Saturday Review - 29th Sep 12

My fantasy team & decision making have been extremely crap this week, which does makes me wonder why I bother giving advice when I can't even perform above average.

Then Spurs broke a 23-years streak. FINALLY!!!

Anyway, here's a long gameweek review for Saturday's game:

Defence? What Defence?

Stoke & Sunderland were the only 2 teams that managed to keep a clean sheet tonight. As highlighted by the picks of the week, both teams are are tough to beat at home, and with fixtures easing up for both teams after Week 9, one might want to shortlist their defensive options for now.

goals, Goals, GOALS!!!

Suarez. 2nd successive hattrick at Carrow Road, with an assist to boot. With 2 home fixtures against Stoke & Reading next, it'll be no surprise to see many jump onto his bandwagon, though a word of caution: in between those 2 games will be Uruguay's World Cup Qualifiers at Argentina & Bolivia.

Crouchino!!

2 goals against a crumbling Swansea team, Peter Crouch has already notch 4 goals in 6 games during Stoke's difficult fixtures. Once his fixtures look better, he could be a worth differential for teams who are looking to catch up on others.

Demba Ba, 1st half season sensation again?

From 101 Great Goals

Yet again, Ba torments fantasy managers (like me) who didn't pick him with 2 goals this game week. With 5 already this season & Cisse still drawing a blank, will it look like a repeat of the previous season, where Ba goes on a rampage for only the 1st half of the season? 

Everton won 3-1, but not from what you expect...

All eyes might be on Baines/Fellaini/Pienaar, but it's Jelavic who stole the show today. His return from injury with 2 goals in tonight's match. and this makes it 10 goals in his last 11 Premier League appearances for Everton. With an array of options to choose from, fantasy managers will find it tough to pick out which Everton asset to drop among these star picks.

The Man who turns Wingers into Strikers

From 101 Great Goals

Gervinho have found a new life after being moved into a central attacker role. He has now scored as many goals in 6 games this season as he did in the whole of 2011-12 for Arsenal (37 games in all comps), though fantasy managers might take caution that he isn't a confirmed starter & isn't as steady compared to other seasoned strikers.

Mata up, Hazard down

Even though RDM has mentioned that Mata needs a break, but based on his current form, it'll be hard for the Chelsea manager to rest him. 1 goal & 1 assist tonight makes him the on-form midfielder for the team.

On the other hand, the misclassified striker Hazard have let their fantasy managers down with no attacking points to show for. However, do note that Chelsea's next game is against Norwich, so this might be one last chance for Hazard to prove his worth in a striker's role.

Steven Fletcher, Scotland Legend

Even though he lost his 100% shot-per-goal record, he still managed to score his 5th goal for the season for the Black Cats.

Let's see, how many strikers can we fit into the team?

That's why they're highly-priced midfielders

From 101 Great Goals

Gerrard, Silva, Nani, Bale, Mata, Dempsey. 6 of the 9 highest priced midfielders priced midfielders & they gave attacking inputs.

With most of the focus on mid-to-budget priced strikers & with defenders conceding so frequently, one might be looking to use those extra funds on perhaps one of the abovementioned midfielders.

On a personal note, there will be no Sunday review immediately after the game, as I gotta wake up early for my 2 weeks Reservist In Camp training. Rest assured, I'll still be trying my best to keep this blog updated while protecting the country & making sure that you are able to sleep soundly and safely.

Tomorrow is my book in day...book in...book in...

Picks of the Week - Gameweek 7

For Picks of the Week, I'll look into the gameweek's matches & form a team using £55mil budget. This can be a useful guide for those who are thinking of substituting players, or wondering which player might be a better captain.

Note: This picks are only for a short 1 week term & may not represent good value in the long-run.

Simon Mignolet was chosen between the sticks due to Sunderland's stingy defence. Ever since Martin O'Neill took over the team last December, the team managed to keep 6 clean sheets out of 12 home games, making Mignolet a good candidate for a clean sheet this week.

Another reason to pick Leighton Baines: According to OPTA statistics, he has already created 24 chances for his teammates, leading to 2 assists. Putting that into perspective, Kyle Walker is the next best fullback...with 9 chances created. His partnership with Pienaar on the left midfield will be one of the main threat for Southampton when they arrive at Goodison Park.

Rafael, on the other hand, is becoming a scoring threat down the right. 6 attempts in 4 games, the Man Utd rightback only lose out to Boyce & Glen Johnson in terms of shots attempted for fullbacks. Taking into consideration Tottenham's poor record at Old Trafford, & Vertonghen's attacking penchant, Rafael might be able to find his way through a defence which have yet to keep a clean sheet.

Unlucky not to get points from their gutsy performance against Chelsea last week, Stoke heads back to Britannia Stadium against a sliding Swansea team, whom, despite their nicknames, are weak in the air during set-pieces. Either Ryan Shawcross or Robert Huth can benefit if either can take advantage of their weakness.

Despite his 2 own goals, Villa's Ciaran Clark has been one of the bright spark for the Villians. He already have a goal to his name, and with Villa obtaining an outstanding result against Man City midweek in the Capitol One Cup, the morale boosting victory might just be the tonic to push Aston Villa up the table & Clark might reap the rewards on both ends of the pitch.

