Pre-Season

Pre-Season Friendlies – Weekend Round-Up

David Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Martinez all suffer debut defeats in a weekend that saw 10 Premier League clubs take part in friendly action. Arsenal kicked off their summer with an emphatic win in Thailand, Iago Aspas earned the plaudits from Brendan Rodgers after an impressive 45 minute sub appearance in Liverpool’s cruise at Preston and Dimiatr Berbatov was at the double as Fulham kicked off their Costa Rica tour with a victory.

Den Haag 0 Swansea 1
Swansea ended their tour of Holland on Saturday afternoon with a fourth consecutive win. Michael Laudrup’s side now return to the UK having triumphed in all of their friendlies on Dutch soil – the Swans boss once again rang the changes during the game, replacing eight of his starting XI at half-time. Debut boy Wilfried Bony climbed off the bench to replace Michu as the lone forward after the break, though failed to find the net – that honour went to Wayne Routledge, who chipped home the winner after a superb Jonjo Shelvey assist.

Singha All Stars XI 1 Man United 0
David Moyes tasted defeat in his first match in charge at United. The Red Devils went down narrowly in a match played in “29-degree heat, with 75% humidity”, according to the club’s official website. With the likes of Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa handed extended rests, and Wayne Rooney flying home injured, it was left to Danny Welbeck to lead the line – United spurned a batch of chances to equalise, though new boy Wilfried Zaha came closest – he hit the woodwork after being introduced off the bench just after the hour mark.

Post-match, Moyes again dismissed suggestions that Rooney was set to exit Old Trafford and proceeded to stress the importance of the forward for the season ahead:

“Overall my thought on Wayne is that if for any reason we get an injury to Robin van Persie we are going to need him. Wayne has a major role to play because we need to try and get him as many goals as we possibly can. Wayne can play up-top, I think he can play dropped in. I want to be able to play the two of them, I want to be able to use Danny Welbeck, Chicharito as well. I want to try and give myself as many options as possible”

These quotes have spawned a series of reports this morning, suggesting that Rooney is set for a bench role under Moyes, although it’s clear that the new United boss has expressed a desire to play them both in tandem. It remains to be seen if this does materialise with Moyes favouring a 4-5-1 at Everton and with Kagawa well suited to role up in support of Van Persie.

Elsewhere, Moyes went on to look for the positives in the weekend defeat, taking time to praise both Zaha and fellow-youngster Adnan Januzaj for their respective displays:

“I thought Adnan played well tonight and was a plus for us. He was the pick of the group. It’s always good when you give a young player a chance and he shows up, which I thought he did tonight. And the more he plays like that, the more opportunities he’s liable to get. Wilfried did well and gave us something a little different. We’ll see how Wilfried does. We brought him here to give him a chance. It’s the first time I’ve worked with him, the first time I’ve really had the chance to see him up close, so he’ll certainly be part of the squad and we’ll see where we can fit him in.”

Bournemouth 0 West Ham 2
Sam Allardyce handed both Momo Diarra and Joey O’Brien their first game time of pre-season, with the former Bolton man replacing Guy Demel after the break. The Ivorian supplied the cross for Kevin Nolan’s opener – the Hammers skipper has now scored in each of the last two but was subbed off on 51 minutes as a precaution after picking up a knock. Jack Collison also found the net as Allardyce’s side maintained their 100% winning record in a match that saw Dutchman Orlando Engelaar earn game time as a triallist. Andy Carroll (heel) and George McCartney (knee) remain on the sidelines for the Hammers.

