Weekly @FanFeudPodcast - Gameweek 3

Weekly Fantasy Football Show

You can also listen on iTunes. 

Please follow FanFeudPodcast on Twitter!

Stag's Knight - Gameweek 2

 

The Stag surveyed the expanse of colours laid out before him. The jerseyed knights jostled for positions, snarling as they sought the upperground and overenthusiastically celebrated their triumphs. However, The Stag required a differential.  Only a knight less than 20% of the herd would do.  Only one knight could help him vault the others over the next 3 gameweeks.  Only one knight could bring him the fabled Green Arrows.  A knight to brighten his day.

This week's Stag's Knight is Sunderland's new summer signing Jeremain Lens. The Dutch international arrived at recently at the Stadium of Light from Dynamo Kyiv for the princely sum of £8 million to be reunited with his former boss Dick Advocaat. The manager himself explained the transfer; "We had a problem last season making goals and also creating chances, so something was wrong in both midfield and up front and that's why we bought Lens," 

That quote perfectly sums up why FPL managers should take note of Lens too. I've selected him mainly due to his apparently superior attacking ability to his Sunderland peers going forward. Sure Adam Johnson isn't a bad FPL prospect, but he's injured and I doubt the Black Cats' main striker Jermain Defoe in the long run, Why Sunderland players you may ask? Well it's obvious really. Their next three games will provide ample opportunity for their attacking players to notch up goals and assists. They have two winnable home games against Norwich and Swansea followed by an away trip to face Aston Villa. Now I know we can't be certain about any team's defence based on the one game we've seen so far, but we can speculate. The Canaries conceded 3 goals at home to Palace in gameweek one. Hence when dragged away from home, I'd expect an even poorer showing. Swansea did themselves proud against the mighty Chelsea last week and Sunderland will struggle here. Maybe I'm being optimistic in calling this game "winnable" for the Black Cats but I think we can all agree that Sunderland could certainly get a goal here. Finally, Lens' third game away to Villa shouldn't be the most difficult of the trio. After the Villains' laboured victory against newly promoted Bournemouth last week, I'd fancy Lens to pick up some attacking returns here too,

I'll pitch Lens the player a bit more now. Coming in at a minuscule 0.9% ownership at 6.5, he is Sunderland's most expensive FPL player. I find this percentage to be astoundingly low considering that in 326 career appearances, he has scored 89 goals and assisted another 83. For those that love a good stat, that comes out as about 0.53 Goals/Assists per game. Sometimes, I'm seriously skeptical about career stats such as these. However, we must consider that the highly experienced and world class manager Dick Advocaat has now managed Lens at three separate clubs. He would never have invested in Lens if he didn't see him having the ability to crack open Premier League defences. For what it's worth, Lens has already shown hints of his class on English soil grabbing an assist in last weeks defeat to Leicester.

You could be forgiven for reading this piece and casting it aside purely because of how poor Sunderland were last week. Advocaat said his own side "scared him" at times during the humiliating encounter. For much of the game, they were off the pace and uninspiring. Morale will have taken a hit in the dressing room but I think a rebound against Norwich will kickstart Sunderland's league campaign. Lens has the creative nous to propel Sunderland over the next three gameweeks.

You can ask me questions and follow me on Twitter @FPLStag

Five Tips for Success In Football Chairman

You may have noticed that I have been playing a lot of Football Chairman Pro lately.  As well as being very addictive, at times it can be downright difficult as you attempt to find a way to build a successful club without blowing your overdraft & going bust.

Click here to learn more

So I asked the game’s developers to give me their top five tips for success, and this is what they came back with…

1, Think long-term

One of Football Chairman’s big attractions is the fact that seasons can be completed in just 15-20 minutes, making it the ideal game to pass a few idle minutes on your commute to work or school.

People normally play the game for hundreds, even thousands, of in-game seasons, so there’s no point taking a short-term approach.

In order to succeed you need to think ahead – try to work out a five-year plan for success.  For instance if you want to invest in a good youth system it might take a few years to bear fruit… but stick to your plan, be patient, and hopefully your strategy will pay off.

2, Wheel and deal in the transfer market

The best way to keep your in-game bank manager happy is to master the art of wheeling and dealing in the transfer market.  Buy players on the cheap (preferably free!) and if they’re under 25 years old, even better.

Then, when your players are just starting to get past their best (late 20s, early 30s) don’t be afraid to sell them on for a profit if a big bid comes in.  The fans might not like losing star players, but if you can reinvest the transfer money wisely, you’ll quickly get the supporters back onside.

