Bang Average FPL GW5 Podcast - Bournemouth, Wolves and an Epic Moustache

“Bang Average” is a Fantasy Football podcast covering both #FPL and draft versions of the game for the Premier League.

Hosted by John (@FantasyGaffer) Mike (@BangAverageMike) and myself Ryan (@FantasyYIRMA) we cover everything Football, Fantasy and elite level Nonsense. Typically it starts out with good intentions and goes downhill from there.

Next up Gameweek 5!

With the International Break behind us thankfully we can look ahead to the return of the Premier League. 

On this week’s podcast, Mike unveils his plans for "Total Football" a new fantasy format where he combines players from the Premier League and the NFL to create a cumulative score and confuse Ryan to no end who openly admits that Tom Brady is the extent of his American Football knowledge.

Following that - there's some fairly solid FPL / Draft content.

• John’s gone AWOL
• #FPL GW5 players for consideration
• Ryan has zero understanding of the new Nations League format.
• Mike runs us through his grooming routine for his magnificent mustache
• The guys take a detailed look at Bournemouth for Fantasy assets worth consideration
• Mike declares undying love for Adama Traore both in draft format and life in general

More impressively we make it through a full podcast without discussing Bendtner in the news this week which quite frankly gargantuan achievement

Listen on Soundcloud: 

https://soundcloud.com/user-36523528/week-5-preview-total-football


Alternatively - You can Listen on iTunes and probably 20 other places also - If you can't find us on your podcast player of choice, let me know. Happy to give Mike more work.


Many Thanks for listening!

Ryan @FantasyYIRMA

Who Got The Assist? Pod 42 - Unwritten Rules of FPL (w/ FPL Stag)

Hi all!

We’re back for our final pod of the preseason joined by FPL Stag, whom we’re also collaborating with on twitter for our Preseason Previews.

Here, it’s not the ten commandments but nine unwritten rules of FPL that we debate the merits of, as well as talking in depth about how rotation may become part and parcel of our game.

We also talk All England, Zombie League and our teams, too.

Enjoy – and all the very best of luck on Gameweek 1!

SoundCloud:

iTunes

Stitcher

Acast

Spotify (NEW FOR 2018/19 - very slow to update at times unfortunately)

Podbean (NEW FOR 2018/19)

5 Players to look out for in the remainder of the season

We are two thirds of the way through the season. We may have certain targets set in our minds for what we would like to achieve in our respective mini-leagues. I've been fairly lucky with the choices I have made and I think my overall rank which is within the top 5000 of all fantasy players (and the Battle Royal 2 championship) reflects that.

The main aim of this article is to provide some foresight on how I see the rest of the season playing out. Most would still favor the big hitters like Sanchez, Aguero, Di Maria and the likes but due to their high ownership gaining much ground is increasingly becoming a tough task.

So here is an insight into the 5 players I see making an impact in the final third of the season:

Daniel Sturridge: 

His stats don’t lie, he’s a one goal/assist per game sort of striker who rarely disappoints. He has an eye for goal and his creativity is what Liverpool will need to have a reasonable chance of making their push for a top 4 spot. The only thing that works against him in my opinion is that he faces 4 of the top 6 in the next 6 fixtures but big players rise to the big occasions and deliver when it matters most. I expect him to be involved in the majority of the goals Liverpool will score going forward. He has the second highest minutes per chance (19.3) in the premium striker category only behind Aguero (16.8) and ahead of Costa (26.8), Rooney (43), RVP (33.1) and Giroud (25.6). He definitely will have the chances and if he converts them he might give you some great FPL returns.

Mesut Ozil: 

His creativity makes him second to none when it comes to FPL potential. Since his much awaited comeback he has been in scintillating form providing 3 assists and 2 goals in the 3 starts he has made. He has averaged the second highest number of shots per game (1.5) in the arsenal midfield during the last 5 weeks and has the highest shot accuracy (66.7%). He also has the second highest number of average final third passes per match (15.8) behind Cazorla. All this translates into his increasing influence on the arsenal gameplay which can be seen from his involvement in 50% of the goals scored by them since his return. I expect him to have a great season going ahead and if you are looking to find a low ownership player (less than 5%) with a good set of fixtures to break the template he might just be your man.