Preston 0 Liverpool 4
Brendan Rodgers gave all four of his new summer recruits the chance to impress at Deepdale; Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure featured from the start while Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto climbed off the bench at half-time. Philippe Coutinho broke the deadlock from the spot after being hauled down in the box within 15 minutes, while youngster Jordan Ibe hammered home the second from long range. Aspas was the standout performer, though – he teed up Raheem Sterling for the Reds’ third before grabbing the fourth with an impressive 25-yard strike. Injury-wise, Daniel Sturridge remains on the sidelines, Joe Allen and Martin Kelly returned after long-term problems, but Steven Gerrard was omitted despite returning to full training. After the match, Rodgers was quick to praise Aspas’ impact:

“Iago works hard; he’s got a trick in and around the box and he excites supporters. He drifts well in between the lines and always wants to receive the ball. But what I like is that he wants to score goals. He’s looking to create and combine or go solo by himself and get a shot in. His goal was a terrific strike.”

Tamworth 0 West Brom 4
Steve Clarke’s side cruised to victory in a behind-closed-doors match against the Conference outfit. Nicolas Anelka teed up James Morrison for the opener before Shane Long headed home the second just prior to the half-hour mark. The Baggies boss made 10 changes at the break and saw Markus Rosenberg notch the third courtesy of a Gabriel Tamas cross, while Saido Berahino completed the scoring, with Billy Jones supplying the final pass.

Indonesia XI 0 Arsenal 7
The Gunners cruised to victory in their first match of the summer. Theo Walcott opening the scoring thanks to an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain assist before Chuba Akpom gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead at the break. Arsene Wenger made 10 changes in the second-half, with Olivier Giroud climbing off the bench to notch twice, while Lukas Podolski, Kris Olsson and Thomas Eisfield completed the scoring. Oxlade-Chamberlain was hailed as the most impressive performer for Wenger’s side before he made way at the break.

VfL Bochum 1 Aston Villa 1
Paul Lambert’s side registered their third successive 1-1 draw of the summer in the final fixture of their Germany tour. The Villa boss continued his policy of utilising the depth of his squad and replaced his starting XI after the break – new boy Nicklas Helenius scored for the second time in three games for the midlanders, an indication he’s taking little time to settle and may be ready to step up at centre-forward should Christian Benteke up and leave.

Austria Vienna 2 Everton 1
The Toffees were narrowly defeated by a host side gearing up for the start of their domestic season next week. Just one new signing – Joel Robles – featured, though Roberto Martinez started with the likes of Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman, with Baines providing the assist for Vellios’ consolation. Martinez made eight changes at the break but Everton were unable to pull another goal back.

Supersport United 2 Man City 0
Manuel Pellegrini tasted defeat in his first match in charge of City on Sunday afternoon. The Chilean is clearly still in the initial stages of refining his squad and made wholesale changes after the break, with out-of-favour Scott Sinclair even afforded some game time having recovered from shoulder surgery. Elsewhere in the side, Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta have yet to join up with the tour after representing Argentine in World Cup qualifiers over the summer. Post-match, Pellegrini stressed he was unconcerned with the result and went on to admit he expects to see some new additions arriving soon:

“The players were clear with what they had to do in this game. I spoke with them before the match and we had four or five days working together. We’re not prepared to play the way we want them to play so this was a normal match for pre-season. I’m not worried and this is what we expected. We are not in a hurry to bring new players in but we are clear that we need two or three more before the season begins. It’s difficult to say a date for any new arrivals, but before July finishes I think we will have more players.”

Post-match reports suggest Yaya Toure will be assessed by the club’s medical staff after limping off on 84 minutes.

C.S. Cartagines 0 Fulham 3
The Cottagers got off to a convincing start in the opening match of their Costa Rica tour. While Martin Jol took the opportunity to utilise 22 players over the 90 minutes – with nine changes occurring at the break – there’s no surprise to learn it was Dimitar Berbatov who inflicted most of the damage with a first-half double. The Bulgarian slotted home a Patjim Kasami pass to open the scoring before notching a spot-kick after John Arne Riise had been fouled in the box. Bryan Ruiz added the third on 73 minutes, firing home after collecting a pass from Hugo Rodallega.

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1,240 Comments Post a Comment
  1. d1sable
    • Has Moderation Rights
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Just thought i would let those that care know that sky have informed me that Marco Van Ginkel's price was a mistake and they will be changing it from 3.6 to 5.1.