With only 2 players from 1 team allowed, I have to go with Marouane Fellaini instead of Steven Pienaar due to his higher positioning in the penalty area. Either player should do fine against a travel-sick Southampton, who have conceded 9 goals in 2 away games.

Hatem Ben Arfa's stock have risen over the few weeks, thanks to his 2 goals & 1 assist, and is likely to rise higher after facing the Royals this week, who are still trying to find their feet in the lofty heights of Premier League. 

Arsenal might be facing a tough London derby against Chelsea, but as Santi Carzorla have shown against Man City, he was able to shine against tough opponents despite his 1pt output. With the added home advantage, the Spaniard might give their fantasy owners better returns this week.

Robin van Persie has managed to score against Spurs in the past 4 season, and I won't be surprised if he makes it 5 in a row at Old Trafford this weekend. On a red-hot form of 5 goals in 3 starts, and with Rooney likely to start from the bench, the Dutchman will be the main attacking focal point in this game.

Doubts over Carlos Tevez playing time & being the only Man City striker rested in the Capitol One Cup meant that Sergio Aguero will be assured of the starting role at Fulham. Looking at the short history meetings, Aguero managed to score 3 goals in 2 Premier League matches against The Cottagers last season.

Reading have yet to register a clean sheet, conceding 9 goals in 4 games...which will be good news yet again for Demba Ba's owners when the Newcastle team travels to the Madejski.

Scoreboard - Week 2...I meant 6.

With all 10 matches completed on Sunday, here's an early edition of the Scoreboard after the second game week (which is Week 6....I'll explain that later):

TFLTalk League - Week 6 (Overall)

Hangouts, led by Eliya Handayani, jumped 12 spots to nudge Andrew Him's Pride of the North off the top spot for the overall ranking in TFLTalk League, thanks to his 46pts week, which is the highest for the week. (The Weekly Ranking charts is shown below).

Chiau Ren Yu's Manchester Jurong United climbed from 15th to 3rd with an impressive 44pts gameweek, while Abdullah Hussein's Anfield remained at 4th, 2 pts away from a Top 3 spot. Rounding up the Top 5 is derek jacobi's Get to the chopper!, whose team scored 4 goals last week, but shot blanks this week.

TFLTalk League - Week 6 (Weekly)

Tang Lin Hei's The Punishers scored the most amount of goals for the week, due to Lambert (2), Duff, RVP & Fellaini, but as the captain's armband was assigned to the lowest goalscorer (RVP), Lin Hei was unfortunate not to top the charts.

Based on TFLTalk League, the average gameweek score was 28.86, so congratulations to those who have done well for the league!

Now, if you notice the "View Gamephrase" in the Weekly charts, TFL actually considers this as Week 6, even though the game has commence for only 2 weeks...which means the September Manager of the Month will be decided by NEXT WEEK!!!

Overall Leaderboard - Week 6

Unless there's a surprise scoring source (e.g. Buttner), the September Manager of the Month is likely to be from the current Top 16. In fact, I fancy Lim Guorong's Village Idiots chances, as he is the only Top 5 manager who still have 4 transfers to use.

For those who doesn't understand: If a player is in your team at the scheduled kick-off time of their match they will be eligible to score you points. Hence, it's possible to swap out players who have played & swap in players in the later games in order to increase your point tally.

If Village Idiots plans his strategy correctly, he could end up with 15 players FOR THIS GAMEWEEK. On the flip side, this means he will have to blow up his team & only have 25 more transfers in 32 rounds of Premier League. 

Guess it'll depends on whether he wants to go for glory now, or to fight a longer battle to be the Top Overall Manager. 

Oh, and I have to add one new scoreboard from this week:

David Ngiau's Eat My Shorts Scoreboard (Week 6)

Yaya Toure 2:2 Frank Lampard

Story: David Ngiau has quoted that he will eat his shorts if Frank Lampard outscores Yaya Toure this season. If that happens, I'll personally sponsor a pair of shorts for his consumption.

Sunday Review - 23rd Sep 12

Before I dive into Sunday's review, I'd realised that I've been cruising the past few days, churning out contents just because I felt the need to.

So I've decided to try to revise into scheduled columns instead:

Sundays & Mondays - Gameweek Review on the happenings on Saturday & Sunday. 

Tuesdays (or after a gameweek ends) - Scoreboard Update on the movement in TFLTalk league & Overall Standings after the gameweek is complete. 

Fridays - Picks of the Week, a selection of picks who might do well in the upcoming gameweek.

Saturdays - Weekly Roundup on team news & injuries for your selection prior to a gameweek.

2nd week of every month - Fixtures Scan 444, for look ahead at the next FOUR gameweek to see which FOUR teams have easy fixtures, and which FOUR teams might have a tough month ahead.

Hence, Wednesday & Thursdays will be my rest days, unless there's any midweek fixtures or trends to note. If anyone has any interesting ideas, do drop me an e-mail at TFLtalk-at-gmail-dot-com or tweet me at @TFLTalk, which I'll be having more up-to-date fantasy news.

& let's get to the main story on Sunday!

Revisions from yesterday's post

- Swansea's Nathan Dyer will be available for next week’s trip to Stoke, though, as he will serve his one-match suspension in the midweek Capital One Cup clash with Crawley.

