CHEERS TO THE CHIEF! (and my GW38 JackInTheBox pick too)

I want to tell you all a little story. In September 2012, having caught the FPL bug, I timidly ventured into the Twitter world knowing that there would be "real" football fans out there that I could learn from, be jealous of (I live in America, where proper football hasn't quite caught on like it has in the rest of the entire known world), and maybe even interact with. I was hooked on FPL like crazy and thought I might be able to get a leg up on my all-American minileague by secretly searching out the experts.

One of the first people to offer a kind word of welcome was some guy named @fplhints. He seemed genuinely nice and more importantly at the time, had a moment to spare for some ignorant American whose team consisted only of names that could be easily identified by anyone who checked into ESPN.COM for 5 minutes on a daily basis. 

He had created a "list" of solid FPL accounts and that list became my home for the rest of the season. I read a lot, I followed closely, trying to soak up as much info and knowledge as I could. Mr. Hints seemed to approach the game a little differently than other accounts I followed. He made moves that didn't make sense to me because of my limited knowledge, but they always seemed to pan out. I gradually got glimpses into his mind and over time things made a little more sense. The Chief, along with a few other accounts I had gotten to know (@desmythen and @TheRealRickLea) taught me for the first time how to "think like an FPL player" as opposed to playing like a fan of the sport and simply choosing players I liked or had become familiar with.

I stuck around (I was too addicted not to) and continued to interact, always appreciating the Chief's knowledge, insight, and rock-solid professionalism. In a world where it's easy to vent and wind up people who you have never met, the Chief never had a bad thing to say and treated EVERYONE as an equal and with the utmost respect. I had come to not only appreciate his premium knowledge but also to respect his character.


I finished the season on a complete high. I was on an awesome run of green arrows and reached heights I never thought imaginable. I guess my excitement became evident in my tweets and in my interaction. Before I knew it, two of the best in the business (Chief and Ryan of @FantasyYirma) were encouraging me to write articles about my FPL experience, and in a moment that I hope he does not regret, Chief asked me if I would be interested in contributing to his blog for the following season (this one).

So, on a complete high and with a wave of enthusiasm unlike any other I had experienced in FPL, that's how my little venture with the FPLHints site started. In addition to me, Chief asked the 15th ranked FPL player in the world to join the site as well, and Chief, Matej (Mr. @CalledItFPL himself) and I quickly gelled. Fly joined a little while later, after the season had started, and Chief's vision for creating the perfect little FPL family had completed itself. They were the brains of the operation, the top-notch FPL managers, and I was the kooky, amped up American riding a wave of improvement that still didn't get me anywhere close to their league, but I was PSYCHED.

And, as those of you who have followed the site for the entire season well know, it all fell apart for me before things really even got started. During the first 4 weeks of the season, a period I now half-lovingly (not really) refer to as Lukaku-gate, I hit FPL lows that I had never experienced even during that first year when I didn't know my behind from my elbow. Here I was, coming off a wave of glory, coasting into a new season as a contributor to a well-respected blog, someone who is expected to know his stuff, with a certain pressure to perform, and I was completely tanking.

I didn't handle it well. 

I couldn't hide my pain, I couldn't hide my frustration, and words spewed forth from my fingers in ways and at speeds that I didn't know were possible. At times I didn't even know where they were coming from. It was pure emotion, pure pain, and pure immaturity. I quite frankly, although some of my articles were pretty funny, was embarrassing myself and more importantly, was embarrassing Chief, Matej, Fly and the entire site. I didn't know what to do.  I wanted to take the high road but couldn't deal with the failure. I wanted to take the Chief's approach of respectability and dignity but just fell apart. Before I knew it, I had become known for my rants, or, as Bantasy Football might say, for my severe "moron-ness".

Through it all Chief encouraged me. Never a reprimand. Never a reminder that the site was meant to be a respectable source of information or a suggestion that I was overstepping the lines. Never a hint that he was embarrassed or concerned about the profane-laced articles I was writing on my personal blog or the stupid, moronic ranty tweets that I would never want to claim as being my own after having calmed down. NEVER.

If the blog was mine; if I had spent the better part of 4 years building and establishing a well-respected blog that had become known as a source of quality information for dedicated FPL managers and then someone like me came along and acted the way that I did (whether on the blog itself or in the Twittersphere, where my actions as a contributor must have some overlap towards the image of the blog as a whole), I would have wanted to have nothing to do with me.

Not Chief. And not once. NOT ONCE did he voice any concern or give me any indication that I was making him uncomfortable. If I were him, I would have been squirming every day, wondering how bad things were going to get, how much of the respectability of the site this lunatic American with the crappy luck would erode away through his constant complaints and rants.

The Chief stuck by me through it all; always encouraging, always accepting, always providing the underlying rock-solid, unwavering foundation that Matej, Fly, Steven Dolphin, Jake Rudman and I needed and that caused us all to ultimately thrive in our interactions, our sense of family, our sense of belonging to something far-reaching and incredible.