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      You contacted them about the price?

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    2. Kings of Lyon ★
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Itll be interesting to see how this will affect teams with Van Ginkel at 3.6 and zero budget left

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      1. Epic Fail
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Aye 1 of my teams is like that. I reckon it'll show a negative figure that you have to correct.

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        1. Kings of Lyon ★
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Yeah that would make sense. Just a bit of a pain.

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    3. Gigging Order
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Thanks D1SABLE, will we be able to take advantage of it at 3.6 if we put him in or will it put us over and unable to confirm?

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    4. In Like Flynn.
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Crazy to start changing prices when they've been set. Sets a terrible precedence imo.

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    5. In Like Flynn.
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Can't find him in the list at all now.

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  2. Gigging Order
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    A bit of research on what I consider to be the optimal captain picks for the Sky game.

    Taking into account the fact that your Sunday/Monday captain will be locked in for the following GW, so you need to choose a captain which A has a game the following week and B a fairly favourable fixture.

    I also found that there were only two occasions where it is worth taking advantage of the fact you can get 3 captains by transferring out your captain and not using a captain change.

    And even these are both Newcastle so probably not that useful (although Cabaye, HBA, Gouffran and Cisse are worth monitoring)

    Week 1
    Liv/Ars/Utd ---> Tot/Che ----> New

    Week 2
    New ---->Man City

    Week 3
    Man City ---> Man Utd

    Week 4
    Man Utd ----> Swansea/ Liverpool

    Week 5
    Swansea/Liverpool ----> Man Utd

    Week 6
    Man Utd-----> Liverpool -----> Newcastle

    Week 7
    Newcastle ----> Chelsea

    Week 8
    Chelsea ----> Tottenham

    Week 9
    Tottenham ----> Man City

    Week 10
    Man City ----> Everton

    Week 11
    Everton ----> Man City

    Week 12
    Man City -----> Man Utd

    Week 13
    Man Utd -----> Liverpool

    Week 14
    Liverpool ----->

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    1. GreenWindmill
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I've not got involved in the Sky game enough to know how accurate/useful this is but it looks like the kind of thing which deserves an upvote at the very least, I’ll leave it to others who understand the situation better to determine if it needs stickying/hot topicing 😉

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      1. Brutus619
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Not worth hulking although a great post. Not everyone will have all these teams in their squad (I'm missing United first 3 GWs for example)

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        1. GreenWindmill
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Cheers Brutus - I'll bow to your knowledge here 🙂

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      2. Gigging Order
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Thanks! Not looking for a hulking or up-votes, just thought it was worth sharing 🙂

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    2. In Like Flynn.
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I take it you are actually trying to win this game above everyone else? 😉

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      1. Gigging Order
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Yes 🙂 Just feeling charitable! 🙂

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    3. In Like Flynn.
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      The third player (transfer) will only get you single points Gigging.

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      1. Gigging Order
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Thanks ILF, I was unsure of this, therefore I may revise the above and remove the Newcastle players.

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        1. In Like Flynn.
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Copied in my email reply from them below.

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      1. Gigging Order
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Interesting that we vary so much... just goes to prove that the game will still be very variable depending on captain scores

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  3. Brutus619
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Has anyone got their Sky captaincies figured out?

    Boruc

    Clyne, Shaw, Rat

    Bale, Caz, Coutinho, Gouffran, Paulinho

    Aguero, RVW

    I think I'll start with RVW/Caz against Eve/Villa.
    Sunday will switch to Bale v Palace

    Following Sunday I have to only have Bale v Swans as there are no Monday games for my players.

    Switch to Aguero v Hull for Saturday and then go for Bale v Arsenal on Sunday. OR Could keep (C) on Aguero and then transfer him to RVP v Palace following Saturday followed by Coutinho v Liverpool for Monday.

    Any better captaincy strategies I could take? What are you lot doing with your captain picks?