- Since Southampton's 3rd goal was attributed to a Ciaran Clark's own goal, Rickie Lambert was credited with only 2 goals instead. This is Ciaran Clark 2nd own goal this season...who is his mentor anyway?

Oh.

(For those who are wondering, Richard Dunne scored a record total of 9 Premier League own goals)

The case of the missing Centrebacks

2 defensive stalwarts were missing in today's game, as Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen was out due to  flu, while Nemanja Vidic was rested for...Carling Cup? Then again, Vidic has seen four red cards against Liverpool, so it might be a tactical decision after all.

This shows that even with all the team news you received on Saturday, you can still be screwed by a last minute decision.

Can we play 4 fullbacks instead?

With Rafael getting on the scoresheet & Glen Johnson getting an assist, fullbacks have already accounted for 7 goals & 6 assists, while Joleon Lescott & Laurent Koscielny is the only centreback scorer in these 2 weeks.    Fantasy managers have to wonder if it's worth it to splurge their budget on top centrebacks when one can only hope for clean sheets at best.

Perhaps TODAY can either consider grouping all defenders next season, or to give a higher scoring weightage to Centrebacks.

Demba Ba

Looks like he got something to prove to his manager, as he scored his fourth goal for Newcastle. He might be taking on penalty duties soon, as Papiss Cisse's penalty miss meant that the last season on-form striker have yet to score in the past 6 games. Managers who have selected the wrong Newcastle striker might be slightly relieved that they do not get penalized for a penalty miss.

RVP

& talking about penalties...

RVP's ownership dropped from 51% to 49% this weekend. The experienced fantasy managers would know that dropping RVP last season was a deadly blow to their fantasy team. Would it be a similar case this season?

Adebayor who?

I admit, I'm one of the people who was skeptic when AVB said Jermaine Defoe will be a key player for Tottenham this season. Knowing his penchant for playing a lone striker, it was hard to see how a diminutive striker can lead the line. 4 goals and an assist so far, and he's only 1 off from his 200th Premier League goal, but be warned that he'll be facing Man Utd, Chelsea & Man City in their next 6 games.

Man City concedes again...and who's next?

Manchester City have let in 12 goals in their last seven league and cup games (including the Community Shield).... and next up, they're gonna face Dimitar Berbatov. 

Uh oh.

Saturday Review - 22/09/12

With only 6 Premier League games tonight, let's take a look at the talking point:

Everton's Rising

Everton can finally banish their slow-starters status during the early season. 3 wins and 1 draw from the Toffees see them climbing into a Top 4 spot. Teams who have loaded up on Fellaini (1 goal & assist, 8pts), Baines (1 assist & CS, 8pts), Howard (CS, 5pts) & Pienaar (1 assist, 4pts) looks to reap  more rewards in the future, with SOT, @wig & @qpr in the next 3 games.

Swansea's Falling

After an impressive 1st 3 games, fantasy managers (including myself) had jumped on the Swansea's bandwagon. Who knew that they would have shipped in 5 goals in the past 2 games? Dyer wasn't selected from the start, came on and promptly got 2 yellow cards. Early fantasy favorite Michu gave another 0pt performance with another yellow card.

Before transferring out Swansea players though, bear in mind that they have 2 easy home games in their next 3 games (@sto, RDG, WIG).

Lee Probert's Falling

At least he took it in jest.

Hazard

With him getting substituted out only after 60 minutes, Hazard is another early-fantasy gem that have fallen off the charts. Considering that other options (Berbatov, Fletcher, Lambert) has been scoring well & Chelsea facing tougher teams ahead (ars, tot, MUN), look for fantasy manager to drop the misclassified-striker.

Mid priced striker options: Berbatov, Fletcher, Lambert
Instead, it was the other options who would have pleased their managers. Berbatov continued his hot form with an assist, Fletcher makes it 4 goals in 3 games & Lambert have a brace & an assist today.
All 3 teams have quite favorable fixtures in the next few games, which is likely to see an increase in their ownership.


Clean Sheets...or the lack of
Plenty of last minute heartaches for managers, as Fulham & Sunderland conceded during injury time, leaving only those who selected Chelsea (especially A.Cole), WBA & Everton defence to be happy of clean sheets tonight.


How has your team fared tonight? After a disastrous 19 points start in Week 1, I now have 23 points from Week 2 with 4 players to play. Hope it's been better for ya. :)

News in Brief: 21st Sep 12

Here are some football news for 20th Sep which might affect your fantasy lineup, starting with the the Europa League matches:

- It was the Young Boys against the young boys of Liverpool, as Brendan Rodgers fielded an entirely different 1st 11 from the Sunderland game. These players, such as Jose Enrique, Stewart Downing & Jordan Henderson, looks unlikely to be facing Man Utd on Sunday.

- Similarly, Newcastle fielded mostly squad players in the 0-0 draw against Maritimo. Alan Padrew dismissed rumours that he was angry at Demba Ba, though it's kinda odd that he'll blurt out on Ba's release clause again. 

- In contrast, only Tottenham took the Big Vase seriously, as AVB fielded a strong 1st team against Lazio. There are rumours that Kyle Naughton left the game in a protected cast due to a right foot injury sustained in the game, which might lead to Jan Vertonghen shifting to leftback and Steven Caulker being called upon in central defence.

- Wojciech Szczesny has been ruled out for “two to three weeks” by Arsene Wenger, with Vito Mannone set to be handed the starting role between the sticks for Arsenal.