We just "fit". We enjoyed each other's comments, we soaked up each other's suggestions and ideas, we enjoyed each other's articles, we had fun bantering with one another and with the community. The site, in many ways, became something bigger and better than probably any of us ever expected. Except maybe Chief. He did his homework. He somehow knew that this group of guys had what it took to collectively create something bigger and better than any of them could have created on their own.

His vision and leadership has been as flawless as any season-long, multi-faceted endeavor could ever be. He has become a friend to us all, and the way he's touched our lives goes far and above anything that you could ever see on the printed page of a blog. I'm getting choked up just writing this, but he's THAT kind of guy. It's been an honour and a privilege to be associated with Chief and this group of guys.

By the way, who's playing this gameweek? Oh, does anybody really give a rat's patootey about the bottom 8 at this stage of the game? With the relegation battle all but over and the most (well, maybe second most after GW37) unpredictable lineups of the season about to come out for a season-finishing jog, let's stick with the mighty Sunderland Black Cats and Fabio Borini for this week's #JackInTheBox.

By the way....if, like me, you've been following the Chief on Twitter forever,  you've always pictured him as Alan Pardew, right? ;)

The one. The only. The Chief of @FPLHints. Thank you for everything my friend. You are an amazing man.

GW37 FPL #JackInTheBox

I pick guys from the bottom 8

Whose ownership is low

We call the guy #JackInTheBox

But all this stuff, you know

I've used my head, I've used my gut

But neither has produced a score

I wish that I'd be cheering but

My recent run is 0 for 4

I can't recall my last success

I'm old, my memory stinks

I've really got to fix this mess

Come on Walt; think think THINK!

For now I will not scream or yell

Try not to get real pissed

I log back in to FPL

And check the fixture list

West Brom, Villa, Sunderland

They all sit on that bubble

And golly gee what do you know

They each will have a double!

Two chances each for points of three

Avoid their biggest fear

Make sure that all their fans will see

The Prem again next year

Pepe, Pauly, and Poyet

Backed up against the wall
Just how high will each one get
Will any of them fall?

In truth they've all a decent chance
And all are safe for now
They all will want to stay this way
But who will score, and how?

Of all the three with doubles here
The Black Cats must feel free
For just about the whole darn year
They sat in bottom 3

Yet here they are with game in hand
Three other teams below
They must be feeling pretty grand
With 3 games left to go

This little kid has saved their butts
This week it is my honour
To pat him on the back on say
"Here's your armband, Connor"


FPL GW37 #JACKINTHEBOX:  CONNOR WICKHAM

Good luck this gameweek everyone; it's a BIG'N!!
Walt

GW36 FPL #JackInTheBox

"I blew out my flip-flop, stepped on a pop top; I broke my leg twice had to limp on back home......"  oh, sorry, wrong forum.  I have Jimmy Buffet on the brain.  Let me put my FPL hat on for a moment.

Yes, it's JackInTheBox time; time for my weekly pick of the player from a bottom 8 squad of the EPL table with 5.0% ownership or less who I think will provide some returns in the coming gameweek for fantasy managers.  After a decent run there for a few gameweeks my last three picks have all pretty much gone the way of David Silva; hobbling around on a bad foot for awhile before finally giving in and needing to be stretchered off.

This week will be different. I've got 3 more chances to make decent picks; 3 more chances to impress you with my unique ability to foretell the future and receive the showers of praise that can follow a carefully scouted, closely analyzed and ultimately sound, rationale choice; otherwise known as turning the crank, letting the music play and build to a resounding climax, where the JackInTheBox scares the crap out of you as he jumps out of his box and gives you the surprise of your life.  But who is going to do that this week?  This guy....

FPL GW36 #JACKINTHEBOX: Jonathan De Guzman

Swansea host Aston Villa this Saturday.  Michu's out for what looks like the rest of the season, Wilifred Bony is owned by far too many people to qualify for the illustrious armband, and De Guzman is a dangerous, hungry player with set piece duty who is going to get on the scoresheet in a match where Swansea need to show some strength and give the home crowd something to cheer about and look forward to next year. A resurgence is badly needed over there in Wales if Swansea are to be considered the tough opponent they were considered to be last year (until they won that League Cup anyway).

Enjoy the matches and send me a quick tweet when he scores; it's been awhile since I got something right.

And just remember..... whether he scores or not, and whether you have green arrows or not....

"Come Monday, it'll be alright" - Jimmy Buffet 

If you've never been to a Buffet show or don't know who he is....check this out. This is what I'll be doing tonight.....partying with 18,000 friends I haven't met yet....

GW35 FPL #JackInTheBox

Well the past two JackInTheBox picks have been forgetful.  After conceding an average of 2.5 goals over their previous 4 away fixtures, West Brom marched into Carrow Road for GW33 and kept #JackInTheBox pick Robert Snodgrass and the rest of the Canaries scoreless while walking away with a 1-0 victory.  Didn't see that coming. 

