We here at The Four Man Wall believe in delivering to our readers the very best insights on the addiction that is the Fantasy Premier League (FPL). However, we're all miserable at it. Every week one of us will take charge of our FPL team and recount how we fared and if possible impart our wisdom to the masses. We're going to be making a host of changes to the team every single week, so quite naturally we'll be disregarding the negative points. We are confident that our endeavours will reassure everyone that there are worse FPL players out there, and they all joined forces to create this apology of a team. Over to Blogger 18 for week 1.
Blogger #18:
So, fantasy football eh? The idea of being in charge of your
own team. Start whom you want to start, drop whom you want to drop. Obsess over
stats and future fixtures, check for injuries, and ignore homework and
girlfriends. It’s great, isn’t it?
Gameweek One:
Do I bring in Van Persie? Is Dzeko an assured starter? Mata
or Hazard? Who’s going to be this season’s Michu? Should I use my Wildcard?
Even though the first GW is past us, I’m pretty sure you’re still racking your
brain with these questions. How many of you had Coleman in your team? How many
of you had him in your team and removed him in one of your pre-season
reshuffles? If you did, then don’t worry, you’re not alone! Its part of the
fantasy manager life and it’s not going to be the last time either.
#18's expert (lol) advice:
Who's In:
The fixture gods have been kind on Manchester City. They’ve
been given a pretty easy start to the season and their next three games read Cardiff
(A), Hull (H), and Stoke (A). A chance for easy clean sheets, bring in Zabeleta
(6m), who could also pop in with some assists, or Lescott (5.5m). As for the
attackers, it would probably be wise to wait and see who among them is going to
get regular game time, let alone rack up points, under Pellegrini. Would you be
brave enough to pick any, I’d advise Silva (9m) and Dzeko (7.5m), who
Pellegrini has called his ‘main’ striker. The rest, wide berth.
Another team who’ve struck gold as far as the fixtures are
concerned is Liverpool. Although they host Man Utd in two weeks’ time, its followed
by Swansea (A), Southampton (H), Sunderland (A), Palace (H), Newcastle (A) and
West Brom (H). Go for Toure (5m) if you need a cheap defender who guarantees
points. If you’ve got the cash, cash in on Johnson or Enrique (both at 6m),
preferably the former. Similarly, Mignolet (5.5m) was in the 1st GW
dream team. If Coutinho can continue where he left off from last season, he’s a
bargain at 9m. For now, I’d advise picking him over Gerrard (9m). Yeah, I said
it. And Liverpool seem to love the absence of Suarez. Or so say the stats.
Sturridge (9m) should continue banging them in, and the jury’s still out on
Aspas (7m). Go for him if you’re short on cash.
Liverpool and Man City are not the only teams who’ve had it
easy at the start. So’ve West Ham. Their next few fixtures go Newcastle (A),
Stoke (H), Southampton (A), Everton (H) and Hull (A) before they face Spurs
(A). If you don’t have Nolan yet, bring him in. Now, before you regret it
later. Joe Cole (5.6m) might be a cheap yet dependable option for your bench
and I’d place my bets on Jääskeläinen (5.5m) too. Cheap defenders are aplenty,
and take your pick from O’Brien (5.5m), Collins (4.5m) and Reid (5m).
Arsenal don’t want an easy life. For themselves or you
fantasy managers. An opening day thrashing at home to Villa doesn’t look good
but to be fair, they missed Arteta and had bad luck with the red card. That can
easily set it right with Fulham (A), Spurs (H), Sunderland (A), Stoke (H),
Swansea (A) and West Brom (A) coming up for them. Don’t panic. Not yet. Hold on
to your Arsenal players (Walcott (9.5m), Gibbs, Per Mer and Sagna (5.5m)).
Watch out for transfers though. They’re rumoured to be in talks to sign Benzema
and Di Maria. If that does go through, waste no time in selling Giroud (8.5m)
who otherwise would be a very good bet.
Jumped on to the Ross Barkley bandwagon yet? No, I’m not
insulting you. FPL is all about jumping on and off bandwagons. You just have to
try and see them coming. At (4.6m), he comes cheap, and if his reviews are
anything to go by (Tim Cahill has said Barkley is the best young talent he’s
played with), what a buy he could be. But no gains come without pain, and
Barkley could return to the bench once Darren Gibson returns from his injury.
But with Fellaini (8.5m) linked with a move to Man Utd, he could be given
serious first team action. Buy. But sell him STRAIGHT AWAY if it doesn’t work
out, and you could beat the price drop. As for the other Everton players, buy
Baines (7.5m) over Coleman (5.1m) if you feel the additional 1.9m is worth it
for Baines’ set pieces. I don’t feel it is. Their fixture list looks easy
enough, and barring the jarring Chelsea(H), their fixtures read Cardiff (A),
Chelsea (H), West Ham (A) and Newcastle (H). I’d avoid Jelavic (7.5m) or Kone
(7m) until I can figure out who Martinez prefers. As for midfielders other than
Barkley, I’d strongly advise bringing in Mirallas (7.5m) over Fellaini (8.5m)
or Pienaar(7m). Like Baines and Coleman, Mirallas will benefit from Everton
changing to a back three and increased focus on building through the wings.