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    1. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Timing 🙂

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    2. shirtless
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Ruddy
      Rat Lovren Luna
      Bale Walcott Coutinho De Guzman Mirallas
      RVP Sturridge

      Saturday (c) RVP
      Sunday (c) Bale
      Monday Studge>Aguero and (c)

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      1. Brutus619
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Genius -_-

        Love my team but it's a complete pain captaincy wise.

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  4. Do fixture proof players really exist?
    GreenWindmill
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    I've seen a few names bandied about recently as being 'fixture proof' which I wasn't convinced by so I've done a little digging...

    I reviewed the 2012/13 FPL stats to look at the top players and how they performed in the 'big' fixtures compared to other games. I've classed the big games as those vs the top 5, this is a fairly crude measure but served my purposes well enough. (I also checked out what happened when I threw Everton and Liverpool into the mix to make it the top 7 but it had no major impact on the conclusions)

    I did this for the top 25 FPL scoring midfielders and strikers - big thanks to Roscola for making this information readily available.

    FIXTURE PROOF
    -------------------------
    Players I found to be basically fixture proof (no significant variation between scores vs top 5 and scores vs others)

    Van Persie, Bale, Cazorla, Michu, Lambert, Gerrard, Fellaini, Berbatov, Ba, Snodgrass, Silva.

    BORDERLINE FIXTURE PROOF
    -----------------------------------------------
    Players I found to be almost fixture proof (a significant variation but still scoring well vs top 5)

    Suarez, Walcott, A. Johnson, Pienaar, Tevez.

    SUPER FIXTURE PROOF
    -------------------------------------
    Players I found to actually perform better in the bigger games (higher scores vs top 5 than scores vs others)

    Mata, Yaya.

    FLAT TRACK BULLIES
    ----------------------------------
    Players I found to be more heavily affected by fixtures (a large drop between their normal scores and those vs top 5)

    Hazard, Benteke, Lampard, Podolski, Rooney, Lukaku

    Note - Lukaku had extremely limited gametime against the top 5 so his figures may be unfairly skewed.

    SUPER FLAT TRACK BULLY
    -------------------------------------------

    Kevin Nolan. Kevin Nolan is such a bully he requires his own category - he averaged only 1.89 PPG vs the top 5 as opposed to an overal PPG of 4.26. Indeed, none of Nolan's 10 goals and 2 assists came against top 10 opposition.

    I'm happy to share specific stats to back these conclusions up but I'm aware this is rambling enough without a load of extra numbers thrown in to the mix.

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    1. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Nice analysis, quite a few players for mid table teams are fixture proof based on that.

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    2. Smarty Pants
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Great! Nolan is the first name in my team then! 🙂

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      1. Mílanista
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Very tempting with the fixtures isn't it? Love that he has his own category 😀

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        1. Smarty Pants
          • 14 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Exactly. Has to be go after GW6 though!

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      2. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Predictability of points hauls is a very useful trait - Nolan is frighteningly predictable it seems!

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        1. PDM TOP 1,000 any Season Le…
          • 14 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Great segment Greenwindmill .

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          1. CBC
            • 14 Years
            10 years, 8 months ago

            Agreed! Very useful.

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    3. In Tommy We Trust
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Nice work GW. A Johnson appeals to me here with Sunderland fixtures. Was on the watchlist but had removed him because of the fixture computer

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      1. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        A Johnson just crept into the list - was surprised enough to check the figures twice on him!

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        1. In Tommy We Trust
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Still a good sign or was it because his overall ppg wasn't what we expected out of him?

          Worth of a HT 😉

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          1. GreenWindmill
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 12 Years
            10 years, 8 months ago

            Aw shucks 😳

            Johnson averaged 4.17 PPG throughout the season - not sure if that's an expected result?

            2 of his 5 goals came against top opposition (Chelsea and Man City) so he made it into the borderline fixture proof list.

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            1. In Tommy We Trust
              • 13 Years
              10 years, 8 months ago

              4.17 is actually higher than I thought 😯

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            2. In Tommy We Trust
              • 13 Years
              10 years, 8 months ago

              You can't push yourself to HT your own stuff can you?