- Chelsea's Oscar shook off the knock picked up in the midweek Champions League draw with Juventus, and will be in the squad against Stoke.

- Besides the confirmed absentees of Darren Gibson & Nikica Jelavic, Everton's manager David Moyes states that Tony Hibbert is doubtful as well. 

- Martin Jol has revealed Kieran Richardson, Mahamadou Diarra, Simon Davies, Karim Frei, Philippe Senderos and Ashkan Dejagah are all unavailable. With Brian Ruiz & Mladen Petric returning, there might be less gametime for Alex Kacaniklic...

- Sergio Aguero is fit and available, though Samir Nasri is unlikely to feature against his former side due to a hamstring problem. Mancini has also denies any bust up with Mario Balotelli.

- Wayne Rooney will not lead the Manchester United line at Liverpool on Sunday, while Ashley Young is also set to be unavailable for both United and England until mid-October with a knee injury.

- Papiss Cisse is suffering from illness, while Cheik Tiote has been out since the opening day of the season with a calf injury, but both were expected to train on Friday and could be included.

- Anton Ferdinand, Fabio and Armand Traore, Samba Diakite and Stephane Mbia will miss out, while Adel Taarabt is a doubt having sustained a setback in training.

- Swansea is facing a mini-crisis with Ashley Williams, Leon Britton, Jonathan de Guzman and Danny Graham doubtful, while Kemy Agustien joins a lengthy list of absentees including Neil Taylor, Chico Flores, Kyle Bartley and Garry Monk.

News in Brief: 20th Sep 12

Here are some football news for 20th Sep which might affect your fantasy lineup, starting with the Champions League matches:

- At Old Trafford, De Gea, Evans & Evra started in place of Lindegaard, Rio Ferdinand & pick-of-last-week Buttner, while Darren Fletcher came on the pitch on the 79th minute. Michael Carrick scored the only goal of the game after being fed by Shinji Kagawa, while the scoreline could have been greater had Nani put away the penalty.

Ferguson took the blame for not assigning a penalty taker prior to the match. He quoted in the post-match conference

To be honest with you, I had no idea. I think Nani just ran and grabbed the ball. I thought Robin should have taken it. I think we will have to decide before the game – that was my fault, I should have done that.

 Until Rooney returns from injury, it looks like the penalty duties will be handled by RVP.

- Fernando Torres was the only recognizable striker in Chelsea's lineup, as Daniel Sturridge was out with a hamstring injury. However, the star of the night belongs to Oscar. Handed a starting role against European giants Juventus, he had a dream debut by scoring both Chelsea's goals in the 2-2 draw. (Assists by Hazard & A.Cole)

However, he was subbed out late in the game due to a nasty ankle injury, so do not jump on his bandwagon till Chelsea assesses his injury situation.

- Plenty of injury news to worry about:

• A Hamstring injury rules out Tottenham's Emmanueal Adebayor for tonight's Europa League clash against Lazio. Defoe's the likely beneficiary if Adebayor doesn't recover for the weekend matches.
• Everton's striker Nikica Jelavic will be out for at least 2 weeks due to his clash with the goalpost during the game against Newcastle. Kevin Mirallas or Victor Anichebe looks set to replace him in the starting 11.
• Martin O’Neill expects Carlos Cuellar to miss this weekend’s game at West Ham with a hamstring injury, and is likely to remain doubtful for the next few weeks. MON also mentioned that the timetable for Adam Johnson's return remains uncertain.
• Roberto Martinez admitted that Antolin Alcaraz is doubtful ahead of this weekend’s Barclays Premier League clash with Fulham at the DW Stadium.
• WBA's manager Clarke revealed Steven Reid is continuing his rehab work on his hamstring problem but described new boy Goran Popov’s chances of playing as ‘very doubtful’.  Liam Ridgewell & Gareth McAuley (& Billy Jones) owners can breathe a short sigh of relief as their places in the first team looks secured this weekend.
• ADDITIONAL NEWS: Martin Jol state that Fulham's Bryan Ruiz is back from injury, and Mladen Petric is available for selection.

Follow me on Twitter (@TFLTalk) for bite-size updates & opinions, and it's never too late to join my TFLTalk League (PIN: 28330).

News in Brief: 19th Sep 12

Here are some football news which might affect your fantasy lineup:

- In this morning Champions League match, Arsenal claimed a 2-1 victory over Montpellier, with Lukas Podolski (6.6) & Gervinho (6.0) getting on the scoresheet, assisted by Olivier Giroud (6.9) & Carl Jenkinson (4.0). Abou Diaby (3.9) made his return from injury, and was rewarded with a yellow card within the 1st minute of the game. Do note that Gervinho was deployed in a right-wing position for the game.

- Although Man City scored 2 goals too, but they were on a losing end of a 2-3 defeat to Real Madrid. Edin Dzeko (7.0) & Aleksandar Kolarov (4.7) scored, while an assist was given to Yaya Toure (4.8). Man City's lineup sprung a few surprises: Matija Nastasic (4.6) was selected ahead of Lescott and Kolo Toure, while Gael Clichy (4.9) was selected ahead of Kolarov, though he was substituted in the 1st half for an injured Samir Nasri (5.1). Keep an eye on his injury status during the week. There are rumours that he might miss the weekend clash against his former club, Arsenal.

