmental stages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBTld8ND9DgOpen Controls