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              1. GreenWindmill
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 12 Years
                10 years, 8 months ago

                I'm not sure any of us can 😉

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    4. Demí
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Nice work. I think it's also worth pointing out the players new to the league being fixture proof should be taken with a pinch of salt, e.g. the likes of Lambert and Michu likely having a tougher time in their second season now defences know about them. They could continue to do well which would mean they've accustomed to the league very well, and will continue to be good fpl options, but they could also fail to live up last season, and fall into mediocrity, giving the true value of how good they really are.

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      1. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Good point(s). If I had more time on my hands I'd have looked at more seasons to see if any other patterns emerged but that's not something I can do at the moment.

        Perhaps someone could do an analysis on second season syndrome - I'd be interested to see that.

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    5. Dino
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Fantastic work GWs. A flaw (and strength as it is a main reason for my consistency) of mine is that I do a lot of fixture analysis and am not afraid to take form players out based on poor fixtures. Your analysis will make me question taking certain players out based on fixtures in future.

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    6. roscola
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Quality, quality stuff Windy. That's a brilliant analysis

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    7. Scroobius Mac
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Excellent post. Just wonder if you changed it for Top 5 best defences would that change? Liverpool for example had a better defence than Spurs or Arsenal.

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      1. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        I expanded the stats to encompass the top 7 but it didn't change a lot, I didn't swap teams in and out of the mix though which could be different.

        If I was really organised I'd have done it by perceived fixture difficulty (perhaps Swansea away is tougher than Tottenham at home for example?) but I went for the quick and dirty approach 🙂

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    8. Gigging Order
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Actually I think the most useful/interesting result is that Snodgrass performs just as well against whoever...

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    9. Dr Dream
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Great stats...one or two anomolies in there though. Where did Rooney play under SAF against the to five ?...If it was CDM then his figures are misleading (assuming Moyes plays him higher up the pitch (?))...Similar anomilies for Walcott as well, where did he play against certain teams...Finally...Benteke only really found his feet from mid Dec onwards and then scored against just about anybody who was put in front of him, or did he ?...How do his figures look from that point onwards ?....is he fixture proof ?

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      1. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Benteke's figures are what made me do this in the first place - in 10 games against the top 5 he managed just 22 points and a single goal (coinciding with a red card to cancel it out!)

        His only score of more than 2 points against a top 5 team came against Man Utd in early November when he got an assist in a 2-3 defeat.

        He fared well against Liverpool and Everton but the top 5 were too much for him it seems.

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    10. Cak Juris
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Bony will take over Michu's role for next season, so put Bony from first GW....

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  5. Kings of Lyon ★
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    I really hope the wee man goes out on loan this year, he's got some amount of potential.

    http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8815105/Chelsea-looking-to-tie-down-Islam-Feruz-to-a-new-deal-at-Stamford-Bridge

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    1. thehut
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      good scottish player

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      1. Kings of Lyon ★
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        We've got a fair few coming through. The future is bright. Im loving the work the Mark Wotte is doing

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        1. thehut
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Agreed, however i think we were rather lucky to land Feruz!

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          1. Kings of Lyon ★
            • 13 Years
            10 years, 8 months ago

            We've not landed him yet. He needs a full cap, and this qual campaign would be an ideal time to blood him for a final 15 mins

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  6. shirtless
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Yes I had planned to captain RVP and start with Sturridge or Saurez up top, then captain Bale on Sunday, the get Aguero in and captain on Monday for my scouse striker. Busy few days!

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    1. shirtless
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      REPLY FAIL to Brutus above!

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  7. SuperOsçarBaby
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Anyone that have a twitter account and up for a challenge in FPL Competitions League?

    Just follow a few easy steps!
    1- Follow this account -> @FPL247
    2- Just ask or reply to join the FPLCL and FPLFACUP league.
    3- Then they will DM you the code!

    Thanks.

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  8. shirtless
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Off to a non-league pre-season game tonight. Doesn't seem right in this heat!