Last week I went with Lewis Holtby, who strangely enough was playing Norwich, but at home in front of the Craven Cottage faithful. What a disaster. I felt lucky that of the 6 matches played simultaneously, it was the match shown here via the main NBC Sports channel. My anticipation and excitement soon turned sour as I watched him put in a lazy, uninspired performance before Magath had seen enough and wisely subbed him off early. I can sum up his performance in 3 sentences. 1) His defending was soft and embarrassing. 2) His idea of supporting runs was jogging up the field at a constant (slow) pace in a straight line, all the while in a cutoff passing lane. 3) He created Fulham's lone goal with a nice free kick, but Sidwell leaped just high enough to get the assist that Holtby almost surely would have bagged had it not skimmed off the top of Sidwell's head. Oh well.

So this week I'm kinda stuck. Fixture-wise, it is by far the hardest week to choose a #JackInTheBox pick. None of the bottom 8 play each other, and just about all of them have difficult fixtures. As a matter of fact, they all are up against teams in the top 10 of the table. Swansea at Newcastle and Cardiff hosting Stoke are the best bets, but neither has a viable attacking player with 5% or less ownership who is healthy. Cardiff's clean sheet record has been abysmal lately, even with home comforts. Swansea have been junk lately and I have no optimism on that front either.

FPL GW35 #JackInTheBox: Shane Long

Can't think of a week where it's been tougher to select a #JackInTheBox, but I'm going with Mr. Long.  This preview of the May 17 FA Cup Final should be a dandy, and Hull have the firepower to give Arsenal some trouble; especially at home.  With any luck we'll get to see Shane do some odd version of the Irish jig as he celebrates what I hope will be the first #JackInTheBox success in quite some time.

Hope you all have a great gameweek!

Walt

The Rearview Mirror: GW34 in Review

FOR THE 96

I don't know about you, but for me, it's been a week of deep poignancy.  As I sat reduced to tears watching the horror of Hillsborough unfold in front of me 25 years after that tragic day, I couldn't help but be overcome with emotion.  Football is often a world of extremes. It can take us to the pinnacle of euphoria and drop us to the deepest depths of despair. It can bring out the best in us and the worst in us.  As always, it's the basic core of our humanity that allows this to happen.

Football is a wonderful sport but it's all about the PEOPLE.  It's the PEOPLE who create the underlying spirit upon which the game delivers its euphoria and despair, it's the PEOPLE who turn a local derby into a rivalry so deep that it can look a lot like hatred until you realize that as much as you want to think that the passion separates and drives a wedge between you, it also binds you together in a way that makes you more similar to your local rival than you would ever care to admit.  Until something happens that makes you realize that you ARE the same, and have been all along. Something like Hillsborough.

I live in the USA and am tortured by the five hour time difference that allows the majority of you to watch matches in the comfort of your home after work while I'm sitting at my desk in my office, trying my hardest not to peek so that the outcome will be a surprise when I get home, have put the kids to bed, and am able to catch up. It's hard.  Very hard. And I don't always make it. But, I've stumbled upon something valuable. When I can't summon the willpower to wait, I peek in on your tweets periodically during the match and have come to enjoy the play-by-play you provide much more than the monotone droning of whatever announcer is calling the game that day. The passion of the FPL community is on display in no greater way than on game day, as those of you who share a passion for the sport spout your happiness and disappointment; your satisfaction and anger; your euphoria and despair.

Luckily for you, Twitter only allowed me to go back a little ways in the timeline of GW34, but I've put together a play-by-play of the final day of GW34 as seen on Twitter through my timeline. This is YOUR play-by-play; a glimpse into the final day of GW34 as seen through the eyes of the FPL community.

In so many ways, we are all the same. Huge football fans. For a good part of this week, I've spent some time wondering what it would have been like for some of the 96 to have found their way to Twitter and participate in our little community of FPL fanatics had things not happened the way they did. I'm sure they would have been AWESOME to follow, read, laugh, argue and banter with.

I'm extremely thankful for all of you.  Here you go....April 16, 2014 through your tweets.... hope you enjoy it.

@Meet_the_Gadfly @EPLFanForLife A highly anticipated night in the world of fantasy football is almost upon us :-D #FPL
— Darren Grove (@DazGrove) April 16, 2014

So glad i bought Aguero instead of Dzeko - if i did i'd have no Yaya, no Silva, no Dzeko - i'm sure someone has these 3 #sympathy #FPL
— #FPL Help (@FPLHelp) April 16, 2014

#RM "We have three players coming in fresh in Mirallas, Barkley & McGeady. With 3 games in 8 days it is a very demanding week" #EFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) April 16, 2014

So I need Mannone, Coleman, Baines, Nasri and Aguero to outscore Distin, Zaba, AJ and Dzeko by 9 or more
— Jonathan Kahn (@jkisthe1) April 16, 2014

No David Silva, Edin Dzeko and Ki today. Just kills the #DGW factor. #FPL
— FootyStuff (@_FootyStuff) April 16, 2014

Where's #Ki for Sunderland?
— The Home of #FPL (@FPLAvids) April 16, 2014

Five changes for #MCFC with #Aguero & #Negredo up top #Kolarov #Milner & #Garcia all start #Silva #Toure #Navas miss out #Clichy #Dzeko sub
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) April 16, 2014