Expect to see more dribbles and goals.
Who's Out:
Chelsea have had an easy DGW, and those of you who had the
right Chelsea players must be delighted. However, with a trip to Man Utd (A)
followed by a blank GW lying in wait, it’s time you started unloading them over
the course of two weeks, preferably starting with the defenders. Hold on to
Lampard or Hazard or Mata or De Bruyne (really?) if you have them, but the
rest? Sell. If you’ve one of Torres, Ba, or Lukaku, I really can’t help you.
When a team’s manager comes out and moans about the opening
fixtures, it would be wise to take his advice! And David Moyes wasn’t bluffing
either. United’s fixture list for the next 4 games reads Chelsea (H), Liverpool
(A), Crystal Palace (H), Man City (A).
The fixtures do ease up after that, but that’s for another day.
But while on the topic of Man Utd, what about their Dutch
striker? ‘RVP or not’ was probably each fantasy manager’s biggest decision. At
14m, he certainly doesn’t come in cheap. But you get what you pay for, and
Persie guarantees you goals. Personally, I feel he’s worth the money. But,
money saved by omitting him could certainly be invested to strengthen your
squad on the whole. Your call.
Swansea can feel similarly hard done by, with every other
game being Spurs (A), Liverpool (H), and Arsenal (H). Michu has been linked
with a transfer out, and even otherwise Bony’s capture could see him play in a
deeper role. If you already have him, don’t panic. But otherwise, I’d wait out
the storm before turning to Swansea players.
The others and the rest. And some tips:
I can’t think high enough of Southampton, and I really feel
they’re gonna comfortably finish in the top half. What does this augur for FPL?
With players like Wanyama coming in to shore up the defensive aspect, Artur
Boruc (4.5m) looks a great bet. Those of you who were clever enough (unlike me)
to bring in Luke Shaw (4.6m) before his price increase, or otherwise, never
sell! As for Lambert (7.5m), his place isn’t assured anymore with Osvaldo (8m)
coming in. Don’t sell him yet though. He’ll still play the next few games as
Osvaldo is eased in.They face Sunderland (H) followed by Norwich (A) and West
Ham (H).
The promoted teams are always a good place to look for cheap
players to populate your bench. Cardiff City provide you with a plethora of
options with Bellamy (5.5m), Kim (5m), who as impressed in pre-season, and
Whittingham (5m), who is their appointed set piece taker, to choose from.
Aston Villa haven’t been granted any boons and after an
insanely tough opening DGW, they travel to Liverpool, followed by a blank GW.
Cheerful, isn’t it? Stay away from their midfielders and defenders. If you want
Benteke (9.1m) and haven’t got him yet, I’d advise waiting until after the
blank GW.
Fulham’s purchase of Darren Bent (6.5m) makes it interesting
for Berbatov (7.5m). Usually an assured starter, it will be interesting to see
how Martin Jol accommodates Berbatov, Bent, Ruiz (5.9m), Duff (6m)and Taraabt (6m)
in the same team. I wouldn’t advise buying anyone of them at the moment but if
you already have, wait it out.
Spurs aren’t done shopping yet. So, you can’t really pick
any of their attackers for sure, except Soldado (9.5m). Although he doesn’t
come cheap, he will start most of the games. If you can spare the cash, buy. At
the other end Michael Dawson (5m) looks to be an assured starter, and could get
you some clean sheets, with Tottenham facing Swansea (H), Arsenal (A), Norwich
(H) and Cardiff City (A) over the next few weeks.
If you’re looking for marquee signings, and are willing to
take the risk, I’d advise going for Adam Johnson of Sunderland (7m). He’s a
crucial part of Di Canio’s plans for Sunderland and looked good on the opening
weekend. Such signings could define your season and give you some unrivalled
points from that one player your friends ignored.
As far as goalkeepers go, Boruc (4.5m), Mignolet, Jääskeläinen, and Begovic (5.5m) are good choices.
I’d advise picking your goalkeepers early in the season, and sticking to them.
Goalkeepers above 5.5m are really not worth their price, so I’d avoid the likes
of Hart (6.5m), De Gea (6m), Lloris (6m) and Cech (6.5m). And try to pick two
goalkeepers who play for teams close to each other geographically. For security
reasons, the Premier League rarely makes such teams play their home games and
vice versa on the same day or week. This way, you can be assured that at least
one of your keepers play at home almost every GW. For example, Swansea and
Cardiff City have alternating home and away fixtures EVERY GW.
 | |
| Our team for GW 1 |
So, good luck for the rest of the year! Unless of course,
you’re in my league.
Until later,
Blogger #18
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