Tempers flared after the game, as Joe Hart was critical of his teammates in a post-match interview after the game. This led to a stern rebuke from manager Roberto Mancini:

Joe Hart should stay in goal and make saves. If anyone should criticise the team it should be me, not Joe Hart. I am the judge, not Joe Hart.

Joe Hart's position in the team should be safe, but this might not bode well in their preparation for the big clash against Arsenal.

- Alex Ferguson revealed that he WILL rotate both De Gea (4.5) & Lindegaard (4.4). Speaking in the pre-CL match conference yesterday:

“The most important thing I’m trying to do is give both of them experience in the English game. Neither is as experienced as Edwin van der Sar or Peter Schmeichel. Alternating isn’t a problem for me. They’re both equally very good goalkeepers. That’s the policy we’ve adopted this season and last season, although De Gea played most of last season after Lindegaard was injured. I’m comfortable with this situation.”

It's time for fantasy managers to drop both Man Utd keepers out of their team & banish from your shortlist. Unless there's a lengthy injury to either keeper, you're likely to be "Fergified" come matchday.

- In other Man Utd news, Wayne Rooney (8.0) is said to be back in training from his thigh injury, and might even be featured in the Champions League clash against Galatasaray. Let's keep a close eye on whether the Fatman & Robin partnership will be reunited again this weekend.

- Just when the Demba Ba's (6.4) bandwagon heats up with his double over the weekend., his agent poured cold water with the following statement:

Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Demba doesn't understand the management. If he continues to be a substitute all season, we'll look at other solutions. How could you put your best striker with full confidence on the left wing?  The choice to put Demba on the left last season was good for the club, because Cisse scored 13 goals. But there was a lack of recognition for Demba. It is more difficult to play well when you don't have the confidence of your staff 'Demba is happy at Newcastle. He is playing in the Premier League, with lot of fellow French speakers and he loves the club's supporters. He would like to start every game but he respects the choice of the coach, even if he does not always understand or agree.

There's no response from neither the player nor the Newcastle management about the statement from Ba's agent, but Padrew will definitely be addressing the press during the pre-Europa League match conference soon. 

- Reading's goalkeeper Adam Federici (2.9) was dropped for the past game due to his poor performance, and his girlfriend went on a Twitter rant:

Football has left me feeling totally numb and empty inside! For once I have NO explanation! #noloyalty #absolutejoke.
Unbelievable!!! You need thick skin for success!!

Even though Brian McDermott have mentioned that he has no problem with the tweets, but it doesn't make it any easier for Federici to win back his starting spot from Alex McCarthy (2.9).

- Highly unlikely that your team might contain Stoke's Andy Wilkinson (3.5), but if you do, you might want to note that the FA have charged him for an off-the-ball incident, and he might be faced with a 3-match ban.

Scoreboard - Week 1

With the dust finally settled on Week 1, let's see who tops the table in Today Fantasy League:

TFLTalk League - Week 1

Pride of the North's Andrew Him tops the week 1 TFLTalk league table with 39 points. An avid Woodlands Wellington fan (pretty obvious with his team name), 2 goals from Baines & Podolski, coupled with 2 assists from Carzola & Sterling and 3 Clean Sheets gave him a 1 point advantage over 2nd placed derek jacobi's Get to the Chopper.

Despite his team scoring 4 goals AND captaining one of the star performers for the week Bertatov, his team was unlucky not to finished top, due to none of his defence being able to keep a clean sheet.

Rounding up the Top 5 are 3 teams that are tied with 34 points: Ken Ooi's Ken United, Abdullah Hussien's Anfield & Farhan Shah's The Poppy Cocks.

Overall Leaderboard - Week 1

Unfortunately, TFLTalk's league leader is quite some distance away from the overall leader, Caprica XI, managed by Lin Weiqiang. With 5 goals, 1 assists & 3 clean sheets, his captaincy choice of Demba Ba propelled him right to the top with a 6 points lead!

3 teams are tied with 49 points, though Choy Keng Mun's Echo FC could have gotten more points had he picked the correct captain. 

As mentioned in the FAQ & shown in the standings, when teams have the same number of points they are separated by goals scored and then by assists. This put an additional pressure/incentive to select those on-form goalscorers, particularly if you're in the running for Manager of the Month.

I've also noticed that some teams have already made 3-4 transfers on Saturday! Do note that the transfer limit has already began, and you only have a maximum of 30 transfers in a season, and only maximum of 5 transfers in a month. There's no need to knee-jerk after a bad gameweek, and since there isn't any price change, transfers can be made when it's closer to the weekends in case the player suffers a mid-week injury during training.

Do not despair if you have a bad start. Remember, there are still 34 more weeks to go! This is a marathon, not a sprint! :)

Follow me on Twitter (@TFLTalk) for personal opinions & updates, and it's never too late to join my TFLTalk League (PIN: 28330), which you'll have a high possibility of finishing above me, after my disastrous week 1 start (Sigh.)

With the news that Singtel confirming on the broadcast of Champions' League, let us all enjoy the midweek fixtures, and hope no injuries befall upon our BPL stars.