@FantasyYIRMA Only way of me reaching 100 points is if Baines scores a brace + a CS #NoWayYIRMA
— FPL Player (@FPL_Player) April 16, 2014

Who expects big things from this guy tonight? Can I get a RT for Yes? *** #CalledIt #FPL GW34 *** pic.twitter.com/4ThxopYjmM
— CalledItFPL (@CalledItFPL) April 16, 2014

@FantasyFooty247 Oh yeah! Bring it on Kun.
— Inittowinit (@Adamalcock88) April 16, 2014

ASSIST! 2' (MCI 1-0 SUN) - Agüero made the assist for @MCFC (+3pts), he has now 4pts #FPLLive #MCISUN
— myFPL (@myFPL) April 16, 2014

Aguero assist?? Its showtime.... Potty
— Procky Proctor (@PottyProcky) April 16, 2014

Just in from work. Open Twitter. See Aguero #FPL assist. Close Twitter. Open brandy. Bang head against wall. #DGW34
— FPL_Fly (@Meet_the_Gadfly) April 16, 2014

I agree that half of Sunderland's team are not really in the game, but subtracting minutes from them is not fair. pic.twitter.com/GGw3RZq2yD
— CalledItFPL (@CalledItFPL) April 16, 2014

Chamakh assist? #FlyBuy #FPL #DGW34
— FPL_Fly (@Meet_the_Gadfly) April 16, 2014

Goal! 0-1! Puncheon scores! Who has him? #ThePDK
— Fantasy TransferTips (@Fantasy_T_Tips) April 16, 2014

@Meet_the_Gadfly Chamakh assist. Who would have thought it? Eh? #FlyBuy
— The Chief @FPLHints (@fplhints) April 16, 2014

Nothing short of a Lukaku goal in the second half will be enough or else it will be a horrific #DGW34 for many #FPL managers.
— The Chief @FPLHints (@fplhints) April 16, 2014

DANN!!!! GET IN!!! RT if you have him!
— The Chief @FPLHints (@fplhints) April 16, 2014

Fantasy accounts were saying that #Dann could be a good punt.. And they were right! #fpl #bpl #efc #cpfc
— Kakibola (@kakibolla) April 16, 2014

Not going to make 100 points at this rate. Where's Silva and late brace from lukaku please! #FPL #disaster
— Back2Basics (@Back2Basic5) April 16, 2014

Aguero off.
— The Chief @FPLHints (@fplhints) April 16, 2014

Aguero subbed off!
— FPL Player (@FPL_Player) April 16, 2014

@FFPundits changed my captain from Baines to Lukaku in the last minute. More angry than happy!
— Dylan Finn (@dylanfinn92) April 16, 2014

My hat goes off to those #FPL managers who resisted temptation with Aguero for Gameweek 34. Turned out to be the correct decision.
— FantasyFootyPundits (@FFPundits) April 16, 2014

Mr #Puncheon You Sir are an #FPL delight this week! 21pts and counting pic.twitter.com/uTodCPuAQp
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) April 16, 2014

Sunderland equalise! What's going in the PL?!
— Hashbrown (@hesham786) April 16, 2014

This Double Gameweek is rubbish!
— Chris K (@Iron_Chris) April 16, 2014

What the hell City
— Jonathan Kahn (@jkisthe1) April 16, 2014

Fair play to @AJE55 He only went and Captained #Puncheon ! #LegendYIRMA pic.twitter.com/hKk5axMrjQ #FPL
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) April 16, 2014

Wickham!!!!!!!!!
— FPL Maestro (@FPLMaestro) April 16, 2014

Come on Baines! get the equaliser!
— FPL Player (@FPL_Player) April 16, 2014

@CalledItFPL out of my 6 playing today no one got more than 2 pts
— Jan Horvat (@horvering) April 16, 2014

My God Mannone
— The Shoonchy  (@Shoonchy) April 16, 2014

Mental
— FPL Geezer (@FPL_Geezer) April 16, 2014

NASRI!!!!!! A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR MY FPL TEAM! (Sorry @FFPundits)
— FPL Aid (@FPLAid) April 16, 2014

#CalledIt delivers! And not a minute too soon. pic.twitter.com/4ThxopYjmM
— CalledItFPL (@CalledItFPL) April 16, 2014

Dzeko is a truly a waste of space. #poormansGiroud
— Mito 21 (@TheLegendMito21) April 16, 2014

Next time I put Lukaku in my team, please shoot me in my knee cap #FPL
— Jan Horvat (@horvering) April 16, 2014

C'mon Jose. It's down to you now. Beat Liverpool and the title will be yours. #chelsea
— Hashbrown (@hesham786) April 16, 2014

@FantasyFooty247 like I didn't learn form last two idiotic C picks on Romelu
— Jan Horvat (@horvering) April 16, 2014

#FPL PAIN #Zabaleta in GW34 numbers 180: Minutes Played 5: Goals Conceded 2: Yellow Cards 0: Points #SoreYIRMA
— FantasyYIRMA #FPL (@FantasyYIRMA) April 16, 2014

Eaglesssss #CPFC Flying high! What a result.
— #FPL Help (@FPLHelp) April 16, 2014