But although it’s good to snap up some bargains in the transfer market, don’t let your squad size or wage budget spiral out of control.  There’s no point in paying a whole load of players to sit in the reserves and do nothing.

3, Don’t overstretch yourself

It can be really tempting to blow a load of money on a big new stand, top-notch training facilities or an expensive youth setup.  But don’t try to push your club too fast – there’s no point having a huge expensive stadium if you don’t have enough fans to fill it.

Likewise, there’s no point building the world’s best youth academy or training complex if your team is still in the lower divisions.  Try to develop your club slowly and steadily, in line with each division, rather than jumping ahead with expensive developments.

4, Appoint the best manager you can

Some people try to save money by appointing a cheaper manager – but that’s a false economy.

A cheaper, poorer manager will need better players in order to succeed.  So you’ll end up spending more money on transfers, and if results start to go wrong, the fans will start to desert you and the gate receipts will drop.

And when the pressure from the fans becomes overwhelming, you’ll need to give him a pay-off in order to sack him.

On the flipside, a good manager will get more from your players, leading to over-achievement on the field, better results, bigger crowds, and ultimately more money in the bank.

If he’s really good, he might get poached by a bigger club – leaving you with compensation in the bank to find an even better replacement!

5, Above all… remember you’re the Chairman, not the Manager

It might sound obvious but the one thing that causes people the most problems is that they try to play the game as though they are the manager of the club, not the chairman.

In a traditional football management sim, results are all that matter.  Fail on the pitch and you’ll be sacked.  But in Football Chairman, there’s an even bigger pitfall – your club’s financial security.

Although everyone wants to fill their trophy cabinet, keeping your bank account full is actually more important.  If you focus on making sure your club stays out of its overdraft, then you’ll have a sound platform for success on the pitch.

Sometimes as chairman you might have to make decisions that you wouldn't have chosen to make in a football management game – for instance selling a star player, or investing in the stadium instead of buying that new goalkeeper.

But find a solution to those dilemmas and you’ll be a success as a chairman.

Ready to put those tips into practice?  Search the app stores for ‘Football Chairman’ or visit www.football-chairman.com for more information.

Click here to learn more

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 2

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will

most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

CAPTAIN: BENTEKE

(Captain Pick influenced by Fantasy Football Fix's Guide)

CHIPS USED: 0

TRANSFERS USED: 0

@FPLHints Classic League Code: 274-641

Thoughts:

There's no denying it, GW1 was an absolute nightmare.  It was my worst ever start to a FPL season and I equalled my joint lowest net score (25).  I guess things can only get better from here.  "We go again".  I have decided to not make any transfers in GW2.  Instead, I have every intention of buying Aguero or Sanchez in GW3 without taking a hit.  I'm unimpressed by Sterling and Ozil; now favourites for the chop.  I also expect a lot more from Ivanovic, Benteke and Chadli.  In addition, I don't mind Graham being a dud sub.  Ironically, Cedric and Oxford (my subs from GW1) bagged more fantasy returns than my first XI put together!  The fact that Fantasy Football Fix's algorithm endorses Benteke as a viable captain for my team (and with Liverpool playing Monday Night Football at home against the newly promoted Cherries) makes me somewhat content for GW2.

Finally...

GW2 kicks off this Friday - The FPL deadline will be 6.45pm BST (14/8/15).

Accentuate the Positives

Guest post by @fplchips

 

The grass isn't always greener

After the long summer break the Premier League curtain was finally raised this weekend. If the pre-season dress rehearsals were anything to go by, our star-studded cast was expected to deliver a stunning opening night performance, but from the moment Wayne Rooney fluffed his first line, panic began to spread throughout the theatre of dreams...

A Tragedy In 3 Parts

Act 1

First up, Romero made an unexpected appearance on stage. Then Thibaut saw red and struck a fatal blow to Mourinho, but not before carelessly tripping up Count Gomis. The audience could barely watch as he then got to his feet and fired a shot that whistled past Thibaut’s understudy.

Act 2

Things did not improve in the next act, as Petr Cech, who had previously always played the hero, was instead miscast as a the pantomime villain.

Act 3

By the time Juliette appeared at the Etihad balcony in Act 3, much like this metaphor, most of us were begging for the end to come quickly.

