Gameweek 11 Summary

In the week when Fergie celebrated his 25th year at Manchester United, my team enhanced its overall position for a fifth consecutive gameweek. With the bonus points update on Monday morning, my team scored a respectable 77 points. This is my highest gameweek score thus far for this season and shows signs of me building upon consistency.

Firstly upon my gw changes. I ditched Hart and Petrov, in place of Vorm and Van der Vaart. The expensive Hart conceded a goal v QPR, whilst cheap as chips Vorm pulled off a remarkable clean sheet at Anfield. Petrov didn't play, where as VDV failed to score or assist after six consecutive gameweeks. But have no fear with VDV, as the vast majority of Spurs' fixtures until mid-January seem winnable, he is worth keeping in the team up until then.

Micah Richards, my recommended player of GW 11, conceded a goal which depleted his weekly points tally, where as Jones and Enrique did me good by keeping clean sheets. Ryan Taylor made up for the lost points of a clean sheet by scoring a 25 yard screamer which boosted his tally. Cabaye's injury in the first half dented his chance to shine and Rooney in midfield was unconvincing and unsuccessful.  Rooney has now failed to score in six consecutive gamweeks and is shortlisted for the chop.

Ultimately, it was my other two strikers that led the charge. Dzeko and RVP (captain) shared two goals and two assists between them during this gameweek. These two players generated the bulk of my GW points tally.  I recommended RVP in GW 9 and tipped of his potential success and price rise. This has now happened. Dzeko was my problem player who I kept faith with. He has rewarded me handsomely in the last two gameweeks. For GW 12, I am toying with the idea of obtaining Silva and Agbonlahor by replacing the injured Cabaye and out of form Rooney.  I will post my recommended player of gameweek 12 shortly.  As always I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Newcastle United's French Revolution

Newcastle United's French Revolution

Many factors can be credited to Newcastle United's renaissance start to the 2011/2012 Premier League.  But one element stands out the most - the influx of French speaking players over the past two seasons that has transformed the type of football played at the club.  The footballers in question are:

Demba Ba - Hot shot striker that has made the Toon forget about Andy Carroll.

Yohan Cabaye - Classy central midfielder. Won the league with Lille and could fit in any top team.

Cheik Tiote - Has been a defensive midfield rock in the team since last year.

Sylvain Marveaux - Winging sensation that is trying to become a regular first team player.

Gabriel Obertan - ex-Manchester United misfit/winger that has provided class on the flanks.

Hatem Ben Arfa - recovering from a long-term injury lay-off and will prove key in the future.

Mehdi Abeid - Rising youngster that is currently playing a starring role in the reserves.

Even Match of the Day highlighted the visible French impact with the following graphic:

Admittedly not all of the French speaking players have made a huge impact thus far this season.  But the fact that a strong Francophone contingent prevails in the North East, complimented by the early season success of the Geordies is no coincidence.  Without a doubt, Ba, Cabaye and Titote have been very influential.  Ben Arfa has the potential to supplement the successes of the team along with Abeid and the two wingers.  Ultimately it is the change in mindset and football culture that has instantaneously transformed the club from the loutish/undisciplined days of Nolan, Carroll & Barton, as is evident with Yohan Cabaye's views.  The question is can the French Revolution continue?  Will it inspire the non-French speakers in the team?  But most importantly, will it just be a one-off for this season or provide a lasting legacy that can land Newcastle United major silverware in the not-to-distant future?

Blast from the past: Parklife Nike TV Advert

Blast from the past: Parklife Nike TV Advert

For those British football fans born before the mid-late 1990s internet and mobile phone revolution, you would certainly remember the following famous TV advert.  It's shot on the world famous Hackney Marshes and features the likes of Cantona, Wright, Seaman & Fowler - once highly prized footballing assets of the nascent Premier League (contemporaries of Shearer, Sheringham, Gazza et al).  This was during the early era of the English Premier League boom, which eventually went global and made the English topflight the best league in the world!

Recommended Player for Gameweek 11

Recommended Player for Gameweek 11 - Micah Richards (Man City)

"People call us the noisy neighbours,"
Micah Richards, the City right-back, said.
"Well, here we are."
(Guardian)

I was split between picking the obvious Van der Vaart and Robin Van Persie or the not so obvious Ryan Taylor and Micah Richards as my recommended player for gameweek 11.  But after much thought I have decided to endorse Manchester City's Micah Richards.  It probably doesn't make sense on having an expensive defensive unit during this season's goal glut Premier League, i.e. the likes of Baines (7.8), Vidic (7.8) and Terry (7.4) are not worth it right now.  However Micah Richards is a steal (6.1) when compared to them.  Whilst he hasn't scored any league goals this season he has four assists to his name - more than any defender in the Premier League.  City may not have kept a clean sheet in their past four league matches, but they are bound to keep more clean sheets in the future, especially v their next opposition QPR who barely average a goal per game.  Unless injured, the England international is a first teamer for Man City.  He is worth having in your team, even if he turns out to be your most expensive defender.  Subject to City maintaining their form and increasing their clean sheets ratio his value could smash the 6.5 mark.  Buy him now!