Let me get this straight. City on a DGW and Zabaleta, Yaya, Aguero & Dzeko combine for 9 points! 9 points! Let that sink in!
— FantasyFootyChat (@FPL_Guru_) April 16, 2014

Who knew that the double game-week would come down to whether or not you owned Puncheon. Maybe in GW37 it will be Wickham. 😉
— FF247 (@FantasyFooty247) April 16, 2014

Bonus points are out! Average score should be 42/43 points.
— FPL Player (@FPL_Player) April 16, 2014

Bonus points are out in #FPL Puncheon (3), Jerome and Mirallas (2) and Wickham (3), Fernandinho (2), Nasri (1)
— FF247 (@FantasyFooty247) April 16, 2014

Who'd have thought Speroni/Puncheon would trounce Zabaleta/Yaya by 35 points to 1 this DGW?! #amazing
— FF247 (@FantasyFooty247) April 16, 2014

Really intrigued to see what @EPLFanForLife is up to using everyone's tweets #FPL? #timelinefullupofquestions
— Back2Basics (@Back2Basic5) April 16, 2014

Special thanks to all of you who granted permission for me to use your tweet for a purpose you were not given much heads up about.  I hope you like what I've done with it and how this little experiment turns out. Apologies also to those whose tweets were not used.

Cheers,

Walt

GW34 FPL #JackInTheBox

I've made a big decision. After the world's crappiest #JackInTheBox call last week (Snodgrass - although some of you will argue that other week's picks have been worse ;)), I've realized that if I'm not gonna come up with good picks, the least I could do for the #FPL community is share one picture of Aruba in each of the 5 remaining JackInTheBox articles this year. So there ya go; at least you have that to look forward to. 

As far as this week's JackInTheBox pick goes, there are a lot of bottom dwellers with low ownership numbers to choose from. Ever since the first DGW a few weeks ago, the number of differentials seems to have risen as the DGW players were scooped up in droves and the homogenization factor kicked in. 

"If you were smart, Walt, you would choose a Crystal Palace player this week" is what I hear you all saying. Double game-week, half decent fixtures, still fighting for their Premiership lives, blah blah blah blah blah. At the beginning of the week, Puncheon looked like he had picked himself, but I'm not gonna go all bandwagon-y up in the hizzy. Not today. Instead, I'm going with a personal preference.

For me, when I take the #FPL / #DGW angle out of the equation, this gameweek is all about one fixture. That's right, the granddaddy of them all...Fulham-Norwich. It's the great white Craven Cottage hope hosting the torpedoing (Jake, find me a torpedo cartoon!) Canaries from Norwich City. Norwich hold the distinguished honor of being tied with Jose Mourinho as my biggest FPL/JackInTheBox disappointment of the season. I think I've picked a Norwich player 3 (maybe 4?) times this season, with a late match rattling of the post by Howson being the closest I've come to a success. In all fairness, it was a fantastic shot ;)

GW34 FPL #JackInTheBox: LEWIS HOLTBY

This week it's simple. After last week's thriller breathed some life into a comatose Fulham side, I want them to win again. It will ramp up the excitement factor at the bottom of the table even more, watching old-man Magath jump up and down again would be really cool (Jake, find me a Mr. Magoo cartoon!), and most importantly, our buddy SamsonMcMuffin, who will be taking it all in from his Craven Cottage seat, will entertain us all with joyful banter and match-day jubilation.

Holtby is a good player, highly involved, capable of springing a JackInTheBox-like surprise on us at any moment, and thanks to the combination of the moderate price reflecting his exceptional talent and his presence on a relatively weak team, his ownership is a laughable 0.3%. When the gameweek is over, I want those 0.3%ers to be hootin' and hollerin'. And I hope they're all Fulham supporters too.

Good luck this week everybody.

Walt

GW33 FPL #JackInTheBox - Aruba Style

I promise to be as short and sweet as I can, but we all know that that's an exercise in futility. So here's the lowdown....

Last Tuesday night, amidst the craziness of dotting my i's and crossing my t's at work, helping get the house clean, preparing my in-laws for 5 fun days with our kids, and packing, I threw together a quick GW32 #JITB article featuring Mr. Miguel Michu then, after a restful sleep, got on a plane to paradise.

As the friendly woman at the open-air front desk of the resort checked us in, a bartender appeared out of nowhere teasing us with "virgin" mojitos on a tray as a welcome treat. Without much prodding, he soon revealed the bottle of rum in the hand he had kept behind his back, and he proceeded to "top off" our drinks before having us open our mouths and tilt our heads back as he poured the rum straight into our mouths. So Welcome to Aruba - Manchebo style!

Unable to move fast enough and grinning from ear to ear, we quickly went up to our room, paused long enough to take the picture above from our second floor balcony, changed into our beachwear and high-tailed it back downstairs to take in the resort and start exploring. Sometime between then and the time we left, in a land far, far away, a guy named Michu was taking to the pitch. It could have been while we laid in a mild stupor on the most beautiful beach I've ever been to, sometimes in the shade of our thatched roof hut, or sometimes in the 88 degree Caribbean sun. It could have been while we sat back and read or while we closed our eyes and took one of a number of breeze-induced catnaps. 