Sunday Review - 16/09/12

With only 1 game on Sunday (Reading vs Tottenham), this shall be a shorter review compared to the Saturday's post:

Gareth Bale: I've watched the entire game, and he didn't really do much besides that goal. With Bale  (5.4) getting subbed off for Clint Dempsey's (5.2) debut when the game was wrapped up, Bale remains a slightly worrying prospect despite today's returns.

Jermaine Defoe: His 2 goals shows why Adebayor (6.9) have yet to start for Spurs. But I still can't recommend him in any shortlist, knowing he's in a similar situation to Friedal-Lloris, where the bench player is a better fit, but the other player is currently on-form. 

Scoring?: For those who are wondering why your team's score weren't updated on Sunday even though players data are updated, you can refer to the FAQs:

When are the points updated?

The points are updated in time for Monday afternoon, after a set of weekend matches. When there are midweek matches the points will be updated overnight in time for the following morning.

So let's be patient & wait to see which fantasy team tops the charts later today.

Saturday Review - 15/09/12

How did your fantasy team fare in the 1st day of the 1st gameweek? Let's take a look at the main talking points:

RVP & Kagawa

For those who are new to Fantasy Football, this is what is called "Fergified", i.e. being screwed by Ferguson's rotation policy. Yes, they may have been fit to play, but that doesn't mean he'll start them. 

Clean Sheets

Last week, only 3 teams managed to keep clean sheets. This week, there's already 7 clean sheets (Man Utd, Chelsea, West Ham, Fulham, Villa, QPR and Norwich), so managers who filled their defence with players from these teams are likely to be leading in Week 1.

Surprisingly, picking GK & defenders from early-budget favourites Swansea & WBA would result in zero, or even negative points, while title challengers Man City failed to keep a clean sheet for the 4th straight game.

And if you had picked any Southampton's defence after they've conceded 3,2,3 goals in 1st 3 games, you should have heeded the early warning signs.

Rotations

- Brad Guzan (3.2) looks to be keeping his 1st team spot over Shay Given (3.3) with a shutout performance.

- Similarly, Anders Lindegaard (4.4) kept his place ahead of David De Gea (4.5), and Man Utd was rewarded with a clean sheet. The Champions League tie on Wednesday would be a better barometer to see who is ahead in this race.

- Wojciech Szczesny (4.1) took back his starting spot from Vito Mannone (4.0), though Szczesny's mistake cost Arsenal another clean sheet. 

 - Man City's mind was clearly on the midweek Champions League match, as they rested David Silva (5.7) on the bench, while Gael Clichy (4.9) started in place of Aleksandar Kolarov (4.7).

Alexander Buttner

From last Thursday's post

The team's more expensive defender is a left-back who is backup to Patrick Evra?

Mid-price Strikers

- Dimitar Berbatov (6.8) isn't exactly a mid-priced striker, but with Eden Hazard (also 6.8) drawing a blank today, many TFL managers might be itching for a direct swap, especially with 4 seemingly easy fixtures in the next 5 games.

- Gervinho (6.0) may have scored 2 goals today in place of Olivier Giroud (6.9), but I'll need to see more games prior till he's in my shortlist.

- 3 shots, 3 goals. Sunderland's Steven Fletcher (5.9) is deadly accurate in these 2 games, though fantasy managers might want to wait till the end of the week if he's in your shortlist, as he looks slightly injured while being substituted. 

Toure vs Lampard (aka David Ngiau scoreboard)

TODAY Articles: 4 Players from Each Position

So in the past five days, TODAY published articles on Top picks from each position from myself & TODAY editors. Let's take a look back & analyse each of our choices.

Goalkeepers

TFLTalk picks: Vorm, Cech, Howard, Hart
TODAY picks: Vorm, Foster, Szczesny, Hart

I do rate Foster as a Top 10 pick, though not as a Top 4 pick in terms of either overall score (which Hart will lead) or a valued selection (which Vorm is a better pick).

With Mannone performing admirably between the post in the past 2 games, Szczesny might not be a confirmed starter throughout the season. Could this be another De Gea-Lindegaard situation? I guess tonight's game against Southampton could give us some indication on the goalkeeper's status.

Centrebacks

TFLTalk picks: Kompany, Vidic, Vermaelen, Vertonghen
TODAY picks: McAuley, Reid, Vermaelen, Hangeland

The article states "Top picks for the season", hence I went with the priciest picks. As seen from  last season's top centrebacks, 5 of the Top 6 players are from Manchester. The expensive players looks to be a poor choice, but based on previous experience, Clean Sheets will usually be plentiful during mid-season.

Even though McAuley and Reid are good picks based on current fixtures, in the long run they might be able to make it to Top 20...but they're not a Top 4 pick.

Hangeland was in my initial list of picks, but with Dembele's departure & Jol's change in Fulham's strategy makes me wonder if this will be a transition season for Fulham.

& yes, I've chosen 3 Belgium Centrebacks. Only realized that after it was published. :P

Fullbacks

TFLTalk picks: Baines, Evra, A.Cole, G.Johnson

TODAY picks: Baines, Rangel, BAE, Ivanovic

I had a tough time deciding between Rangel & G.Johnson, but I kinda predicted TODAY would be picking Rangel, hence I went with an alternative pick of G.Johnson. Both players should finish with similar points by the end of the season.

I've explained my logic on selecting A.Cole instead of Ivanovic. However, based on OPTA statistics last season, Ivanovic was a greater goal threat than A.Cole despite having less gametime. With yet another goal during the internationals, I have to concede that I may have selected the wrong fullback.