Gnegneri Yaya Toure: 

He is one player who hasn’t been able to scale the heights of success and the high standards he set himself last season where he scored a massive 241 points scoring 20 goals and providing 9 assists. His absence has hurt City so badly that they have just got 6 out of a possible 15 points in their last 5 matches. His impact could be seen from Aguero’s dip in form before the Stoke game. He is on set pieces for city and when he comes back from the African cup of nations, I expect him to come straight in and help City as they make their push for the league title they so want to win.

Dame N’Doye: 

I give myself no points for making a safe choice hence i want to go with this player as my wildcard pick. When I tipped Harry Kane in GW 14 people thought I was crazy and I get a similar feeling when I tip this man to do well in the remainder of the season. He is a proven goal scorer and is just priced at 5.5. He faces competition from Ings, Defoe, Sakho, and Berahino in his price category. I haven’t included Kane in this as I consider him as an absolute must have. He has scored 27 goals in 71 appearances for Lokomtiv Moscow and 59 in 104 for Copenhagen before arriving at the KC stadium. We don’t have much to judge him on in terms of Premier League experience but my gut says that if Hull have to continue their journey in the top flight beyond this season he will be a major part of their revival story.

Hector Bellerin: 

To test his credentials as a fantasy player I put him up against the 4 best attacking full backs in the league in terms of point returns over the last few seasons i.e. Baines, Coleman, Ivanovic and this season’s wonder boy Clyne. The stats over the past 5 weeks were shocking. He has the best points per million (1.1) compared to Baines (0.8), Clyne (0.9), Coleman (0.7) and Ivanovic (1). He also has the highest shooting accuracy (100%) followed by Ivanovic (40%). He hasn’t provided any assists but has scored one goal but is that too bad at his meagre price of 4.5. The question is whether he will be able to retain his place in that Arsenal back four. Going on his form and the injury to Debuchy, it’s safe to assume he will. I think all of this makes him an absolute must have from Arsenal's defence. 

Written by Sid / Fantasy Pest

Battle Royal 2014/15 (winter) champion.

Marwan's take on CAF Players in the PL last season

I would like to talk about Confederation of African Football (CAF) players in the Premier league last season and how they fared individually. As we know, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) had a significant impact on some of their performances and appearances in the latter half of the season.  Yaya Toure was probably affected the most by it and may have made a bigger impact for City had there been no AFCON.  As for his brother Kolo, he was a bit part player at best who barely made the bench and won’t be at City next season.

Senegalese players were not able to participate in the AFCON due to Senegal's ban. Ironically, in spite of this, Demba Ba had a superb first half of the season with Newcastle, scoring 13 league goals in 20 matches. However, he only scored 2 in 14 after transferring to Chelsea.  As for his fellow countryman Papiss Cisse, he struggled to live up to his billing and made no major impact at Tyneside.

West Ham's Mohamed Diame had a fairly good season.  So much so that he was linked to Arsenal at one stage.  He highlighted his talent via a well taken goal against leaders Manchester United. His teammate Guy Demel also had a fairly good season in defence as they both guided West Ham to mid-table safety.  As for Chamakh, on loan from Arsenal, he had a season to forget.  Of course, Chelsea's Moses and Mikel triumphed at the AFCON with Nigeria but didn't have much influence in the league with the Blues.

Sessegnon’s influence on Sunderland's survival can’t be overlooked.  He occasionally shined during Fletcher and Graham's periods of inconsistency, while fellow Egyptian teammate Ahmed El-Mohamady, enjoyed a terrific season on loan to Hull City.  He helped them secure Premier league football next season while also winning the club's player of the year award.

Ameobi had the usual “lack of goals” season that we expect of him, while Cheikh Tiote underperformed before and after AFCON. Tottenham's Assou-Ekotto and Adebayor also had a terrible season compared to their usual standards; the first struggling with injuries and squad competition, where as the latter scored 5 league goals compared to 17 the season before.  On the other side of London, Adel Taarabt had a dire season with QPR as they got relegated and Arsenal's Diaby had an injury plagued season.

Gervinho had a very stop-start season. I would be surprised if he manages to keep his place on Arsenal's bench next season.   Aside from Youssouf Mulumbu’s antics against West Ham when he picked the ball up and aimed a shot at Gary O’Neill, he had a reasonable season of sorts.  In summary, some may stay and some may leave come August.  But overall, the CAF contingent will be a force to be reckoned with.

Marwan