Maybe it was while we enjoyed a couples massage inside the top notch spa with sweeping views out to the ocean. Perhaps it was while we were being pampered up one side and down the other by a staff whose greatest enjoyment seemed to be making our own enjoyment as complete and effortless as possible. I don't know, it could have been while we sat at the beach bar during one of our all-inclusive days, making our way down the tropical drink list one by one seeing how long it would take before we got to one we didn't like. It surely wasn't late in the afternoon as the steel drums played, the myriad of birds chirped, the breeze made the overhead palm leaves sway in unison, and the giant Sun orb in the sky settled down into the ocean horizon.

Hah, I actually do know when it was now that I look back on it. It was around the time we walked through the beach bar on our way across the street to have lunch. I glanced at the bar tv, showing Crystal Palace with a 1-0 lead over my Chelsea Blues, felt a ping of astonishment, then (don't tell anyone) forgot about it as quickly as it took for my brain to figure out what it saw in the first place. So, sometime around then, while sipping on a Heineken, unbeknownst to me, Michu was out there making me proud with a 7-point haul. I didn't learn until I had arrived in Aruba that the FPLHints team ran the board with Michu picks. We were all happy; and that's nice ;)

Which brings us to this week. It's a veritable JackInTheBox-Fest, with 6 of the bottom 8 clubs and 8 of the bottom 9 clubs squaring off in a winner takes all gang-war. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. There hasn't been much shakeup in the bottom 8 recently, but that could change soon enough. It's gonna be interesting.

FPL ARUBA-STYLE GW33 #JackInTheBox:  Robert Snodgrass

Take a guess when the last time a team playing against West Brom scored zero goals. Go ahead; unless you're a Baggie you probably won't remember. Mid-March...nah.  Late February...try again. Okay fine...mid-January. WRONG. It was New Year's Day. They played Newcastle at home that day.  They won't be so lucky this time around as they will face Norwich away. And while Norwich have not been the most productive side at home recently, West Brom have conceded on average 2.5 goals during their last four trips away, including 2 to Hull, 3 to Crystal Palace, and 4 to Aston Villa. I'll take these odds and toss the armband to Mr. Snodgrass this week, thinking he should be heavily involved in the Canary attack.

And, if he doesn't come through, well, I always have my Aruba memories and pictures to fall back on to calm me down. Oooooh......so relaxing. Gimme a beer, Phoebus.

(I think the above picture may be the single best picture I've ever taken ;))

Sunny Cheers,
Walt

GW32 FPL #JackInTheBox

Well, the unique and crazy phenomenon that was DGW31 is now behind us. Whether you ended up on the right or wrong side of the green arrow differentiation line, you are probably shaking your head wondering if anything like that will ever happen again. I wish I knew the answer.

The good news is that we all enter GW32 with 7 more gameweeks left to move in the direction we wish to go. Still time to make up some ground if DGW31 left you shaking your head or shouting words out loud that you previously had only heard in an R-rated movie or two.

For GW32 I'm going with a #JackInTheBox pick that last year would have seemed crazy, strange and almost inconceivable. Finding themselves in the bottom 8 is surprising enough, but also finding this particular player with 5.0% or less FPL ownership (exactly 5.0 at the time of writing) would have been unheard of at this time last year.

FPL GW32 #JackInTheBox: Miguel Michu

Michu has gone from one of the absolute must-have FPL assets to an all but forgotten FPL prospect in about the same amount of time that David Moyes has gone from a well-respected manager getting the most out of the little talent he had to an incompetent tactician squandering the talent that coasted comfortably to the EPL crown last year. But, just like Moyes is the same person who calmly guided Everton to levels perhaps above their fighting weight, Michu is the same person who took the EPL by storm last season and had FPL managers drooling every time he set foot on the pitch.

With a juicy home fixture against a Norwich side fighting for respectability, I favor the recently healthy Michu to push, fight and nudge his way onto the scoresheet, despite the troubles he's faced this season with his fitness. After all, if flashbacks to the vision of him singlehandedly beating Arsenal last season do not readily come to mind, a quick check of last year's stats will tell you pretty quickly that Michu was the breakout star of the season, making early-investing FPL managers look like geniuses while everyone else scrambled late to get a little piece of the Michu-sized pie.

This weekend I will be looking for some of that spark that caught everyone's eye last year and had a good portion of Wales buzzing with excitement, promise and pride.

Miguel Michu; it's time to shine once again. Do me proud.

Good luck this gameweek everyone,

Walt



DGW31 FPL #JackInTheBox

It's all about the "D"

That's right; it's right there in the title. This is not GW31...this is DGW31; and the "D" stands for DOUBLE. And not just any double; we're talking 10 EPL teams have 2 separate fixtures this gameweek. It is the possible points-fest and rank-climbing bonanza that over 3,000,000 people have been raving about, planning and plotting for, and anticipating for the better part of a month and a half. And it's HERE; right around the corner.