If I were to pick a Tottenham fullback, I'll go with Kyle Walker instead, who is more likely to cut into the penalty area leading to a scoring opportunity than BAE.

Midfielders

TFLTalk picks: Michu, Silva, Cazorla, Fellaini
TODAY picks: N.Dyer, Y.Toure, Cazorla, Fellaini
As David Ngiau mentioned, picking either Swansea midfielder (Michu or N.Dyer) is good for the long run, which I have no arguments about.

For Silva vs Y.Toure, based on OPTA statistics, he created 4 clear chances for Man City, and the average position map shows that he was the further midfielder on the pitch, hence I believe that his form will return before December.

Anyone else besides me secretly rooting for Lampard to outscore Y.Toure, so that we can see David Ngiau eat his shorts? :P

Strikers
TFLTalk picks: RVP, Tevez, Hazard, Lambert
TODAY picks: RVP, Tevez, Hazard, Graham
It's pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to strikers selection, eh? Wait till Aguero & Rooney recovers from their injuries to throw some spanner in our thoughts.

I'm picking Rickie Lambert to be this year's surprise package from the promoted teams, and will have a similar impact to last season's Danny Graham & Grant Holt.

Speaking of Graham, he isn't a bad choice, just that he's being outshine by the midfield trio of Michu, Dyer & Routledge. His shooting accuracy % and chances per game is similar to last season, so fantasy managers who have him will need to be patient to reap the rewards.

Well, that's it for the pre-TFL season articles. I hope you have found this blog & my Today articles useful in selecting your initial team. Do follow me on Twitter (@TFLTalk) for quicker personal opinions & updates, and join my TFLTalk League (PIN: 28330) in one of the largest and most competitive private league in Today Fantasy League.

Thank you, and good luck for the season ahead! HUAT AH!!!!

Ferguson states RVP is ready against Wigan

Alex Ferguson have delivered the most important news for all Today Fantasy League managers for today:

From Man Utd pre-match conference today:

Sir Alex on team news for the Wigan match: "On the injury front, everyone's fit, apart from the ones we know about - Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Jones was a bad blow for us. He got an injury in training last weekend. He'll be out for 8-10 weeks. We expect Smalling to be back training inside a month. But with Jonny Evans now back we're in better shape at centre-back than we were a couple of weeks ago." 

On players returning from internationals: "You always have concerns about players travelling [long distances] in international breaks - we had Chicharito, Valencia and Kagawa. They've all done it before, although with Shinji we don't know exactly how he reacts to travelling back from long distances. Hopefully he'll be okay."

This doesn't mean that RVP and Kagawa might start, but at least you'll be more assured that neither player are long-term casualties.

I'm still considering whether to give this week's captain armband to RVP though....

The Surgeon (sort of) - TFLTalk

Think I did too many "The Surgeon" posts, that I nearly had to see a real-life one.

Was rushed to A&E due to Ocular Migraine. I had a history of Ocular Migraine attacks over the years which I'm able to control with medication. However, there are rare occasions which the pain is so severe that I need stronger medication/jabs from the hospital. 

The experience today more frightening than usual, as both hands were numb for an hour and the nurses could barely extract blood from them for tests.

I've since been discharged, and will be resting for 1-2 days. I'll try to squeeze out 1 final article before Today Fantasy League starts on Saturday, depending on my health.

In the meantime, you can still leave comments for advice, and I'll do my best to respond. Also, do  join TFLTalk League (PIN: 28330)...let's make this league the biggest and most competitive among all  private league! :)

The Surgeon - The Muttons

Apologies for my poor camera photo...

2 more days to go till the start of Today Fantasy League (Hurry, go sign up now!), and TODAY has gone big on advertising, featuring their celebrities' teams on their front cover.

Yesterday's edition featured the Muttons, the 98.7FM DJ duo of Justin Ang and Vernon A. Based on the team advertised, it seems that they didn't make any changes to their 1st 11 from the initial article. Let's see how strong their team actually is, under the inspection of The Surgeon.

The Mutton's Muttons United

Muttons United fielded a 4-4-2 formation, utilizing almost all of their budget, leaving just £0.1mil in the bank. 

The Diagnosis

• As per the initial article, 

"Vernon picked Vurnon Anita because he liked the name. I don't even know who he is.", groaned Justin Ang.

After appearing in the all 3 Premier League games in addition to their Europa League game, Justin should have a clearer picture on Anita: a defensive midfielder who rarely ventures into the final third, and a possible cover for injured right-back Danny Simpson. Neither position looks enticing.

• I got a feeling Vernon selected Alexander Buttner for the same reason as Anita...The team's more expensive defender is a left-back who is backup to Patrick Evra?


• Scott Sinclair looks likely to be the new Adam Johnson for Man City: Englishman who sits on the bench.


• I believe that Clint Dempsey will not do well this season as compared to last season, simply because his place isn't secure in the team. He could replace Gylfi Sigurdsson in the hole, but I'm not sure about risking £5.2mil for a non-confirmed starter at the start of TFL, especially when he didn't have much training time with Tottenham.


• Nathaniel Clyde is a pretty decent fullback, but his enthusiastic attacking plays left gaping defensive holes at the back. Furthermore, Southampton has been leaking goals, hence I don't see much potential clean sheets for Clyde.