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  9. thehut
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    So i see the FPL site has changed from the last time i was on it to the updating page, last time i was on you were still able to log in but do nothing else.

    When did this change happen and is the opening of the site imminent?

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Must have changed recently. I checked about half an hour ago and it wasn't like that.

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      1. Ings on the up
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        I checked 20mins ago and I could access my squad from last season

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      2. thehut
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        cheers, just now was the first time i checked it since friday

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      3. Yossi
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Don't get my hopes up, I always seem to fall for about 20 of these false starts each season, at least there's no picture of bloody Steven Fletcher taunting me this time 😉

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        1. Epic Fail
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          😀

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  10. saata
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    "The game is being updated.

    The game is currently being updated. Please try again later when the updated scores / teams will be available."

    (party) It's coming 🙂

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    1. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      EXCITEMENT

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    2. In Tommy We Trust
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      NAVAS

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    3. Parm
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      OMFG!!! 😀 😛 🙂 :mrgreen: ❓ ❗ 🙁 😮 😯 😕 😎 😡 😐 😉 😆 😳 😥 👿 😈 🙄 💡 ➡

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      1. PDM TOP 1,000 any Season Le…
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Excitement Time !

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      2. Thomass
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Parm's getting way too excited

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    4. WithEase
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I am excite!

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  11. MrX
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Just went on the site...

    "The game is being updated.

    The game is currently being updated. Please try again later when the updated scores / teams will be available."

    Gotta be close!

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    1. lfcserg
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      YEAAAA

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    2. Thomass
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Cannot Wait my guess is 4pm, get Daniel on!

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  12. In Like Flynn.
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    To try and clear up some of the Sky Captaincy thing.

    Dear Mr Cadwallader

    Thank you for your recent correspondence.

    If you had already used your captaincy change on the Sunday and then made a transfer of your captain on the Monday, the player will only be eligible to score double points from the next game that begins on the following Saturday at 00:01am. He will just score points as normal player in the game on Monday.

    Kind regards

    Sky FF

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      In Layman's terms... The 3 captains in 1 week thing won't work?

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      1. In Like Flynn.
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        2 + a single score Epicfail. Is the best I think you can get. He will be your captain for the following GW but you'll have used a transfer to get him.

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    2. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      No triple captaincy then. Looks like the Sky game is run by amateurs, along with changing Van Ginkel's price this contradicts what they emailed D1sable.

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    3. Damo.
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Might be a stupid question but what about the other way round? Using a transfer then (c) change?

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      1. In Like Flynn.
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Still only two in any GW.

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    4. Brutus619
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Actually, what if you use your captaincy change AFTER transferring captain number 1 to 2!?

      You could do 1/SWITCH 2/CHANGE 3

      (C) 1: Sat
      (C) 2: Sun
      (C) 3: Mon

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    5. Gigging Order
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Ok, so basically the guy who emailed D1SABLE was clueless....

      It did seem odd.

      Thanks for clearing this up ILF

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    6. teddy.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      OK, clarifies a bit. You would at least be able to get double points for the Saturday game, but you'd only have one captain that week.

      Do we have it confirmed that if you transfer out your captain the incoming player takes the armband and scores double in any remaining games that gameweek?

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      1. teddy.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Ha! Skim read your post. That is what we have confirmed. Ignore me. You can score points from a new captain from Saturday 00:01, but not for the transfer in.

        My captain schedule works in that case. You could also use your weekly transfer to change captain for the Saturday games, but only have one captain in that gw.

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        1. In Like Flynn.
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          After the Saturday you would still have the captain change for the week.

          A lot of people will miss out on two a week though. Or end up with crap options.

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      2. In Like Flynn.
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        No, you can get two captains every week Teddy. But it takes a lot of planning in advance and may use up some transfers to get there.
        You sometimes get an extra single score thrown in.

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  13. Thomass
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    The game is updating!! Whoooooo

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  14. saata
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Everybody clicking F5?

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    1. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Nope, relying on others thank you very much.