Fantasy Premier League Hints - Facebook launch

Fantasy Premier League Hints - Facebook launch!

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to confirm that we now have a Facebook page, which can be viewed on the following:
Fantasy Premier League Hints Facebook page

Please note that the page is currently undergoing development and is in a nascent phase.  Feel free to contribute on the page and "Like" it.

Regards
Chief Pundit & Owner

Gameweek 10 Summary

Wow, another fantastic goals-galore gameweek!  I scored a respectable 65 points during a GW where the average score was 44.  My overall rank has jumped greatly from 150,000ish to 90,000ish.  But at the same time I feel like the guy who had the winning lottery numbers from the previous week!  Had a I not changed my team from the last GW I would have scored 84 points!  But who could have predicted the surprising scoreline at Stamford Bridge?  Fortunately I still had RVP in my team and my risky pick of Dzeko as captain scored a goal to help elevate my GW score.

So, who is Ba Best team in the Premier League at the moment?  In my estimation it is the shoestring budget Newcastle United squad.  In gameweek 10 they proved that they not only have a mean defence (the best record in the league), but they also have a lethal attack force.  Demba Ba's second hat-trick of this season is a remarkable feat for a team that has no true No. 9 player in the team.  At 6.5 (Ba) and 5.2 (Best), Newcastle's strike force is currently a bargain and very cheap to purchase in FPL (cheaper than Tevez combined!).  Such is the superlative turnaround at Newcastle United that Alan Pardew will on current form be a shortlisted candidate for the England job after Fabio's Capello departure in 2012.

As for the other gameweek 10 results, Manchester United went back to winning ways with a clean sheet victory at Everton, whilst Arsenal racked up a surprising cricket score victory at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a Van Persie hat-trick.  The Dutchman has now scored an "an outstanding 28 goals in 27 Premier League games".  Man City continued their goal scoring festivities ad Blackburn were held to a controversial draw at Carrow Road.  Villa drew at Sunderland, where as newly promoted Swansea's attacking prowess prevailed once again as they thumped Bolton.  Fulham and Liverpool both gained clean sheet victories as Tottenham beat QPR 3-1.  Unfortunately, Tottenham's concession of a goal meant that my recommended player for gameweek 10 only scored two points.  But don't worry, as mentioned, have faith with him floating about in your team until mid-January.

With the conclusion of gameweek 10, I have sold the Hart and Petrov, in place of Van Der Vaart and Vorm.  I initially chose Hart as I felt that City would keep a good number of clean sheets.  But as this season has proven, clean sheets are a premium.  In fact, Vorm has kept more clean sheets than Hart and is almost half the price in value.  I intend to invest in Silva and Ba at the expense of the squad rotating Dzeko and either Ramsey or Cabaye from my midfield.  Whilst I would not deride Ramsey or Cabaye (they are both quality players!), they are not as attacking as Silva, who is regularly able to breach defensive lines with his abundance of goals and assists.

My team for GW 11 has now been uploaded on to the blog.  I will post my recommended player for gameweek 11 shortly - hopefully within the next 24 hours or so.  Until then, stay "Tooned"!

Solutions to England's national football system

Hi folks. I can't post my GW 10 summary yet, as Stoke are due to play Newcastle United on Monday. Instead, to fill the void, I thought that I should post my "Football Reform Manifesto" that I wrote up after England's lacklustre performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Let me know your thoughts and enjoy...

Solutions to England's national football system:
Football Reform Manifesto - written circa July 2010

Scrap the League Cup

- There is no point in having two domestic cup competitions (the other being the FA Cup). In recent years, even the big teams have treated the League Cup as a training/reserve team exercise. The abolition of the League Cup will ensure that there is a reduction in fixture congestion and as a result there will be less player fatigue.

Reduce the Premier League to 18 teams

- By reducing the Premier League to 18 teams, the football season will finish earlier, by at least an extra 3-4 weeks. This will ensure that players get more rest and time to recover from each match.

Introduce a Winter Break

- This can be easily achieved if either of the first two proposals are implemented. The ideal time for this to occur would be in the last two weeks of December, midway through the season. This concept is not alien to football and is practised elsewhere, such as in Germany.