The Treatment

If a team needs to make 5 or more changes, I'll recommend the manager to revamp the entire team instead.

There's 5 points up there, hence The Muttons, please relook your team again before the game starts....and this time, please don't pick players based on their names. :P

Well, looks like this is the last Surgery prior to the start of the TFL season. If you need any advice on the team, do drop a comment, and I'll try to approve & reply as quickly as I can.

RVP Injury Scare - What's Next?

Source: Laszlo Balogh/Reuters

Today League Fantasy Managers worst fears come true: RVP suspected thigh injury during the Internationals. With Rooney still injured, Kagawa pulling out of the Japan game due to a back injury, and Ashley Young's knee injury status still unknown, there could be a mini-attacking crisis for Man Utd.

With nearly 50% of the teams having RVP in their team, knowing Ferguson, he'll leave everyone guessing on the on-form striker's status unknown till game time.

My advice is to keep RVP in your Today Fantasy League team as late as possible till there's more news about the extent of his injury, but as a precaution, I'll be moving my captaincy elsewhere for now.

Fixtures Scan 444 - September

To those who are visiting here for the 1st time due to the Today interview, welcome to my humble blog. This blog is still under renovation, as I rather be focusing on articles on Today Fantasy League before the game begin, so the layout is pretty...simple. Hope you guys find the past articles useful! :)

Now let's go on to this monthly column which I call Fixtures Scan 444, whereby we look ahead at the next FOUR gameweek to see which FOUR teams have easy fixtures, and which FOUR teams might have a tough month ahead.

One may think "Bah, who need to check fixtures, when XXX can score against anyone?" True, but for every top-notch XXX player you might have in the team, you will be force to choose a cheaper YYY player...and you might need to rotate them out when the fixtures get tougher. Surely you do not wish to choose a cheap defender that faces Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal in consecutive games?

So, who might be the lucky & unlucky teams in September?

Best FOUR fixtures

1) WBA (@ful, RED, @avl, QPR)

Despite facing Liverpool, Tottenham & Everton, Steve Clarke made a great start to his managerial debut by grabbing 7 out of 9 available points. With easier home fixtures against Reading & QPR, and away fixtures against Aston Villa & a Fulham team requiring a change in tactics, WBA looks likely to continue with their good form. Ben Foster (3.2), Liam Ridgewell (3.5), Gareth McAuley (3.4) and James Morison (3.9) are some of the cheapies one might consider from the Baggies.

2) Swansea (@avl, EVE, @sto, RED)

Under the guidance of Michael Laundrup, the Swans are flying high after 3 games, with the league best of +8 goal difference. The 2nd and 3rd game might provide some resistance, but games against Aston Villa & Reading are likely to be high scoring, which makes Swansea's assets like Michu (3.9), Nathan Dyer (3.8) and Danny Graham (5.9) enticing.

3) Everton (NEW, @swa, SOT, @wig)

With Newcastle facing an injury crisis, Everton might be in luck to start September 15 with a weakened opponent. The toughest game of the lot looks to be Swansea away, which they might grab some points. The Blues have plenty of mid-price gems to choose, from Defence [Tim Howard (3.7), Leighton Baines (4.5)] to attack [Marouane Fellaini (4.0), Nikica Jelavic (6.6)]

4) Chelsea (@qpr, STO, @ars, NOR)

Stoke & Norwich have yet to deny Chelsea full points at Stamford Bridge in Premier League, so these would be 2 enticing home fixtures for fantasy managers to load up on Eden Hazard (6.8) or Fernando Torres (7.2). It's the 2 away London derbies that might prove to be too much of a risk for some....especially when they see Chelsea's October fixtures.

Worst FOUR fixtures

1) Stoke (MCI, @che, SWA, @liv)

The 12/13 season doesn't get any easier for Stoke, innit? Home games against defending champions Man City and on-form Swansea, away to Stamford Bridge & Anfield. Fantasy managers might want to keep Robert Huth & Ryan Shawcross (3.6 each) away from their 1st 11 till their fixtures gets easier.

2) Arsenal (SOT, @mci, CHE, @whm)

Home game against Southampton might be enticing for fantasy managers to pick Thomas Vermaelen (4.6), Santi Cazorla (4.4) and Lukas Podolski (6.0), but then comes the 3 tricky games: away to Man City, followed by 2 London derbies against Chelsea and West Ham.

3) Norwich (WHM, @new, LIV, @che)

Norwich faces tough road trips at St Jam...I mean Sports Direct Arena and Stamford Bridge, while there isn't much home comfort entertaining long-ball technicians West Ham & who-knows-what's-gonna-happen Liverpool. They have been resilient since their 0-5 trashing by Fulham, but Norwich will need the likes of Grant Holt (6.0) to start scoring soon to stay in Premier League.

4) QPR (CHE, @tot, WHM, @wba)

Trying to gel the 123,112,645 newcomers which QPR has bought throughout this summer has been tough for Mark Hughes. Trying to record his 1st win might take some more time, with West Ham at home being the likeliest among the 4. With a leaky backline of 9 goals conceded, one might want to stay away from defensive players such as Rob Green [if he's still 1st choice] (3.1), Fabio (3.3) and Anton Ferdinand (3.3).



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