Needless to say the reviews have been far from favourable:

“Simply Barmy”, @fplhints

“Nightmare!”, @BonusFPL

“Everyone a disappointment, total rubbish”, @fplfashion

Many are calling for a complete recast before the next performance, and who can blame them, but before taking such drastic measures, I think it’s worth shining the spotlight on some of the positives. As usual, I’ll be looking to the stats to provide some clarity of thought.

Oh, and you’ll be pleased to hear the metaphor has now ended.

Low Ownership

Let’s start by looking at the ownership of the big scorers this week.

Goalkeepers

Adrián: 11 points - 3.8% ownership*

Romero: 8 points - 2% ownership*

*(based on current % minus net transfers in)

So it’s not as if every manager and their dog cashed in on these two goalkeeping performances and I dare say many owners will have benched Adrián away to Arsenal - we can assume that most Romero owners had him as backup to de Gea and therefore he will have played.

Defenders

Kompany: 14 points - 11.5% ownership*

Gomez: 11 points - 2.5% ownership*

*(based on current % minus net transfers in)

Those without Kompany will feel the pinch a bit here, but of the defenders who scored 5-8 points, Clyne is owned by about a third of all players - and may well have been benched by some away to Stoke anyway - Azpilicueta is owned by around one fifth of all players - and presumably most will have played him away to West Brom - and the rest had at most 7% ownership. So whilst you’d be unlucky not to have registered a single clean sheet, you might count yourself lucky if you got anything more than that from your defence.

Midfielders

Yaya: 16 points - 5% ownership*

Mahrez: 15 points - 4% ownership*

Albrighton: 15 points - < 1% ownership*

Coutinho: 10 points - 12.5% ownership*

Cabaye: 10 points - 8 % ownership*

Ayew: 10 points - 2.5% ownership*

*(based on current % minus net transfers in)

Whilst there may be some cause for alarm for managers who were without any of these six players, ownership is low and many of them will have been benched for GW1 anyway - either due to fixtures or because they were bought as a cheap backup option. One thing is certain: the 56% of you who own Eden Hazard won’t have to wait long for a return on your £11.5m investment.

Forwards

Koné: 11 points - 1% ownership*

Cissé: 9 points - 2% ownership*

Zárate: 8 points - 1% ownership*

*(based on current % minus net transfers in)

Not much to say here really. Koné was the pick of the bunch, but most of his owners will no doubt have stuck him on the bench when it became clear that Lukaku was likely to start. A few of Cissé’s owners will have backed him to get something at home to Southampton. Zárate is unlikely to have been in many starting elevens away to Arsenal.

Elsewhere, high ownership players such as Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku scored just 5 points each. Though in my case, that was a relief, as captaining Rooney was the only thing that saved me from the indignity of averaging just 2 points per player.

So with low ownership and fairly low points hauls, no matter which of your big hitters failed to live up to their price-tag in GW1, you can rest assured that you only lost ground to a small proportion of FPL managers. The ones you did lose ground to may well stick rather than twisting and you can expect your big hitters to claw much of that back sooner rather than later.

Overall Standings

So what about those you lost ground to; how much ground did you lose?

Although the leading player scored an impressive 109 points, this included 48 points from playing his one and only Triple Captain chip on Yaya Touré. Whilst a 16 point base-score is reasonable, it’s nothing compared to what you might be able to get by playing the chip during a double gameweek.

Looking further down the table:

• 78 points was enough to put you in the top 1,000 players overall
• 60 points would have put you in the top 1% of all players
• a third of all players scored less than 30 points

With just 26 extra points being enough to put a player with the average score of 34 into the top 1%, there isn't much ground to make up over the majority of your rivals, especially as Courtois can’t get sent off again!

Money Worries

One common reason to play an early wildcard is to cash in on the inevitable bandwagons that occur early on in the season. However, player price increases have been significantly slowed down since the rule changes last year. This, coupled with the fact that GW1 finished on Monday and GW2 starts on Friday, makes it very unlikely that any player will go up in value by more than £0.2m this week, with probably just a handful going up by £0.1m. Perhaps more importantly, no player is likely to go down by more than £0.1m either. So with that in mind, is it really worth playing your wildcard before you've seen enough games to determine who the regular starters are and before the end of the summer transfer window.

Check out the Fantasy Football Fix site for the latest predictions on price rises.

NB: at the time of writing no player has gone up or down in price yet.

Conclusion

So hopefully this has provided some much needed ointment for those of you still licking your wounds after GW1. If you managed to post a decent score then very well done; if not, you’re not alone :)

Weekly @FanFeud Football Show - Gameweek 2

Weekly Fantasy Football Show

You can also listen on iTunes. 