Increase the number of England (national and B team) friendly matches

- Time and time again we hear of complaints about English players not getting enough time to show their "talent" in an England shirt. As it stands, the limited number of friendlies creates a situation where young players would be lucky to get 10 minutes of match play in a friendly. If they fail to prove their worth, they may not get picked again. With a reduced Premier League and Winter Break, the England national football team could easily play at least two more extra friendly matches per year, in which you can have a mixed squad of players playing against mediocre and good opposition. In addition, the England B team should be revived and used as a regular platform for English players (over the age of 21) that play in the Premier League, but are on the fringes of the England national team.

Invest in Youth Development

- This may seem pretty obvious, but it is often neglected, especially in England. The FA had a "School of Excellence" from 1984-1999, which produced the likes of Michael Owen and Joe Cole (and many other Premier League players). However, no decent alternative exists today. Without something similar and better, the England football team will not progress any time soon.

Introduce a "5-domestic players rule" per match squad

- It would be wrong to put a cap on the number of EU and non-EU players that play in the Premier League. However, it is about time that the FA did do more to nurture domestic talent in the top flight. One way that they could do this would be to introduce a rule that demands the inclusion of at least 5 English players in a match squad. To put this in perspective, that would be 5 players from a first team squad of 16-20. It will ensure that English players get a chance, whilst not undermining the positive presence of foreign players.

Introduce a salary cap

- It is unbelievable to think that a considerable number of English players earn over £100,000 a week, yet fail to deliver on the international stage. The Premier League has the highest average weekly wage per player in the world. Paying high amounts to such players only adds to their egos and prima donna statuses. Consequently, as a common sense and cost effective measure, it would be best to introduce a salary cap (excluding performance related bonuses) that is reviewed every season.

Encourage English born players to play abroad

- Time and time again we see young foreign players leaving their home countries to seek opportunities abroad. Such a hunger is currently not present within England. In fact, it is rare for an English player to ply their trade abroad. Of course, there are rare exceptions that do, such as Owen Hargreaves who started at Bayern Munich as a youth player and then became a full England international. France (and the continent) is only a train ride away for many would-be English professionals that want to develop their game. Instead of complaining about the lack of opportunities abroad, they should be incentivised to go abroad to develop their game, rather than slumping into semi-professional/amateur oblivion.

Transfer control of the England team from the FA to the Premier League

- This is a controversial idea, but the fact of the matter is that almost all English players are contracted to Premier League clubs. It would make more sense for the governing body of the Premier League to take charge of the England team than the FA. The FA should concentrate on the administration of the Football League (Championship to League One), as well as the development of grass-roots football. The Premier League may be money-driven, but it is also results driven, unlike the FA. Therefore a radical shake up in the overseeing of the England team could lead to better success on and off the pitch.

Why do we need change?  Because It's time to learn from past mistakes...

Major changes to Fantasy Premier League from last year

Major changes to Fantasy Premier League from last year

More than just a makeover...

My team for gameweek 2 during the 2010/2011 season.

60 points scored, with 12 points lost on the bench.

I know it's gameweek 10, but there are some changes that have occurred to the game from last year that you may not be aware of.  I think its important for me to highlight the aforementioned to prevent you from being unwittingly short changed.  Apart from the obvious aesthetic interface makeover, Fantasy Premier League has changed in three major ways:

1) Overall Points deduction via extra transfers (not just Head-to-Head Leagues)

Last year if you made more than one transfer per gameweek, points would be automatically deducted from your head-to-head tallies, but not from your overall leagues or classic league points. This year, you will now also lose points from your overall leagues and classic league tallies.  It means that you need to be wiser with your transfer spending as you will lose out on an overall ranking basis with bad team selections.  Read my Management Advice page for more information.

2) Wildcard

A wildcard allows you to change your entire selected team for any gameweek without having any points deducted from your overall, classic and head-to-head league tallies. Last year the FPL game issued each team with two wild cards - to be used at any time. This year there are two wild cards, of which only one can be used between gameweeks 20 and gameweeks 23 with the other any time before or after.  My advice would be to avoid using your wildcard unless you absolutely have to, i.e. perennial bad injuries, long-term suspensions or poor form for a significant number of your team's players.  If you are going to use it voluntarily, try doing so after the January transfer window and/or near the end of the season, in case teams have bought new signings and they do well later on.

3) Bonus points update

Previously, bonus points per match would be updated within a few hours of match's completion, i.e. For a match that finished at 5pm, bonus points would usually be added by 9pm on that day.  Unfortunately it now takes a lot longer.  In fact you have to wait until the end of the weekend, i.e. all matches completed by Sunday would mean that bonus points will be updated by about 9ish on Monday morning.  This can be frustrating as you won't know your actual points or league rankings until a lot later, rather than on the day.  To complain about this or any new changes or faults, feel free to contact Fantasy Premier League on the following email address:

support@mail.fantasy.premierleague.com