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    2. Parm
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Hope, clicking the home button instead 😎

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      1. saata
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Me too.. Refreshing http://fantasy.premierleague.com/updating/ will always bring you to the "updating" page 🙂

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    3. saata
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I got a bit tired.. I need some energy drinks to keep clicking..

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    4. Yossi
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I wouldn't do that. I'm not 100% sure but I think that just refreshes it to the updating page (I could be wrong). I'm clicking the home button instead 🙂

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      1. saata
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        I think it should not.. Refresh should redo the request and your request isn't to the updating page. You've been redirected there..

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    5. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Nah cause even if it updated it would still take you to the update page.

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  15. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    :-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D

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    1. Thomass
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      * 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

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  16. Thomass
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Everyone press F5 on the FPL site

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      No.

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  17. SuperOsçarBaby
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    FPL ID: 11 😎

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    1. Thomass
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Please stop it, the game hasn't launched yet! Just Chill 😀

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      1. SuperOsçarBaby
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        team done

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    2. In Like Flynn.
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      So link it.

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      1. SuperOsçarBaby
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        enter 11 in fpl history. 😉

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  18. Adam West - Team Serbia for…
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Bet it does not open till next week 🙂

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    1. Adam West - Team Serbia for…
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      FPL teasing us. Just like God teased Moses in the desert

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    2. Yossi
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Meh, most of the fun is in the anticipation anyway, when it actually launches I'll have nothing to do for weeks, not much of a tinkerer pre-season..

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  19. Kings of Lyon ★
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Updating starts lunchtime on monday. I reckon a couple of days UAT and we'll be in on Thursday 🙁

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    1. saata
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      You don't need to bring down production web site in order to do some UAT. Usually you do it on a separate UAT environment..

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      1. Kings of Lyon ★
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Thats a fair point actually.

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    2. Demí
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I presume it showed the updating page before going live in all the previous seasons too. Did this last a few days before aswell, can you remember?

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      1. Mílanista
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        If I remember correctly the updating page comes on launch day.

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        1. Demí
          • 13 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          😮

          Brilliant news then!

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        2. Ryan
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          Noooo!

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      2. Kings of Lyon ★
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        It definitely did. I seem to remember it not being as long as I was expecting. Not 100% though

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      3. Smarty Pants
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Something was happening with FPL before it opened last season. Ask Demi for further details 😆
        http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2012/07/19/fpl-player-list-analysis-the-midfielders-2/?hc_page=3#hc_comment_2502894

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  20. Just A Hat
    • 14 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Surely Fabregas won't move to Man Utd?!

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Why not?

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      1. Just A Hat
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Doesn't he hate Moyes? And if he is available you would think Arsenal would be the first to have a go at signing him back

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      2. lfcserg
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        If he returns to the EPL he'll go back 2 arsenal trust me

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    2. teddy.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Hope not. We have first refusal, but if we're willing to sell the league to Utd in the form of RVP, we might not invoke it...

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  21. Bootsy: Snoddy's Reven…
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    When you first lay eyes on the player list, what's the first thing you will look for?

    I'll probably go to Everton to check on Mirallis and Coleman....

    If Kevin Mirallis is a 7.5m midfielder then Bootsy's pants are going to expode!!

    Then i'll head to the goalkeepers priced 4.5m and under, praying for Ruddy....

    Then round it off with a visit to the 4.0m defenders.....so critical...

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    1. In Tommy We Trust
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Price of Debuchy/Santon, Shaw/Clyne, Turner/Martin and Ridgewell/Jones

      See if all this Uber chat was worthwhile 😉

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    2. saata
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      .. and whether Michu is classified as a midfielder..