Please follow FanFeudPodcast on Twitter!

Your ultimate guide to the 2015/16 season is here!

 

With less than 24 hours until the start of the season, we have an exclusive pre-season offer for you on the 2015/16 Season Guide by the stats geniuses at fantasyfootballfix.com, giving you a one-time massive 20% discount off the standard fix price.

We chose our partners carefully here at FPLHints and whether you’re a rookie manager or the ‘Special One’, this guide is your essential companion to winning your leagues and dominating your rivals. So how will it help you?

Predictive Goals, Assists and Stats – No guesswork, no bias, no punditry, just fix predictive stats at unrivalled accuracy levels over 80%. Wouldn’t it be great to know how many points each player will score each Gameweek?

The Winning Game Strategies – Every player analysed, every team reviewed. Get the secrets on transfer strategies, how to structure your team and inside tips on league domination.

Fix Tools & Features – Fix predictive stats are powered by the most accurate football algorithm ever. Fact. The guide gives you exclusive fix features with the best player picks so you can create the highest scoring squad.

Your Exclusive Discount Code: CHIEF

This special offer is only available to FPLHints users until midnight Sunday, so be sure make the most of the exclusive 20% discount we have secured for you.

CLICK HERE TO REDEEM YOUR DISCOUNT

Don’t get left behind this season by your rivals, get the knowledge to win now with the fix season guide…

Regards,

Chief @FPLHints

Stag's Knight - Gameweek 1

The Stag surveyed the expanse of colours laid out before him. The jerseyed knights jostled for positions, snarling as they sought the upperground and overenthusiastically celebrated their triumphs. However, The Stag required a differential.  Only a knight less than 20% of the herd would do.  Only one knight could help him vault the others over the next 3 gameweeks.  Only one knight could bring him the fabled Green Arrows.  A knight to brighten his day.

My inaugural pick for my weekly slot is Southampton's Senegalese international Sadio Mané.  Coming in at just 7.5% ownership, lower than Saints teammates Fonte, Wanyama and Pellè. I put Mané's low ownership down to his steep enough price. At 8.0, he falls into direct competition with mid price options (7.0 & 7.5) like Henderson and Milner. Even more so, he competes with slightly more expensive midfielders, particularly the Arsenal group that cause so many FPL headaches. 

Why have I spouted out all that irrelevant rubbish about ownership you ask? I just want to put you all at ease that there are reasons why people haven't selected Mané other than possible performance doubts. Another reason which cannot be discounted is that many people feel they have sufficient cover for Southampton's attack when they have the aforementioned Pellè. I feel Mané is as good a pick as Pellè if not better. I'll dive into basic stats to justify this!

 

Last season, Mané managed 11 goals and 4 assists in 30 appearances. Quite a few of them were off the bench too before he really established himself at the club. Regardless, that comes out as more than a goal every three games and a goal or assist (G/A) every second match. That's a fantastic return! He racked up 15 BPS too along the way.

Mané is deployed as both a winger and sometimes a shadow striker. Obviously, the latter is the more appealing from an FPL point of view. However, his most memorable Premier League game to date came while he was playing off the wing. If you don't know what I'm alluding to then I'll enlighten you. Mané bagged a hat-trick at the tail end of last season against Villa in a record 176 seconds. That's clinical goal scoring ability!

Now, as Chief says; "Form is key, class doesn't matter." I could tell you all about last season but that means nothing now. In Mané's competitive games so far this season, Europa League qualifying games versus Vitesse, he notched up an impressive 2 assists in a 3-0 victory in the first leg. In the second leg, he got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win. He hasn't lost his attacking bias clearly!

Stag's Knight is based on 3 gameweeks worth of potential. My picks should ideally have form and fixtures on their side. Mané has both the former and the latter. The Saints travel to St James' Park to play Newcastle this weekend before hosting Everton and going away to newboys Watford. Newcastle's struggles in defence have been well documented and I don't believe they've bolstered up much over the summer in that department. Everton's defence also conceded a lot of goals last season. While they'll certainly fix their issues, I still think Mané has the ability to unlock them. Watford seem to be the weakest of the promoted teams and their mountain of summer signings will need time before they become an effective unit (if ever). A team such as Southampton who are aiming high should rip them to shreds. If they do as I expect, Mané will be involved.

If you want to get in contact with me to ask a question or just hurl abuse, you'll find me on Twitter - @FPLStag.