I mean come on, it's all everyone's been talking about and in my humble experience, it is the single most anticipated and talked-about gameweek in the three years I've been playing the game. I really hope it ends up being worthy of all the hub-bub that has gone into it and all of the point hits that have been taken in people's efforts to take advantage of it.

So as far as this week's #JackInTheBox is concerned, I'm going with both my head and my heart. And you bet your "you know what" that I'm going with a DOUBLE. So that gives me Sunderland (away to Norwich and away to Liverpool) and Hull City (home to West Brom and away to West Ham) to choose from. In the past I've chosen players from both squads as my #JackInTheBox, most recently last week when I handed Fabio Borini an armband that he made me proud with despite not getting on the score sheet.

DGW31 FPL #JackInTheBox: Nikica Jelavic

My head says go with someone looking at the chance for DOUBLE delights; and my heart says Jelly is the man to grace with the armband. My early DGW31 planning had me salivating over the thought of bringing him in as a high potential differential; but bringing Nasri into my side instead of Yaya opened the door for King Romelu to take Jelly's spot. In all honesty I would be completely happy with either, and despite being wrong many, many times, I have this feeling that people bringing Jelly into their squads for the WEST DOUBLE will be very glad they did. I certainly hope he makes me happy as a result of pinning my #JITB hopes on his shoulders.

Enjoy it everyone. I hope the big DGW lives up to the fantasies that we've all had about it. I think there will be some significant mini-league and overall ranking shakeup when we all come up for air, despite the "template" DGW squad that many people seem to be lining up with. If ever there was a week where differentials would make a big difference; this is it. GOOD LUCK. Let the chips fall where they may;)

Cheers,

Walt

The Rearview Mirror: FPL GW30 in Review

Well, the prelude to the craziness that will be DGW31 has been fun. Matej has nailed the call of all calls in naming David Silva his #CalledIt pick for GW30. The little magician rose head and shoulders above the other 21 players on the pitch to notch a well deserved bucketload of #FPL points, each of which his owners will scoop up and celebrate heartily as the monster that is DGW31 approaches. In other news, FPL made the unique call of backtracking and providing all-important Suarez assist points for the Rafael handball leading to Gerrard's penalty kick the day after the gameweek ended. Instant Monday morning happiness for all Suarez owners, especially those who captained him.

Here's how the rest of the gameweek unfolded:

Aston Villa 1 - 0 Chelsea

Mourinho arrives never having won an EPL fixture at Villa Park

Matic (ugh), Willian (WTF!), Ramires (ouch), Delph (HOLY CRAP!)

Chelsea's title run hits major roadblock as Mourinho leaves Villa Park early and still winless

Sunderland 0 - 0 Crystal Palace

Stadium of Light hosts a nail-biting six-pointer

Crystal Palace line up as if yearning for a single point

No goals here today, chaps; defensive #FPL points all around

Hull City 0 - 2 Manchester City

Captain Kompany gets tossed early; puts City on back foot

David Silva single-handedly puts pressure on Chelsea (and Matej #CalledIt)

City show strength and resolve that will carry forward in title run-in

Everton 2 - 1 Cardiff City

Deulofeu breaches Marshall's fortress in 58th

Cardiff Bluebirds come chirping back through Juan Carla

Super Seamus rocks Goodison with extra-time winner

Swansea 1 - 2 West Brom

Doesn't take long for Lamah to put Swansea ahead

Sessegnon equalizes in 52nd

Michu returns!, but Mulumbu spoils the party

Southampton 4 - 2 Norwich City
Schneiderlin notches one past Ruddy in 5th min
Southampton are cruising 3-0 in 84th; FPL managers factor in clean sheet points
Norwich grab 2 back in the blink of an eye before SOU close it out with a 4th

Stoke City 3 - 1 West Ham
Carroll flicks one off his hairbun in the 4th to give Hammers the lead
Scramble inside the box highlighted by Crouchy's Kung Fu kick levels things
Cue today's hero and everyone's headscratcher; Peter Odemwingie everybody!!

Fulham 1 - 0 Newcastle
Magath's side begin the day with large hill to climb for survival
Dejegah incites "pandemonium" at Craven Cottage
Home side see off Newcastle for 3 HUMONGOUS points

Manchester United 0 - 3 Liverpool
Who doesn't get chills at the prospect of this season-defining rivalry?
Stevie G converts 2 perfect penalties; squanders chance of a third
More trouble for Moyes, and Suarez owners get Monday morning surprise!

Tottenham 0 - 1 Arsenal
Rosicky nails sick finish to give Gunners a valuable lead in NLD
Mertesacker blocks 250 shots with his big giant German body (embellishment)
Arsenal take North London Derby bragging rights

So there you have it; a little pre-GW31 reading to enjoy in between your analysis of the 428 different combinations and permutations of transfer moves you can make between now and the super-mongo double gameweek that has all FPL managers licking their chops.

Stay tuned right here as we walk through the next 8 gameweeks together. Let's push for a strong finish everyone!