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    3. FPL price manipulators are …
      • 10 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Demel

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    4. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      RVP and Bale

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    5. Keane There Dunne That
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      What miralles,Walcott and Michu is classified as.
      Chelsea/Southampton/Norwich/west ham backs
      Bale and RVP

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  22. Brutus619
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    OK so based on this team I've settled for the following captaincy patterns, any advice?:

    Boruc

    Clyne, Shaw, Rat

    Bale, Caz, Coutinho, Gouffran, Paulinho

    Aguero, RVW

    Pattern:

    18th Bale v Palace
    19th Gouf v City
    24th Gouf v WH
    25th Aguero v Cardiff
    31st Aguero v Hull
    1st Bale v Arsenal
    14th Bale (Transfer in RVP for Aguero) v Norwich
    16th Coutinho v Swans
    21st Coutinho v Southampton
    22nd RVP v City
    28th RVP v W Brom
    etc.

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    1. Sánchez
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      1 huge tip.
      Never plan months in advance.
      I tried it ladt year. It doesn't work.
      Soon as i stopped it, my form increased dramatically.
      Play based on players form an week to week.
      Maximum, look 3-4 weeks ahead except for dgws.
      Like the overall winner last year done.

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      1. Brutus619
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        That's one for the FPL game mate.

        The sky game captaincy rules do require you to plan at least 5 weeks in advance to make sure you don't miss out on a captain slot or are stuck with the worst fixtures because your Sunday captain has a terrible game the following Saturday.

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        1. Brutus619
          • 12 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          I gave you an upvote anyway because it is a good tip for FPL 🙂

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  23. In Tommy We Trust
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Anyone checked to see if the player price list is still open on FPL?

    Haven't got the link to check myself

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    1. heco87
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Hasn't been updated: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/player-list/

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    2. Yossi
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Yep, it's still there

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    3. saata
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      It's no matter the link.. every request is redirected to the "updating" page..
      Check http://fantasy.premierleague.com/asdsadsadasdasdasdasdasdasdasdsad
      as an example..

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      1. Billy Gilmore
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Or not... 😉

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        1. saata
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          10 years, 8 months ago

          (blush)

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  24. Thomass
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Lets hope that the defenders aren't that expensive like the sky game

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  25. Ryan
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Dilemna on my hands. I may be on holiday at the moment but its 1am. How long does it normally take when the game is updating? Is it worth it to stay up, I don't want a 4am situation 😉

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    1. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      2.15am launch for you 😉

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      1. Ryan
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Rolls are reversed. Suddenly its not good being on the other side of the world.

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      2. Sánchez
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        😀

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    2. heco87
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      It's definitely not worth staying up for. It could easily be a few days until it opens.

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      1. Kings of Lyon ★
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Plus one.

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      2. Ryan
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 12 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Geez really? Did it take days last time when it was updating? You're probably right.

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      3. Yossi
        • 13 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        This, I'd only keep trying if you've nothing else to do.

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  26. /
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    People actually use the F5 button? I always just click the refresh symbol.

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  27. Gigging Order
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    FFS in a nutshell:

    Top half of the page: GW's incredible analysis

    Bottom of the page: "WOOOOOOOOO" "F5!!!!!!" "FPL ID 11"

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  28. Epic Fail
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Are you...

    A) Eager to get a low ID
    B) Eager to go and have a tinker
    C) Both
    D) Neither

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    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      B for me. A is just a byproduct of it.

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      1. lfcserg
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 months ago

        Just B, I don't get what's the big deal with getting a low ID tbh...

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    2. Ryan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      B) But also to see what player prices are.

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    3. CBC
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      D

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    4. AGUEROOOOO!!!!!
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      B

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    5. Kings of Lyon ★
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      B for me

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    6. /
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I just wanna see the prices of the big hitters

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    7. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      B

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    8. SuperOsçarBaby
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      A and see Demel price first!

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  29. Bubbles
    • 14 Years
    10 years, 8 months ago

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was 'updating' for days last year, no?

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    1. Ryan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Ah good, thats a relief. Time for bed 🙂

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    2. Mílanista
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      I thought it was hours, not days. Might be wrong.

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    3. Kings of Lyon ★
      • 13 Years
      10 years, 8 months ago

      Thinking of starting with Torres if Che have a double, you going big?

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