Cheers,

Walt





GW30 FPL #JackInTheBox

9. Gameweeks. Left. In. The. Season. The Twitterverse has been full of FPL related stress lately. Lots of people are burning the midnight oil planning, plotting, strategizing, and worrying about what the next few gameweeks will bring. DGW31 is by far the most anticipated gameweek I've ever come across in my three seasons playing FPL, and I have yet to hear from any wiley veterans that what we're about to experience is not unique.

But bear with us through just ONE MORE boring gameweek before your quest to meet what is probably your EXPECTATION of surpassing the coveted 100 pt gameweek arrives. Picking a #JackInTheBox goes a little like this:

A)  Check the current EPL table for the bottom 8 squads. This week that gives us Fulham, Sunderland, Cardiff, West Brom, Crystal Palace, Norwich, Swansea and Hull.

B)  Scan the fixture list to see who each of the bottom 8 squads play this week.

Fulham are home to Newcastle

Sunderland are home to Crystal Palace

Cardiff City are away at Everton

West Brom are away at Swansea

Crystal Palace are away at Sunderland

Norwich City are away at Southampton

Swansea are home to West Brom

Hull City are home to Manchester City

C)  Pick the player on one of the bottom 8 sides who is owned by 5.0% or less of FPL owners that you think will score the most points this gameweek.

Voila, you're an expert at this already. So who'd you pick this week? Personally, I love the six-pointers, and the two on the cards this weekend are gonna be great: Sunderland hosting Crystal Palace and Swansea hosting West Brom.  4 of the bottom 8 grouped together in 2 all important, dog eat dog fixtures where a win by any side results in 3 of the most valuable EPL points up for grabs at this stage of the campaign. Have you got your pick in mind? Okay, cool.... here's who I'm going with.

GW30 FPL #JACKINTHEBOX: FABIO BORINI

Sunderland have been quite the quandary this season. After Di Canio treated them like little kids at a second grade cafeteria table and they became the laughing stock of the Premier League, Poyet came in and things started clicking. So far this season they have rattled off victories over Everton and Manchester City, and they have also pulled off a dynamic double over Newcastle in one of the most hotly contested and exciting derbies out there. Indeed, for some Sunderland fans that alone would make them consider this season a rousing success. But for all of their tenacity, super-human Mannone performances and Adam Johnson's purple patches, they just can't seem to escape the relegation zone.

What they do have on their side are a few games in hand, so let's not count them out yet. If they are going to take advantage of these additional opportunities, fixtures like this weekend's home match vs Crystal Palace will be tantamount to their survival bid. A true six-pointer, I have been impressed by Borini's recent form, he's shown coolness under pressure when in front of goal (did you see that gem he put past Hart with the outside of his foot!?!), and I think a home match against Palace is a good opportunity for him to get the Stadium of Light rocking and full of hope for Premier League football next campaign.

The armband is yours Fabio; do us proud!

Good luck everyone; Happy FPLing!!

Walt



GW29 FPL #JackInTheBox

I just did a double-take while typing the title to this blog post. Gameweek TWENTY-NINE!  Only 10 more gameweeks left in our FPL season.  I don't whether to laugh or cry.  It's been a long season, that's for sure, but only 10 gameweeks left!?!  Wow.

So are you ready for Gameweek Junior?  Little tiny, itsy bitsy GW29 is coming at us tomorrow with all the raging fury of a short, wimpy sun shower that will dissipate in front our very eyes before many of us even realized it had started.  5 fixtures, all in one day, showcasing 4 top 10 squads and 6 squads scratching and clawing away for their Premier League lives.

It's actually a #JackInTheBox Fixture Fest, as 6 of the bottom 8 will be involved without all of the pomp and circumstance normally reserved for the bigger, more internationally acclaimed squads.  For a few short hours, 6 of the bottom 8 will bask in the spotlight, trying to do their FPL owners proud.  West Brom is going to kick things off in the early game when they welcome Manchester United to town.  West Brom have been something of a hex to the reigning champions lately. Who can forget King Romelu's hat trick in Sir Alex Ferguson's last game in charge last season; and the unlikely West Brom victory at Old Trafford earlier this year where all sorts of long-standing records were snapped in half like little twigs?

In other fixtures, we have the BIG six-pointer that is Cardiff-Fulham, and the other equally juicy six-pointer involving Norwich and Stoke City.  Crystal Palace, the remaining bottom 8 squad, are in action at home vs Southampton.

GW29 FPL #JackInTheBox: Victor Anichebe

With performances of 7,5,7 and 5 points in his last 4 fixtures (a stat generously supplied by @arshifpl11) Anichebe is begging for a start.  But even if Pepe Mel decides otherwise, the form on his side says 90 minutes aren't necessary to put up some points against a Manchester United side that is having a lot of fingers pointed and questions being thrown in their direction.  I will keep a very interested eye on the two six-pointers on display during the weekend, but this fixture will also weigh heavily in my thoughts as the world watches Manchester United every week not knowing whether the implosion will continue or if things will finally start to point in the right direction.  Either way, it's gonna be a great Junior Gameweek.

I hope you all have had fun scrapping together your GW29 squad, and I wish you all well.

Cheers,

Walt